INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES ON MALE GENDERS ATTITUDE TOWARDS TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Teenage pregnancy is a pressing public health issue impacting education, economic stability, and adolescent well-being. Most interventions have targeted girls, living a significant gap on male gender roles. This studyinvestigated male adolescents’ attitude to teenage pregnancy, with a view to examining how social mediamessages influence attitudes, identifying the types of messages encountered, evaluating the impact of messageson male students’ sense of responsibility, and analysing cultural norms and peer influence that shape socialmedia message interpretation. Descriptive design was adopted, targeting 35,000 male students across Ogun State. Using multistage sampling, 200 respondents were drawn from six schools in three Local Government Areas. Data were collected using structured questionnaires covering demographics, message exposure, attitudes, and x peer/cultural influences. Content validity was ensured through expert review, while reliability testing yieldeda Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.82. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a decision mean of 3.0, withtheaid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). There was high exposure to content on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube; short-form videos were the most engaging. Respondents agreed that such content increasedawareness of consequences, promoted shared responsibility, and encouraged better relationship choices. However, peer and cultural influences strongly shaped interpretation, sometimes contradicting preventive messages. Socialmedia effectively influence male adolescents’ attitudes towards teenage pregnancy, though its impactismoderated by peer and cultural factors