Exposure to pornography among adolescents leads to underage sex.

1. Select a social issue which can be researched using the Quantitative Ensure that the project is manageable and you are able to complete it by Lesson 11.

Suggested social issues

• More seniors get abandoned by their children and require help from social services
• More children/adolescents/young adults are reporting/seeking help for being bullied verbally/ emotionally on social media.
• Increase in scams and frauds amongst online users
• Rise in cases of young Singaporean girls offering sexual services to support their lavish lifestyle
• Rise in cases of children growing up in single parent /divorced home
• Increase in the use of recreational drugs such as “Ecstasy” amongst young Singaporeans
• Rise in cases of broken homes due to gambling addiction
  2. You must seek approval from the trainer before you embark on the project.
  3. In addition to the research proposal, you are required to design a questionnaire that can be used for the survey.
  4. Use the Project Work template attached in this Project Brief to prepare the research proposal and questionnaire. A softcopy of the template will be given or send to you before Lesson 2.
  5. As a general guide, the Research Proposal is a 5 – 7 page document and covers all the sections in the template.

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PROPOSAL FOR A QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

TITLE OF RESEARCH

Exposure to pornography among adolescents leads to underage sex.

INTRODUCTION &PROBLEM STATEMENT(300 words)

Adolescents have a boundless amount of access to different types of mass media which includes movies, television, music, magazines, and the Internet. Most of these adolescents tend to spend more time focusing on the media, especially on the Internet, as they own smartphones, which is easy for them to access the Internet. Most this content, especially music and music videos, glamorizes being sexually active, including different types of sex messages with dialogue and gestures. Hence, adolescents may be exposed to sexual content through the media.

At this stage, adolescents are developing their identity and role. Therefore, gender roles, sexual attitudes, sexual beliefs, and sexual behaviours are being shaped at this period of adolescents’ development.

According to Associate Professor Wong MeeLian, who led a study regarding about young people watch pornography, mentioned “They see others having so much pleasure and they want to try it too. At their age, they lack impulse control and they have a heightened need for sensation seeking.” (Tan, 2017).

With the sexual exposure through media and Internet, there is growing concern about adolescents’ exposure to sexual content from media sources may have the tendency to engage in underage sex. Hence, this study is to show that online sexual exposure among adolescents may lead to engagement in underage sex.

LITERATURE REVIEW(800 words)

Social workers said they noticed that some adolescents are starting to have sex at a younger age and have multiple sexual partners. Dr Carol Balhetchet, senior director for youth services at the Singapore Children’s Society, who has spent the last 19 years working with young people shared that she has encountered adolescentswho are now became sexually active as young as 12 or 13 years old, compared with 15 or 16 years old a decade ago. Social workers shared adolescentsare starting to engage in underage sex as they are exposed to sex and sexuality issues online early (Tan, 2016).

More adolescents are becoming sexually active – with an increasing number who think that it is normal for them to have sex. According to figures given by State Court, there were 76 cases of the offence in 2014, a decrease from 89 in 2013, however still an increase from 63 in 2012 and 36 in 2011. According to Ms Lena Teo, assistant director of counselling at the Children-at-Risk Empowerment Association (Care Singapore), “Roughly 20 percent more underage sex cases over the years. Teens are more tech-savvy and some lack parental control now. They are more experimental because of curiosity and hormones raging at that age. It could also be peer pressure.”On top of that, Mr Lam WaiMun, a senior counsellor at Touch Cyber Wellness, acknowledged that underage sex is a common issue as watching pornography starts in some primary school students, which is damaging because they form unhealthy perceptions. Mr Trevor Xie, former director of Children’s Wishing Well, shared that younger generation is more open to having sex at an early age and these adolescents do not see losing their virginity as a loss but instead see sexual experience as a gain. Ms Rachel Lee, senior assistant director of Fei Yue Family Service Centres, also shared that the Internet has an impact on the adolescents’ views on sex as they may be exposed to undesirable material online. Ms Lee also mentioned that “In the last five years or so, there has been an increase in such cases. There are those who engage in underage sex but are just not caught yet.” (Lim, 2015).

A survey to examine teenage exposure to pornography conducted in 2015 by Touch Cyber Wellness, showed nine in every ten teenage boys in Singapore have watched or read sexually explicit materials within the past year. The survey has also found with some respondents who were first exposed to it even before they start primary school.However, only 8 per cent of girls, which is less than one in 10, admitted to viewing pornography either intentionally or by accident. In comparison of the survey conducted in 2014 and 2015, there was an increase of 6 to 14 percent of the boys and girls who have been exposed to pornography.The main mode of accessing pornographic materials is through the adolescents’personal mobile devices.In the survey, teenagers were asked how they were first exposed to pornography, 54 percent of the boys said they purposely searched for it on the internet while 43 percent of the girls came across it while surfing online. The findings also showed 88 percent of boys and 73 percent of girls saw it on their smartphones or tablets are of those who viewed such content. This is an increase of 6 percent to 8 percent compared with the 2014 survey. (Tai, 2016)

Experts are worried with the findings as such contents can have an impact on children’s studies, self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and their attitudes and behaviour towards love and sex. It may lead to various forms of dysfunction and sexual crimes if they are addicted to it. Chong Ee Jay, manager of Touch Cyber Wellness mentioned, “This concurs with much of the feedback we have been hearing from the ground in schools and through parents. With kids owning or having access to mobile devices at a younger age, the risk of such exposure is greatly magnified.” (Tai, 2016)

In the three articles mentioned above, underage sex is a topic that has been thoroughly studied and their findings showed an increase of adolescents engaging in underage sex and exposing themselves to pornography. However, further study of the causesof adolescents engage in underage sex. Specifically, watching online sexual content among adolescentsmay cause them to engage in underage sexshould be studied.Therefore, the following research question is raised.

RESEARCH QUESTION AND HYPOTHESIS(100 words)

Research Question 1: How can frequent exposure to pornography have an impact on adolescents’ sexual behaviour and engagement?

Hypothesis 1: Frequent exposure to pornography has a positive association with sexual behaviour and engagement in adolescents.

Research Question 2:

Hypothesis 2:

RESEARCH DESIGN

Research Methods(300 words)

• Select a data collection method to carry out the test to accept, reject or null the hypothesis. State if it is a self-completion questionnaire survey or for an interview survey.

Population and Sampling Plan(300 words)

Identify the population after describing the profile of the participants. Explain the sampling technique to determine the size of the sample that is representative of the population.

Data Collection Procedures(300 words)

Explain the data collection plan i.e. state the data collection method, specific procedures, number of personnel, training plan for the interviewer and so on.

Design a questionnaire that will collect relevant data to test the hypothesis and answer the research question.

Mention the ethical considerations when administering the data collection process.

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ANNEX B

Sexual Activity and Behaviour in relation to Pornography Survey

PLEASE DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE.

Your honesty in responding to the statements and questions is very important. Please ensure that you answer every question, even if it does not apply.

**All your particulars and responses are kept strictly confidential.

References

Lim, Y.H. (Feb 09, 2015). Underage sex on the rise in Singapore, say social workers. Retrieved on July 11, 2017 from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/underage-
sex-on-the-rise-in-singapore-say-social-workers

Tai, J. (Jun 29, 2016). Nine in 10 teen boys in Singapore exposed to porn: Survey. Retrieved on July 11, 2017 from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/nine-in-10-teen-boys-exposed-to-porn-survey

Tan, T. (Feb 22, 2016). Teenagers starting to have sex at a younger age, say social workers. Retrieved on July 11, 2017 from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/teenagers-starting-to-have-sex-at-a-younger-age-say-social-workers-0

Tan, T. (Jun 08, 2017). Abuse, porn ‘can push youth to early sex’. Retrieved on July 11, 2017 from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/abuse-porn-can-push-youth-to-early-sex

Last Updated on February 14, 2019