The Effects of Facebook on Children and Teens

Facebook and How It Affects Teens: Sex and Health

One trend surrounding the issue of how Facebook affects teens’ sex and health is the Social Network Site (SNS) use in enhancement sexual health. Notably, most youths are in the use of SNSs with Facebook having been recorded to have 5 million active members by 2010. Judy Gold et al. (2011) wrote “A systematic examination of the use of Online social networking sites for sexual health promotion” which is an exploration into the (SNSs) for the enhancement of sexual health. According to Judy Gold et al., among the 178 health enhancement actions considered, Facebook dominated with the use over other SNSs with 71 percent of teens using the site for health promotions. Gold et al. compared among other sites, three SNSs, Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace but noted that among the health promotions made on the social sites, Facebook received slightly lower comments than Twitter with Myspace attracting the lowest number of commentators (5). According to Gold et al. (2011), Facebook, for instance, gave login access to external websites in 2009 to access information making it possible for the access of information on Facebook without being hosted by external commercial sites. Researchers in this trend, therefore conclude that SNSs are magnificently used to transmit sexual health promotions with the dominance of Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. Furthermore, Gold et al. (2011) noted that Facebook has the most significant attraction and people especially the concerned teens have taken heed to the sites and are following up on the sexual health advice on site.

On the trend of the impact of Facebook portraits on teens’ sex and health, Young, Sean D., and Alexander H. Jordan. Wrote an article on "The influence of social networking photos on social norms and sexual health behaviors." According to Young, Sean D., and Alexander H. Jordan (2017), the young have been increasingly using social networks to explore on teens’ behaviors and attitude which in one way or the other affect their health behavior (243). Perceiving the increase of peer sexual behavior, Young, Sean D., and Alexander H. Jordan (2017) set out to explore the influence of Facebook photos on the perception of teens’ attitudes and sexual characteristics. According to the findings by Young, Sean D., and Alexander H. Jordan, college students who viewed Facebook photos engaged in unprotected sex as opposed to the control group who did not view such photos (244). Besides, students who viewed Facebook photos tended to have sex without condoms or any other protection even though the other sex partner was of unknown HIV status. Further, Young, Sean D., and Alexander H. Jordan (2017) researched with highly suggestive Facebook photos. According to their findings, students who viewed sexually suggestive photos of their peers tended to have unprotected sex and also have sex with strangers (245). As such, Young, Sean D., and Alexander H. Jordan concluded that exposure to peers to Facebook photos and particularly sexually suggestive photos influence sexual behavior and also the teens’ sexual health behaviors. Therefore, researchers in the trend of Facebook photos affecting teens’ sexual and health behavior concluded that exposure to socially suggestive photos adversely influence the sexual behavior of teens making the have unprotected sexual intercourse. Sometimes, the teens are influenced to have sex with strangers of unknown HIV and other contractile diseases status exposing the teens to health issues.

On the trend of sex and health by social media, Landry, et al., (2017) wrote “Social Media and Sexual Behavior Among Adolescents: Is There a Link?” an investigation of whether there exists a connection between social media and sexual behavior among the young. In their research, Megan et al. (2017) evaluated the number of teens with social sites accounts such as Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Tumblr and others and their consistency in login into the site in which they were members (3). Megan et al. (2017) found out that SNSs such as Facebook offers a social platform for the teens who look for social consolation and gratification. Consequently, as noted by Megan et al. (2017), the teens end up having a significant high surge in sexual behavior. The sites provide access to more experience teens and therefore heightening the flow of information on sex owing to the assured social privacy. Besides, Megan et al. (2017) noted that those who are more engaged on Facebook and other social sites get involved more in sexual behaviors due to the high networks that are created from sexual communications in such sites. Nevertheless, Megan et al. (2017) note that there is a decrease in the use of social media among the United States youths and a consequent decline in health issues resulting from the sexual behavior. Therefore, Megan et al. (2017) are suggestive in their works that yes, social media, encompassing Facebook has a significant influence on teens’ sex and health.

On the trend of Facebook and its influence on sex and health among the teens, Holloway, Ian W. et al. wrote an article on “Online Social Networking, Sexual Risk, and Protective Behaviors: Considerations for Clinicians and Researchers.” The article is dedicated to venture into the influence that the primary SNSs have on teens sexual and health behavior. Among the SNSs that Holloway, Ian W., et al. considers looking into including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and among others. According to Holloway, Ian W. et al. Facebook is the most popular site among the US youths with an estimate of 71 percent with 63 percent frequent visitors and 40 percent multiple visitors per day. Among the 27 percent Facebook users identified during the study, there was an evident increase in sexual sensation (4). However, the results refuted there being increased peer sexual risk norms. Holloway, Ian et al. reported from the carried-out research that there is a significant percentage of teens who are tested for Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) status, but there is also a portion among them who don’t know their status, rendering the group at a high STI risk in line with protective behavior (224). Besides the work also depicted a high number of unprotected sex and sex with strangers resulting from Facebook photos and connections to online partners associated with drugs and partying. However, there is also evidence of discussion of safer sex via the SNSs linked to the increased HIV knowledge leading to higher levels of prevalence. A comparison done by these authors between Facebook and dating sites revealed that users prefer Facebook over other sites in connecting with friends and eventually ending up having sex with the associates which further heightens the association of the young’s sexual and health risks. From the results, Holloway, Ian W., et al. affirms an existing relationship between the use of SNSs such as Facebook and reproductive and health risk among the teen with the revelation of the increase in unprotected sex and sex with strangers exposing them to STIs.