Exploring the Extent of Pornography Engagement among High School Students: A Study of Makadara Division, Nairobi County

Abstract

Pornography and the challenges associated to it among high school students indicate the changing trends on matters of human sexuality. The youth, especially adolescents continue to be targeted by the purveyors of pornography. Engagement in pornography has continued to increase with the availability and affordability of internet. It is evident that internet enabled mobile phones, I-pads and personal computers are within the reach of many adolescents. Adolescents may dedicate a lot of time on the internet for various reasons such as networking, education, entertainment and on the negative aspect to access pornography. The problem was that adolescents may identify with models through reinforcement of what appeals to their sexuality. The study sample was drawn from students in three schools selected from public secondary schools in Makadara Division, Nairobi County. The participants were taken from one mixed high school, one boys’ high school and one girls’ high school with a total of 393 respondents. Cluster sampling was employed so as to include all students in each form. The results indicated that 49.1% of the respondents had engaged in pornography. Mobile phone was in use by the highest percentage of participants to watch pornography while magazines with romantic content were read by the highest percentage of respondents. Counseling was listed by 67.7% of the respondents as the most helpful way of addressing the problem while punishment was recommended by 3% of the respondents. The main recommendation from the survey is that parents and guardians should seek to be involved in understanding the developmental challenges.