Sexual education has been frowned upon for ages. Nobody wants to inform people about safe sex or about sexual education in general. Teens and adults are looking to social media and the internet to help them figure out how to navigate sex.

There are thousands of articles on the internet about different types of things in regards to sex. There are articles about how to put on a condom, how to please your partner, different types of contraceptives and how effective those methods are, general facts about sex, benefits of a healthy sex life, and the different types of sexual activities.

A student explained, “I have looked up on the internet about how to have sex. Nobody ever taught me that.” She continued on to say, “When I decide to have sexual intercourse with someone, I want to make sure I’m prepared in every way I can be. That’s the main reason I’ve looked things up on the internet.”

In school, you’re required to take a health class. But in the health class teachers usually try to veer away from the topic of sex and focus more on puberty, drugs, alcohol, and mental/physical health. Because of this, teenagers are lacking the general knowledge about sex, contraceptives, consent, sexually transmitted diseases, and more. This not only puts them at a disadvantage in their learning, but it causes them to turn to their peers and friends.

The people they turn to are most likely not educated as well, and they may give false information. This can cause students to go about an intimate moment inappropriately and even handle a situation wrongly. Teenagers need a safe place in the classroom where they can acquire the correct knowledge, so they understand what is happening when they decide to take that next step in a relationship.

“I have asked my friends about sex before and how they have done it,” one student started to explain. “She told me the completely wrong information. I was so embarrassed after the fact.”

“On my TikTok ‘For You’ page, videos explaining different aspects of sexual actions pop up,” a male student explained. “I don’t know if the information is 100% correct, but I’ve learned more from TikTok about sex than anywhere else in my life.”

“I was lucky enough to have had a mom that taught me about sex and the different forms of contraceptives and all of that,” another student explained. “I think everybody should have a trusted adult or even a teacher to help explain all of that and guide you through that. I can’t imagine what my experience would’ve been like if I didn’t have that.”