LAST week I shared some of the causes of teen pregnancies which included media, early exposure to sexual content through movies and music, peer pressure, absence of real parental care. I will continue this week discussing other factors that contribute to teen pregnancies in Zambia in relation to academics.
Social media – I have argued before on the impact of social media on young people especially teenagerswho are still in school. Last week I discussed the impact of peer pressure, lack of parental advice, exposure to sexually explicit content and many other factors. Social media is one of the platforms that promote peer pressure.
Most teens that have accounts on various social media groupings tend to abuse its use. The type of information shared on social media is not restricted.
Certain information is appropriate for teenagers who may not use it well but abuse it. For example, unscrupulous individuals tend to send sexually explicit content to young girls; such information tends to arouse sexual desire in the teens hence they yearn to experiment on the information exposed.
Wrong role models – Role models are important in life, but a teenager needs to be helped how to pick role models.
I always discourage pupils from picking role models among celebrities such as secular artists who have questionable character and have no values that a particular individual can aspire for.
I remember a colleague at work sharing a story about an American hip hop secular artist who died in the 1990s.
He shared that one of his friends used to be a fan of the same person and his dress cord was exactly the same to that of the same artist.
The moment the news broke that the same secular artist had died the same person who was his fan committed suicide and argued he could not continue living without the same artist.
What I am trying to stress is the type of a role model in the life of a teenager will ultimately influence the conduct and values of that teenager.
The lukewarm attitude of the church to issues affected by the young people – I always have confidence in the church and its ability to bring up teenagers in the fear of God which entails letting go of everything that the Bible considerswrong; which includes pre-marital sex.
However, the church has become quite and no longer discusses issues that confront young people which include premarital sex.
Teenagers have a lot of questions on various issues confronting them and since the church is quite they have gone to social media, internet and movies to look for solutions and often they have been given wrong information.
It is believed teenagers who are coming from families where parents are committed Christians tend to have negative attitudes towards premarital sex because their values are anchored on the word of God.
This does not disqualify the fact that sometimes children of committed Christians also in indulge in such activities but this lessens the chances of them doing that.
Poor adaptation to psycho-social development – By the age of 8 to 11 years old, young girls experience puberty stage.
Sometimes they may not be prepared for it psychologically and socially. By this time they begin to hear a lot of stories about sex.
This is the time teenagers need to be talked about concerning sex. There are times it has been reported that young girls as early as grade 6 have been found pregnant, after being asked most of them have expressed ignorance and confessed that they did not know they were pregnant.
Dating elderly individuals – If a girl decides to date a person who is outside her age group the chances are very high that she will be forced or pressured in starting sexual affairs with the same individual.
There are factors which have led girls to date older men; such as being provided with certain wants that they may demand on the other hand such men have requested sex instead.
I am not insinuating that you date your age group if you are still at school I would rather you stay focused on your academics, you have less chances of being exposed to pre-marital sex compared to those who are dating.
Curiosity-This is another factor that has led to young girls indulging in pre-marital sex. This can be traced from what has already been discussed such as peer pressure and early exposure to sexually explicit material through music and movies.
Young girls and boys tend to reciprocate whatever they are exposed to. For example most movies depict sex as something done at random and unprotected.
Researches have shown that out of curiosity teenagers who watch such movies tend to involve themselves in unprotected pre-marital sex. I often advise my learners to be curious about things that will add value to their academic lives.
Look out for next week’s article as I share the effects of pre-marital sex in relation to academics.  For comments write to, email: rodrickmakupe@yahoo.com. Facebook page: Academic and Kingdom insights with Rodrick Makupe. Contact: 0979700937/0964351029