Enlarging Participatory Communicative Spaces on Adolescents Sexual and Reproductive Health in Nigeria: A Look at New Media Technologies

Abstract

This paper explores possibilities for integrating appropriate New Media Technology platforms for engaging adolescents in interactive communication discourses, thereby enlarging virtual communicative spaces for mutually beneficial sexual and reproductive health dialogue among policy makers, development agencies and Nigerian adolescents. It argues that adolescents are active seekers of a wide range of information, including reproductive health information, and for this cause are heavy users of New Media Technologies. Considering the potential of media technologies for providing reproductive health information and the confidentiality they offer adolescents seeking reproductive health information, New Media Technologies can be fully exploited by stakeholders creatively to engage, educate, empower, and motivate adolescents to adopt healthier sexual behaviours. It therefore recommends that stakeholders should consider engaging the Internet with its associated platforms: Social Networking Sites (SNS)---Facebook, WhatsApp, 2go, Twitter, Viber, etc.; Video sharing Websites---YouTube for instance, Blogs, Instant Messaging; User Generated Content (UGC)---artwork, photos, stories, podcasts and videos among others for reproductive health communication with adolescents. Mobile devices such as phones, personal digital assistants, text messaging, voice messaging, and mobile software applications can also be engaged as platforms for participatory communication between stakeholders and adolescents.