Exploring the intersection of young men's mobile-internet use, gender attitudes and intimate relationship dynamics: A mixed-methods study

Document Type

Chapter

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

Young people’s reliance on telephones and the internet for interpersonal communication is increasingly common, including in Southern Africa. Their role in young people’s sexual health and intimate relationships is poorly understood. This chapter analyses data from surveys with 1,010 men from Eswatini ages 18–34 and 884 men from South Africa ages 20–40, plus 64 in-depth interviews (n = 40 in Eswatini, 24 in South Africa). Three-quarters of respondents owned a smartphone and commonly used WhatsApp and Facebook. A sizable minority of men held inequitable gender attitudes as measured by the GEM Scale (e.g., ‘I want to know where my partner is at all times.’) One quarter of respondents in both countries agreed that ‘I use mobile phones to help me keep control of my partner’s behaviour.’ At the same time, about one-quarter reported mobile-internet use for finding information about a health topic. In multivariate analyses, mobile-internet use to control relationships was associated with more inequitable gender attitudes and poorer couple communication. In qualitative interviews, men mainly described mobile-internet use as leading to distrust and jealousy. Overall, mobile-internet use influenced sexual health and relationship dynamics in both positive and negative ways. This is a critical area for future research.

DOI

10.4324/9781003468394-8

Language

English

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS