THE NEW MEDIA AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATING NIGERIAN YOUTHS ON THE DANGERS OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY

Cornelius Aghadiegwu Ukwueze, Paul Bebenimibo

Abstract


This study examined the place of the New Media in educating Nigerian youths on the dangers of teenage pregnancy. It sought to determine whether Nigerian youths have knowledge of the New Media and whether it is used in educating them on the problems of teenage pregnancy. The Uses and Gratifications Theory was used in the study. The study was designed as a survey. A sample of 300 respondents was drawn from a population of 3500 undergraduate students of Delta State University, Abraka. Multi-stage sampling technique was used whereby respondents were randomly selected across faculties, departments and levels of study. Hypothesis tests suggest that social media platform do not contribute to the awareness on teenage pregnancy; and, there is a strong positive correlation between New Media and teenage pregnancy awareness in Nigeria. Respondents were of the opinion that the New Media be used to campaign against the issue of teenage pregnancy in our society. Furthermore, the review of related literature revealed that Nigerians are one of the highest users of the New Media in Africa. Therefore, its continuous use in this area of health care was strongly recommended by the study.

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References


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