By Nishadi Gunatilake
Sex education is an umbrella term for various educational measures aimed at promoting sexual literacy, which is the “knowledge, attitudes, and skills required to protect and advance a person’s sexual health, rights, and well-being in a socially responsible and consensual manner”. Sex education can be either informal (provided by laypeople such as parents and peers through everyday conversations) or formal (provided by trained sex educators in a structured setting like a school or a sexual health clinic). Due to cultural and familial barriers, as well as the absence of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in schools, many Sri Lankans do not have adequate access to either form of sex education. And, as evidenced by the opposition to “Hathe Ape Potha,” a recent attempt at incorporating CSE into the school curriculum, it does not appear that we will have the luxury of CSE anytime soon. In such a situation, what other options do we have, to close the gap?
Enter social media. The negative effects of social media on women’s sexual expression, as well as sexual and gender minorities, are well documented and debated. But the potential of social media as an educational medium for disseminating quality sex education has received little attention. However, professional sexual health organizations, individual professional sex educators, and laypeople serving as peer sex educators around the world are increasingly disseminating sex education content via social media. It is quick, easily accessible, provides a variety of information, and allows you to access information anonymously, making it a total win.
This is an examination of what makes social media such a great medium for sex education and how we can improve the experience even more.
Social media fills gaps in traditional sex education
The abysmal sex education we have in Sri Lanka focuses solely on risk prevention, such as unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and sexual violence. Such a risk-focused approach ignores people’s more complex sexual concerns and their quest for sexual identity, pleasure, and well-being. Everything is taught in binary, with a heavy emphasis on anatomy and no mention of the diverse range of sexual experiences that can be desired, experienced, and enjoyed.
Social media sex education covers gender and sexual diversity topics more frequently and in greater depth than traditional sex education, such as sexual identities, different types of relationships, different sexual orientations, and gender transitioning. It also addresses issues that are important to older people, such as dating later in life, sexual activity after menopause, and sexual desire in long-term relationships. It discusses pleasure-related topics such as masturbation, orgasms, porn, and sex toys. Consent, intimacy, and power dynamics, all of which are critical in relationships, are also discussed. It also discusses sexuality and chronic illness or disability, sexuality and mental health illnesses, and sexuality and various developmental disorders. And these are just a few of the many topics discussed.
Because of the breadth and nuance of sex education topics discussed on social media, they provide an excellent intersectionality lens, which is often lacking in traditional sex education. Intersectionality is a theoretical framework that describes how multiple social identities, such as race, gender, and sexual orientation, operate at the micro and macro levels to reflect and create interlocking systems of privilege and oppression. Intersecting identities of privilege and oppression directly determine tangible health outcomes such as access to sexual health services, resources, and care without stigma or shame.
Furthermore, social media sex education covers topics related to online sexual activities such as sexting, online sex dating, different types of online pornographies, and different types of sexual online harassment more frequently and in greater detail than traditional sex education because social media sex educators are more familiar with the internet’s multiple intersections with sexuality. This assists audiences in upgrading their sexual literacy for the digital age.
Social media provides a sense of community
These social media accounts openly discuss topics that most people find difficult to discuss, such as STIs or vaginismus. They let people know that if they are going through the same thing, they are not alone. When it comes to young people feeling more prepared to navigate their sexual experiences, a sense of community can be just as important as education. Through certain social media accounts, people who are childless or parents who regret having children can find the support and validation they require, or at the very least a platform to vent. In a culture like Sri Lanka, where motherhood is seemingly placed on a pedestal and having children is considered the goal of life, it may be extremely difficult for such people to find a sense of being seen and understood elsewhere. Furthermore, Sri Lanka has laws that can be used to criminalize members of the LGBT+ community, and these social media platforms may be their only place to be themselves. For them, social media has become a tool for increasing internal capacity and psychological well-being, as well as democratizing, amplifying, and sharing sexuality-related experiences.
Sri Lankan women are not expected to talk about themselves as sexual beings. One clear example of how traditional sex education in Sri Lanka has ignored female sexual desires is the absence of a diagram depicting the external reproductive system of women, which is central to their pleasure, in textbooks. However, sex education social media platforms encourage women to feel more comfortable discussing their sexual preferences with their partners and allow them to openly discuss masturbation or even plain old menstruation. These accounts aim to inform, encourage, and support women in their sexual development and expression.
Social media reaches a vast audience
Social media is ubiquitous and can reach large audiences, allowing for the unrestricted dissemination of health information and messaging. The extensive reach of social media platforms, combined with their interaction functions, offers significant potential for delivering sexual health promotion messages, particularly to vulnerable groups. Social media may be the only way to reach people living in conversative communities or families, and this also applies to children and youth who are not enrolled in formal education. Many social media platforms also include direct messaging capabilities, which allow for more private sexual health engagement. The large number of users on these platforms may even influence behavioral change in communities.
Social media prioritizes users in ways that traditional media does not. Their interactive and fast-paced nature allows for greater collaboration, particularly on topics deemed taboo by traditional media. The ability to search for names and titles, as well as post images, quotable links, and hashtags increase the visibility, interactivity, and shareability of content, enhancing the “viral” or popular nature of content. All these factors contribute to the success of social media sex education.
What are the limitations of sex education on social media?
A word of caution here: social media sex education is not without its flaws. One of the most serious concerns is the accuracy of the information provided, particularly by laypeople acting as peer educators. The abundance of information available online makes it difficult to distinguish between unreliable and reliable sources of information. Even reliable sources of information may be misinterpreted, especially if it is presented in a manner that is not age-appropriate or tailored to one’s literacy skills. As with anything online, use common sense and take everything with a grain of salt. Check credentials. Check the comments; if it is nonsense, someone has probably already pointed it out. Do not rely solely on what they say, instead, do your own additional research. Google is your friend.
Moreover, everyone does not have equal access to social media. Some users’ experiences may be influenced by auditory and visual impairments. Many people are also unable to access the internet due to financial constraints. Sri Lanka has low internet penetration and bandwidth, making video content inaccessible at times. It is also important to remember that social media is not a neutral set of platforms; corporate interests influence who is censored, what ads are promoted, what content is highlighted or buried by a platform’s algorithms, what user data is gathered and frequently sold. Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr, for example, have all been criticized for allowing hate speech and harassment while censoring activists working on feminist, antiracist, and LGBTQIA+ issues.
Because of these concerns, we cannot simply dismiss the issue of sex education by claiming that people can access whatever information they need through social media. Health literacy, defined as “the ability to access, understand, evaluate, and communicate information as a way to promote, maintain, and improve health in a variety of settings across the life course,” applies to sexual health as well, and formal sex education should provide people with basic sexual literacy at the very least, so they can begin their own sex education journey with confidence. It is not about teaching everything; it is about giving people the right tools, so they can teach themselves.
What can we do to improve the experience?
While there are limitations, social media sex education is here to stay, and it may be the best medium we have as a country to make quality sex education more accessible, given how stubbornly unreformable our formal curricula remain. Furthermore, understanding of sexuality is evolving at such a rapid pace that even a highly responsive formal education system will struggle to keep up. Sex education is a vast, diverse, and intensely personal topic, and social media allows us to curate a personalized (just like our social media feeds) learning experience that provides us with the support, advice, and information we require. And since most of us spend so much time on social media, why not learn a thing or two about sex while we are at it?
If you are a sex researcher, sex educator, or a sexual and reproductive health and rights activist, or are attached to an organization that provides sex education, consider starting your own educational accounts, or ramping up the already existing ones. Engaging social media users as a sex researcher would enable you to receive feedback, uncover common misconceptions, and address concerns. Sexual health practitioners must pay attention to how the online conversation unfolds, who is sitting at the table, who is in the audience, and who is being ignored, just as they do in offline spaces. It is critical to listen to people’s genuine sexual questions to ensure that sex education truly meets diverse information and support needs.
I would have loved to recommend a few of my favorite social media sex educators here, but if writing this article taught me anything, it is that giving a general list of such recommendations is extremely difficult, if not counterproductive, given how unique our individual sex education needs and preferences are. Instead, I would like to share a few pointers that might help you find your own favorite social media sex gurus.
1. A quick web search is always a good place to start. Enter something like “Best Sex Educators on Instagram” (or any other social media platform you prefer) and see what comes up. You can browse the accounts and begin following those that appear to be of interest to you.
2. When you follow someone, the platform suggests similar accounts for you to follow.
3. You can also see who else your chosen sex educators are following. As we are all on the same learning journey, chances are they also follow a lot of sex educators.
4. Follow specific hashtags. #SRHR, #SexEd, #Pleasure, #KnowYourBody, #LGBTIQ are some generic hashtags, but you can get as specific as you want; you will be surprised at the number of niche hashtags available. Happy learning people!
(The author is an attorney-at-law and a sexual and reproductive health and rights activist.)