Youth experiences of exchange of sexting messages and mitigating percieved concerns among Middle Level College Students in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The rapid uptake of smartphones has coincided with an increase in sexting among young people globally. Recent research shows that sexting has escalated despite the societal efforts put forth to discourage the behavior. There are hardly any studies that examine sexting from the perspectives and experiences of Kenyan youth with a view to suggesting ways to deal with the perceived concerns and dangers. The aim of this study was to analyze how the use of smartphones interrelates with exchange of sexually inclined messages in everyday life of middle level college (MLC) students in Nairobi, Kenya, and suggest a framework to address the perceived concerns and challenges. The study had four research questions: What are the perceptions of MLC students on the use of smartphones with regard to sexting activities? How does exchange of sexting messages relate to daily social activities among the selected MLC students? What are the concerns around experiences of sexting by MLC students? And what framework can the study suggest to address the perceived concerns pertaining to sexting among the MLC students in Kenya? The study was guided by Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior and was anchored on relativist-interpretivist research paradigm. Qualitative research approach utilizing multiple case study method was adopted to conduct the study. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were employed to identify 65 students aged 18-24 years from five MLCs that were purposively selected. Data was generated through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The data were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using thematic coding procedures, and the ethical issues that were considered included consent, disclosure and protection from harm, and confidentiality and anonymity. The key findings were: students felt a sense of privacy and control while using smartphones to share sexual content, and ability to switch between user-level and group-level interactions on instant messaging applications increased the extent of exchanging the sexually inclined messages; exchange of sexting messages was mostly intertwined with practices of forming romantic relationships, peer- social interactions and conversations, and sharing commercial online pornography among the selected youth; and concerns participants identified converged around perceived dangers, poor child-parent communication, awareness needs and invention of ‘safe’ sexting methods. The study concluded that most students had misconceptions about sexting and rarely discussed its challenges and dangers with peers, therefore open and bold discussions about sex, sexting, dating and effects of digital technologies between adults and youth should be encouraged. The study recommended use of collaborative approaches to formulate strategies that promote effective youth-adult relationships and communication, and that foster desirable perceptions and norms about sexting and use of digital media technologies. Based on the findings, a framework that conceptualizes and describes how elements of socialization processes should work together in dealing with concerns and challenges of sexting among Kenyan youth was formulated.