Influence of social media on in-school adolescents’ morals : implication for school counsellors

Exposure to wrong content on social media could negatively influence adolescents’ moral development. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of Social Media on in-school adolescents’ morals in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey design was employed in this study. The population comprised all secondary school students in Ekiti State Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 420 respondents for the study. Data were collected using a self-designed instrument tagged Social Media and Adolescents’ Morals Questionnaire (SMAMQ). Content validity of the instrument was ascertained and the reliability coefficient of 0.87 was obtained to ensure consistency of the instrument. Data analysis was done using percentages, t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The findings of the study revealed that exposure of students to explicit sexual images or messages on social media influenced in-school adolescents’ morals in Ekiti State. Thus, the majority of the respondents indicated that social media influenced adolescents’ morals. The results further showed no significant difference in the influence of social media on in-school adolescents’ morals based on gender, school system, school type and location. This shows most adolescents use social media negatively. Thus, it was recommended that school counsellors should properly guide and mentor in school adolescents to take good advantage of social media for moral development

Pubertal Development and Traditional Support Systems in Africa: An Overview

This paper examines the issues surrounding pubertal development in Africa by discussing the context of adolescent maturation, pubertal development and the global implications of traditional support systems for adolescents in Africa. Adolescent development in Africa with all its attendant risks and opportunities cannot be adequately understood without reference to cultural context, both past and present. Too frequently, issues surrounding human growth and development have been examined outside their cultural context. However, there is a growing awareness that the situational context must be taken into consideration in order to achieve adequate dynamic models of human development. The paper concludes by stating that the essential requirement for ensuring healthy adolescent development can be met through the joint effort of a number of pivotal institutions, namely, the family, traditional institutions and the school. (Afr J Reprod Health 2001; 5[1]: 20-30) RÉSUMÉ Développement pubertaire et les systèmes d'appui en Afrique: Une vue d'ensemble. Cet article étudie les problèmes concernant le développement pubertaire en Afrique en discutant le contexte de la maturation, le développement pubertaire et les implications globales des systèmes d'appui traditionnels pour les adolescents en Afrique. Le développement de l'adolescent en Afrique, avec tous les risques et toutes les opportunités qui l'accompagnent, ne peut suffisamment être compris sans référence au contexte culturel au temps passé et à présent. Très souvent, les problèmes qui touchent à la croissance et au développement humain ont été étudiés hors de leur contexte culturel. Toutefois, il y a une conscience grandissante que le contexte situationnel doit être pris en considération afin d'accomplir des modèles dynamiques adéquats du développement humain. L'étude se termine en affirmant que l'exigence essentielle qui permettra d'assurer un développement sain de l'adolescent pourra être satisfaite à travers l'effort combiné d'un nombre d'institutions pivotes, à savoir la famille, les institutions traditionnelles et l'école. (Rev Afr Santé Reprod 2001; 5[1]: 20-30