The Federal Centre for Health Education’s (BZgA) representative study Youth Sexuality 9th Iteration is a representative repeat survey. A large-scale survey of young people, their parents and young adults was launched for the ninth time in the summer of 2019. It follows on from predecessor studies conducted between 1980 and 2014. The goal of the study is to acquire reliable data about the attitudes and behaviours of young people in the Federal Republic of Germany with regards to sexuality and contraception.
The majority of boys and girls obtain their knowledge of the topic of sexuality from personal conversations as well as from school. Media – printed and digital – are another important source of information about sexuality for young women and men. The internet and digital communication formats in particular have become significant in recent decades. The internet has become an important socialisation and information space for young people (BZgA, 2013). The study Youth Sexuality 9th Iteration has examined the significance of media generally and of the internet in particular with regard to questions about sexuality for adolescents and young adults. This fact sheet presents the core results on the media of sexuality education for those aged between 14 and 25.
Results: An Overview
- The internet as a source of sexuality education continues to increase in significance.
- The information that young people find about sexuality online is important to them.
- Young people google information about sexuality.
- Young women use advice and education sites, while young men also use Wikipedia and sex films.
- Young people under the age of 18 have a different focus than those aged 18 or over: influencers are important sources of information for them, but not the only ones.
- Alongside the internet, young people with a higher (desired) level of education and the younger respondents were most likely to want information about sexuality and contraception via print media.