Teenagers in Nairobi are sexting too much at that they are putting themselves at risk of contracting HIV/ AIDS a new study has revealed.

According to the study by psychologists at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, there has been a high prevalence of masturbation, pornography, multiple sex partners and frequent sexual intercourse among adolescents, because of sexting.

“We established that access by students to social sites was high, with the sexting of sexually explicit music and images which had a direct impact on the students’ sexual outcomes.”

Sexting has been attributed to be the leading cause of multiple partnering among this demographic.

The study shows that 98 percent of secondary school students in Nairobi County are involved in sexting, with 62 percent of daily sexters having multiple sex partners.

Sexting is the act of sending a phone or email message containing sexually explicit material.

Another to a recent report by the National Aids Control Council (NACC), HIV prevalence is high among school-going children in the country, accounting for 51 percent of all HIV infections in the country. 

According to the report, 98 adolescents get infected every day while 14 die every day from AIDS-related causes.

A similar study released by lancet in May 2016 also revealed that Kenya is losing a high number of its youth to AIDS. The report also listed AIDS as the number one cause of death and disability among young people in the country between the ages of 10-24 years.

Technology and sexting contributing to the spread of STDs

The advancement of technology and particularly social media has made it possible to teenagers to exchange explicit content smartphones via their smartphones.

Social media dominates internet consumption (90%) of majority of young people in the country.

Popular social media platforms that teenagers in Kenya are using is Whatsapp, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram.