Date of Award
2-3-2025
Thesis Type
PhD
Document Type
Thesis
Divisions
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Department
Department of Media and Communication Studies
Institution
Universiti Malaya
Abstract
The primary aim of this research is to examine how youth in the Klang Valley utilize social media to seek information about sexual health, particularly focusing on sexual health issues caused by premarital heterosexual sexuality. The study seeks to explore how user personal characteristics influence information seeking on sexual health issues using social media. The study also examined the mediation impact of perceived usefulness of social media and perceived ease of use of social media on user personal characteristics and information seeking by using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a theoretical framework. By investigating this relatively unexplored area, the study aims to address a gap in the existing literature concerning social media technology acceptance for seeking sexual health information among youth in the Klang Valley region. A survey technique is employed to collect data from youth in Klang Valley aged 18–24 who have knowledge about sexual health issues caused by premarital heterosexuality. Three hundred and eighty-four usable responses were received and further analyzed using appropriate statistical procedures. The research model was then tested using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. Smart PLS 24 was used to validate the research model and test the proposed research hypotheses. The study confirms that user personal characteristics, which are problem recognition and involvement, enable youth in Klang Valley to seek sexual health information through social media. The empirical results of this study also lead to several significant findings. The findings indicate that user personal characteristics directly influence the use of social media for sexual health information, as the platform's usefulness, helpfulness, and abundance of sexual health information aid in the management of sexual health issues among youth. Other than that, social media is also easy to use without any constraints from different locations, which overcomes the barrier to obtaining sexual health information from traditional media in Malaysia. This study has identified two constructs—perceived usefulness of social media and perceived ease of use of social media—that partially mediate sexual health information seeking. Overall, the research model explains a substantial amount of variance (63.8%) in information seeking on sexual health on social media. Given the substantial explanatory power of the model findings, this study also has significant theoretical and practical implications. Social media plays an important role as a platform for youth to seek sexual health information. Therefore, policymakers must use these platforms to create awareness and educate young people in Malaysia about the severity of premarital sexuality and its health consequences.
Note
sms
Recommended Citation
Manickam, Yesuselvi, "Youth and social media usage for sexual information seeking in Klang Valley" (2025). Student Works (2020-2029). 1887.
https://knova.um.edu.my/student_works_2020s/1887
Comments
Thesis (PhD) – Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, 2025.