Sylvia wants sex education via phone

Sylvia wants sex education via phone

P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Sylvia Kurniawati Ngonde is part of the small minority that do
not own a cell phone. But, her natural curiosity led her to
question the popularity of the device among teenagers.

Barely half-an-hour passed without a ring-tone penetrating the
air, the recipient gazing at their tiny screen, and the earnest
patter of fingers as the message was returned.

"Even though I don't own any cell phone, this didn't stop me
from studying its role in our lives," she said.

Her research uncovered that over 25 percent of teenagers
exchange sexual commentary or even pornographic images via their
cell phones.

Sexual Communication Behavior Among Teenagers Through Short
Message Service (SMS) and the Multimedia Message Service (MMS) is
the title of the research paper she presented as a finalist of
the Young Researcher's Award 2003, held by Indonesian Institute
of Science (LIPI) on Dec. 18.

Born in Surabaya 33 years ago, Sylvia had studied to be an
anthropologist, but despite her chosen field, she ended up
working as a lecturer and a researcher with the faculty of
psychology at the Catholic University, Widya Mandala in Surabaya.

After obtaining her bachelor degree in anthropology in 1993,
at Airlangga University in Surabaya, she went on to complete a
masters degree in the same subject, from the University of
Indonesia, in Jakarta in 1998.

As a lecturer in multicultural psychology and environmental
psychology, Sylvia faced great challenges in adapting from her
previous study to that of the science of psychology. But as she
told The Jakarta Post, on the sidelines of the Young Researcher's
Awards here, "Unraveling a problem is my passion".

Although Sylvia's team did not win an award, she said she was
appreciative of the opportunity to present her research to such
"highly competent people in their fields."

Along with the rapid progression in technology, many cell
phone producers have supported their products with technology
that enables people to send and receive texts and pictures
through short-message-service (SMS) and multi-media-service
(MMS).

With a maximum capacity of 50 kilo bytes, anyone can send
texts, pictures, even sounds through their cell phone, unlimited
by space and time.

Cheap, real time information exchanges have made SMS and MMS a
favorite means of communication among teenagers.

According to Sylvia, part of this popularity is tied to
teenager's curiosity about sex, considering the hormonal leaps
they are experiencing.

Sylvia also notes that teenagers have the tendency to satisfy
their curiosity, and that this often plunges them into unsafe
sex, which they are not physically or psychologically prepared
for.

She regrets that many parents do not keep up with this
technology.

"They should at least know how to send SMS's or MMS's and
(understand) what they are all about. If not, they cannot guide
their children to use the technology properly."

She added that parents should also provide proper information
about sex to their children, so that they would not gather
information from inappropriate sources.

Speaking about the use of cell phones as an information tool,
Sylvia said that "We must provide them with the proper and right
information about sex, not just naked pictures or the exchange of
indecent messages which it seems is prevalent."

Through her research, Sylvia arrived at an alternative way to
provide teenagers with accurate information on sex via media,
like cell phones.

She first noticed the trend to send sexual messages via cell
phones, in Indonesia, in 2002.

According to Sylvia, the good news is that the widespread use
of cellular phones illustrates technological progress. But this
technology can also pose a threat, if is used to convey
information that is inaccurate or even dangerous.

"We already have the concept and the materials for sex
education for teenagers, and now we plan to offer this concept to
telecommunication provider companies," said Sylvia.

Through this collaboration with provider companies, teenagers
can access a program through their cell phones, which provides
them with appropriate information on sex.

Sylvia is now preparing two working papers on productivity
among urban people and the effect of cell phone technology on
mental health.

Both of these papers will be presented at the ninth National
Congress of the Association of Indonesian Psychologists in
Surabaya on Jan. 15.

Other scientific studies she has worked on concerning
teenagers are Empowering the Role of Parents in the Reproductive
Health of Teenagers in East Java, and Communication Patterns With
SMS and MMS as a Trend in the Conduct of Modern Teenagers, which
was presented at the eighth European Congress of Psychology in
Vienna.