By Olufisoye Adenitan
In today’s digital age, adolescents and young people are constantly bombarded with information on social media, which can be detrimental to their sexual and reproductive health, SRH.
In this report, Olufisoye Adenitan spoke with a cross-section of adolescents who shared their concerns about this development.
The adolescents between ages 10-16 revealed that misinformation on social media posed a significant challenge to their SRH education.
One of them, Dunsin Rejoice said they often relied on social media for information, which sometimes led to confusion and perpetuate myths surrounding their reproductive health.
According to the teenager, since many people share the same information on social media this often makes it become believable.
Another teenager, Timileyin Ilesanmi spoke of how she encountered misinformation on menstrual hygiene, sexual activity, and relationships making her believe an erroneous notion that regular stomach aches were due to a lack of sexual activity at an early age.
Others, Fadaora Oluwatobi, Joshua Toluwani, Bakare Joy and Ayetan Ayomide emphasized the need for comprehensive SRH education to protect them against unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, STDs which could disrupt their education.
They also called for regular and open discussions with parents, educators, and healthcare professionals.
A school counsellor, Mrs Sofas Abdulsalam emphasized parents’ roles in providing accurate information to their children.
Mrs Abdulsalam advised parents to introduce their wards to e-learning and educational apps, rather than social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat.
Some parents who spoke on the issue, Mrs Folasade Oladeinde and Mrs Margaret Adebayo expressed concerns about the impact of technology and exposure of children to series of harmful information especially on the internet and suggested placing restrictions on the adolescents’ phones while also creating time to physically interface with them regularly.
A sexual and reproductive health expert from the Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mrs Damilola Adeniyi emphasized the importance of starting sex education from age 3 years upwards to empower the children so they could make informed decisions about their bodies.
Mrs Adeniyi expressed that accurate and comprehensive SRH education for adolescents and young people would go a long way to address some of these issues.
She added that it would aid in making them aware properly and handle well, decisions about their health, relationships, and future.
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