The Influence of Exposure to Sexual Content on Television on Sexual Behaviour of the Youth in Technical Training Institutions in Kenya

Abstract

Research has revealed that in Kenya premarital sexual behaviour is manifested in the youth's high incidence of pregnancies, abortions, stress and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The effects of the media on behaviour have been observed in many aspects of social behaviour such as aggression, social stereotyping, pro-social behaviour and social attitudes. Messages with sexual content on TV can have both immediate and long term effects. The implication of this is that exposure to sexual content on television programmes may change a person's state by inducing arousal, leading to inhibition of impulses, or activating thoughts or associations. The research adopted a pragmatic philosophical approach in which it is believed that there is no value in absolute objectivity or absolute subjectivity, and thus neither is sufficient for the understanding of reality. A descriptive survey design was adopted to generate data from the respondents of the study. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews and participant observation were used to generate additional data for the purpose of validating and supplementing survey information. A total of 420 questionnaires were administered to the respondents selected through stratified random sampling technique. Majority of the respondents indicated that they thought their friends had engaged in sex. Majority of the respondents from the key informants also said youth from their institutions were sexually active. However, majority believed that sex for both gender should start after 18 years. It was further established that due to curiosity, most youths engage in sexual intercourse at an early age than usual. Most of the respondents said they used condoms when having sex. From the study findings, it was concluded that there exists a relationship between exposure to sexual content on television and the sexual behaviour of the youth. The study therefore recommends that media literacy as a skill needs to be improved to enable the youth to interpret media content correctly in order to avoid the possible effects that are sometimes not intended by the media practitioners. Keywords: Influence, Exposure, Sexual Content, Television, Sexual Behaviour, Youth, Institutions, Kenya