Social media and teenage pregnancy among students in secondary schools in Imenti north sub-county, Meru county, Kenya

Abstract

Teenage pregnancies and the eventual dropping out of school has been and still is a major problem bedeviling theeducation sector in many parts of developing countries. This study investigated the influence social media on teenagepregnancies among public secondary school students in Imenti North Sub County. The study is hinged on twotheories; Social learning theory and social cognitive theory. The study is further supported by the media practicemodel. Descriptive survey research design guided the study. Target population constituted of 5,496, form three andfour students, 300 teachers and 9 education officers. A sample size of 359 participants was used and respondentspicked through Stratified and Simple random sampling. Two questionnaires and an interview guide were used tocollect data. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was reported in form ofnarratives based on the themes of investigation. The study established that access to social networking sites bystudents was high with much focus on sexually explicit music, sex images, videos, sex texting and student sexsolicitation on line and there was limited use directed to academic information. The study therefore concluded thatsocial media contributed to teenage pregnancy among secondary school students in in Imenti North Sub County. Thestudy recommends that the school administration puts in place guidelines and regulations on usage of media withinthe schools. Additionally teachers should encourage students to use media for purpose of soliciting informationrelevant to education especially when in school.