INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA EXPOSURE ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OF ELEMENTARY PUPILS

Abstract

Young people nowadays are increasingly exposed to cultural trends. They are engaged to social networking sites which serve as easy access to a variety of information  such as sexual and reproductive health. The degree of exposure to technology and social media has impacted to these young people who are vulnerable to sexual and reproductive health issues. Thus this study was conducted to determine the influence of social media  exposure to sexual and reproductive health knowledge and attitude of 100 randomly selected elementary pupils. The findings of this study revealed that elementary pupils used Facebook and YouTube for at least one to two hours daily. It was also evident from the result that social media exposure can influence the knowledge and attitude towards sexual and reproductive  health. There is a significant difference in the sexual and reproductive health knowledge in terms of age. However, there is no significant difference in their sexual attitude and reproductive health in terms of age and gender. Recommendation to the parents, teachers, and guardians were provided to guide the proper use of social media by elementary pupils.