Use graphic ads to shock youth

JUDGING by the results of a recent Health Promotion Board (HPB) Aids awareness survey, it seems that young people are least concerned about the risk of Aids infection via unprotected sex.

It is high time that they be shocked into action through the use of the media.

Take, for instance, the HPB's anti-smoking TV commercial depicting a woman afflicted with oral cancer. It caused a stir among smokers and non-smokers alike for its shock value, and was successful in spreading its message.

The HPB should film a similar commercial to show the stark consequences of contracting acquired immune deficiency syndrome and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and how they ravage the human body before extinguishing bright young lives.

Perhaps these visceral depictions will shock young people into thinking twice before they engage in unprotected sex.

Kenny Tan, 22, is a third-year economics student at the Singapore Management University (SMU)

The delusion of immortality

THE real problem is not a lack of knowledge about safe sex, but rather, a callous attitude towards practising it.

Not having to worry about basic needs like food and shelter has bred in young people a naive sense of immortality, and the erroneous belief that they are immune to the dangers of the world.

This includes being deluded by the notion that STDs are an alien problem affecting only prostitutes, and not people as young and healthy as themselves. Add on the fact that many young people believe in enjoying the moment and throwing caution to the wind, and we see rationality completely overthrown by emotion.

It is not enough to know about safe sex. Young people need to see the relevance of this knowledge to their lives, and use sex education to their advantage as a safeguard against STDs.

Jonathan Kwok, 24, is an honours student in economics at the National University of Singapore

Surveys don't tell whole story

IT IRKS me when articles claim that young people are ignorant about sex, but fail to divulge the sample's educational levels.

The older ones who have been schooled longer should have gone through more sex education and STD awareness talks in school, as opposed to their younger counterparts, or those who left school earlier.

Similarly, without sounding too discriminatory, those from better schools and with better qualifications should be more intelligent and well-educated in Aids prevention and safe sex.

So is it young people in general who are naive and foolish, as recent reports suggest, or are the culprits only the less-educated ones?

Dividing young people along educational lines will make it easier to nip the problem in the bud. Until we are privy to more details, I will take these articles with a pinch of salt.

Owen Yeo, 20, has a place to read social sciences at SMU

Wrong approach to education

WHEN I was in school, there were no benchmarks or efforts at standardising sex education. Instead, the predominant message was merely that of abstinence.

Seriously, abstinence? Please, cut the act of self-delusion - when the time comes and the feeling is right, many teens are going to do it no matter what.

The increasing number of young people contracting sexually transmitted infections shows that current education programmes are not working.

These include the HPB's emphasis on abstinence and faithfulness, leading to its recent admission that 'the general population may not be aware (of condom use) in HIV prevention'.

Not teaching safe sex is tantamount to negligence. The solutions are all out there, and yet young people don't know how to protect themselves.

Don't just stop at gimmicky concerts like Love Amplified. Start sex education the right way in schools - pronto.

Eef Gerard Van Emmerik, 20, has a place to read law at SMU

Need for common sense

THE lack of sex education has been blamed for the spread of STDs. However, the youth of today generally know more about sex compared to the youth 40 years ago.

They just have an 'it won't happen to me' mindset and assume everyone is 'clean' by default. Unfortunately, they fail to factor in how some disease carriers who are blinded by lust may 'forget' to mention their status in the heat of the moment.

Teaching about STDs is not enough. There is a need to drum some common sense into young people too.

That includes inculcating in them the need to check before doing anything - including having sex.

Furthermore, traditional 'lecture and nag' methods should give way to newer methods, such as face-to-face talks with STD sufferers, in order to drive home the dangers of STDs.

Ng Yi Xun, 19, is a third-year science student at Millennia Institute

Let young people guide peers

AS MEDICAL students, we are encouraged to participate in a programme run by the Australian Medical Association which goes out to high schools - the equivalent of junior colleges in Singapore - to facilitate discussions on sex, alcohol and drugs.

This reminded me of that awkward 30 minutes back in secondary school when my teacher tried to lecture us on the birds and the bees. The gulf in understanding resulted in confusion, and the only message brought across was that talking about sex was taboo.

I thought this programme would be a similar disaster.

But I was wrong.

Peer group discussions were held, touching on the stark realities of STDs. Awkward questions were answered by medical students not much older than the participants.

Freed of the inhibitions brought about by the stifling presence of parents or teachers, the young participants showed an enthusiasm and frankness totally unlike my experience in secondary school.

Programmes about sex by youth for their peers will dispel myths, encourage accountability and, most importantly, bring home the idea of cause and effect.

Tabitha Mok, 22, is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Western Australia

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 3 Nov, 2008.