Cyberporn, social media drive youth to early sex

AP PHOTO

Young Filipinos nowadays are driven to engage in early sex due to exposure to pornography and sex-related content on the internet, social media and other digital media, according to a recent study by the Commission on Population (Popcom).

The study, “Post-Millennial Filipinos: Renewed Hope versus Risks,” looked into the sexual behavior of young adults (ages 15 to 24) in each of the country’s 17 regions. Results of the study were formally released on Wednesday.

Researchers from the University of the Philippines Population Institute and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation analyzed data from the 2013 nationwide Youth Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS) study per region.

Popcom executive director Juan Antonio Perez III said their findings should help policymakers tailor-fit programs per region to address teenage sex and pregnancies and sexually risky behavior among the youth.

“With this evidence, we can have more responsive interventions for young people,” Perez said.

The study said that most boys in Metro Manila (National Capital Region) were exposed to pornographic materials.

Almost 30 percent of the youth, mostly male, in the capital have engaged in sex before turning 18 while the same number have been exposed to pornography prior to their first sex.

The study found that exposure to pornographic materials was the main factor that encouraged early sex among youths in Metro Manila. Peer pressure, lifestyle, religion and socio-economic status were not such a big factor.

The study found that adolescents in Central Luzon (Region III) who were exposed to the internet early were also more likely to initiate sex.

Those who had accessed the internet and who regularly drink at a younger age were more likely to engage in early sex, the study found.

In Calabarzon (Region IV-A), the study confirmed that among millennials, the so-called new media had eclipsed parents, friends, school and traditional mass media as their source of information about sex.

Millennials are the youth who came of age at the onset of the 21st century.