DOCTORS at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC)-Department of Pediatrics said that social media has contributed to the surge of teenage pregnancy rate in the country.
Dr. Mike Manalaysay, a pediatrician, believes that with the onset of technological innovation, it is one of the factors that affects the change of psychological behavior of adolescents who are mostly engaged in social media activities every day.
Teenage pregnancy pertains to pregnancy of a woman whose aged is less than 19 years old.
Social networking sites, according to him, offer many kinds of information and provide easier access to different kinds of people.
"The social media open up a lot of doors especially for very young kids and then they're opening so many things in the internet and cable TV that are not well supervised in terms of parental guidance," he added.
According to wearesocial.com as of January 2016, the digital statistics of Philippine is 47 percent, these are those active social media users while 40 percent are active mobile social users. Facebook is the most active social media platform with 26 percent followed by Facebook Messenger with 23 percent, Twitter with 13 percent, and Instagram with 12 percent.
"Most times, parents are not at home. Who would be guiding these kids watching cable programs or any social media," Manalaysay said, citing that the absence of parental guidance had led most teens, who are considered vulnerable to many things, to experience the negative implication of social media, which is the early pregnancy.
Although, research has shown that digitally savvy youngsters benefit from social medial by enhancing their communication, social connection, and even technical skills, pediatricians recommend that limitations be observed and that they sift the information they get from the internet.
On one hand, the Commission on Population said the numbers of teenage pregnancy are alarming. These findings can be attributed in part to the fact that 44 percent of female youth from Davao Region have sexual experience adding a "38 percent have engaged in pre-marital sex, a giant leap from only 15 percent in 2002".
The 17 percent of young girls aged 15 to 19 are already child-bearing.
"Whenever you see things every day, we call this the subliminal effect. When they see advertisements even if they don't need the car, you bound to buy a car. If you don't need a new pair of shoes, you will be bound to buy it," Manalaysay explained, which means that whatever they see on internet becomes normal, thus, there is a general tendency that teenagers would apply it to themselves whatever they encounter on social media.
Manalaysay was also appalled that even at the age of two years old, kids are already playing their mobile phones.
"It's something extraordinary but it may not be very healthy for kids growing up in this manner, so censorship is very important," he said.
At the SPMC Teen Center, almost every day, they received three cases of teenage pregnancy. The youngest patient they accommodated is as young as 11 years old and is already bearing a child.
"That’s why we recognize the ongoing problem and the Teens Center was conceded by the DOH to set up in various regions," he said.
SPMC-DP already collaborated with all the stakeholders and the local government of Davao City to address the concern to different villages and intensify their awareness campaign.