Features

When Mark Zuckerberg and his friends first toyed with the idea of Facebook in 2004, young people today were just kids. Now, these kids comprised the 15-24 age group and appear to be the biggest consumers of information technology developed by young people their age a decade ago. This is one of the findings released today by the Demographic Research and Development Foundation (DRDF) and the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI).

Despite years of information campaigns on the risks of sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy from unprotected sex, majority of today’s young people had their first premarital sex experience without the use of condom or any other form of contraception to protect from pregnancy or sexually-transmitted disease.

Thirty two percent of young Filipinos aged 15-24 had engaged in sex before marriage, up from 23 percent reported a decade ago. This finding came from the 2013 Young Adult Fertility Study (YAFS 4).

The new survey offers a comprehensive look at the sexuality, fertility and reproductive health behaviors of contemporary young adults in the Philippines. This is the fourth in a series of nationwide surveys on the topic conducted by the Demographic Research & Development Foundation and the University of the Philippines Population Institute.