PRACTICE OF SEXTING AND ITS ASSOCIATED SEXUAL RISKS AMONG IN-SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN OLUYOLE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE

Abstract

The use of electronic media for sharing and exchanging content of a sexual nature has become another form of intimate sexual communication attuned to today’s technology-driven society. The negative effects of social networking sites sometimes overweigh its advantages. Often students search their course material online in the process of studying. It is well known that the use of mobile phones especially without proper supervision by adolescents could trigger their practice of sexting thereby exposing them to some of the sexual risks. This study aimed to investigate the practice of sexting and its associated sexual risk factors among adolescents attending secondary schools in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo state. Descriptive cross-sectional design was employed and a three-stage sampling technique was used in selecting the 238 respondents from schools within the Local Government Area. The instrument of data collection was a structured open and close ended questionnaire comprising 6 sections which were Socio-demographic data, Knowledge of sexting, Perception of sexting, Practice of sexting, Factors influencing and associated risks involved in sexting among adolescents. Data were entered and managed using SPSS version 21 and were subjected to descriptive (mean, percentages and frequencies) and inferential (Chi-Square) statistical analyses. The level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. The mean age of respondents was 14.5±1.6years. More than half (68.9%)of the respondents owned mobile phones, 56.3% were females. Majority of them87.0% had a high knowledge of sexting and were aware of its consequences. Eighty- seven percent of the respondents had a good perception of sexting and it was found that it has negative effects on their education. There were few respondents 18.0% who do not practice sexting at all, 52.0% of them had low sexting practices while 30.0% had a high sexting practice. Most (77.7%) of the respondents said peer pressure, substance intake, threat/blackmail, sense of belonging and the belief that sexting is safer in its entirety than sex were the leading factors that influence sexting. The leading risks associated with sexting were low self-esteem (79.4%), and blackmail (78.2%), a high risk of getting in touch with a sexual predator and prosecution later in the future. There was a significant association between mobile phone ownership and sexting practices (p=0.044). The class of respondents was not significantly associated with their practice of sex The practice of sexting was prevalent among the respondents studied. There is an urgent need to orientate/re-orientated the students on sexting highlighting the social, academic and health consequences associated with the practiceting (p=0.33).The practice of sexting was prevalent among the respondents studied. There is an urgent need to orientate/re-orientated the students on sexting highlighting the social, academic and health consequences associated with the practice