Youth’s sexual development in traditional and recent every-day-life environments

Sexuality undergoes huge transformations in the period of a teenager. Puberty is often understood as a starting point for youth’s sexual interests and fantasies. Traditionally, youth’s sexual activities were more perceived as romantic relations. However, today’s teenagers grow up with internet. Sexual material is a big part of internet and parts of it is directly addressing youths. Parents, professionals and others express a deep worry of the kind of significance that these internet activities have with regards to teenagers’ transformation. However, in the present situation, we do not have any further information whether this worry has a fundamental reason or not. The aim of this study is finding the answers for yet unanswered but greatly relevant questions for the present time: What kind of significance do sexual internet activities have for youths that are in the middle of their sexual development? To what consequences does it lead to when youths participate and are a part of such activities? Which youths are sexually active on the internet and on other information technologically platforms? How do connections look like between the sexual activities within the more recent and the traditional every-day life environments?

The researchers will follow the youths throughout this period of time, “upper school”- and “high school”-older, where sexuality and sexual activities experience a radical development in a majority of them. Data will also be collected from their parents.     

Participating researchers at University West

Emma Sorbring, project leader
Jonas Hallberg
Margareta Bohlin

Other researchers

Therése Skoog (University of Örebro)

External funding

FORTE

Duration

2008-2013