Guess what Sherlock? The kids don’t want to chat to Mum and Pops or their teacher about why Jenny from Math class makes them feel funny down there, they’d rather ask Google. Yes, the sterile but ever so learned mastermind of a search engine has replaced real life awkward chats for the place where most Australian teenagers learn about sex, according to a survey by condom maker Durex.
Since the internet has made everything from trips to the Doctor to actual conversation close to redundant it was only a matter of time before sex education followed suit. Still, since it’s near impossible to regulate the results of a Google search this has lead to confusion and a lack of sexual preparation and understanding in many cases.
“Is it possible to grow three breasts?” “Does sperm get diarrhoea?” and “Can balloons be substituted for condoms?” were amongst anonymous questions submitted by a group of 10-14 year olds to a provider of sex ed in NSW recently. If these questions were more than an attempt to embarrass the poor soul who had to answer them, something has gone very wrong between the cabbage patch baby story and putting a condom on a banana in classrooms across the state.
With the Channel 10 remake of Puberty Blues set to be air next month, we’re hoping some of these questions will be addressed for a new generation.
Words by Tara Kenny.
