I presume that by now you would have had already read our feature on Social Media Marketing. Interestingly, while researching about that article, a new SMM venture caught our fancy. This endeavor is by the makers of the upcoming movie Udaan. Udaan runs promotional channels on twitter and facebook. The moviemakers via these channels had run an online survey to gauge the thinking of teenage Indians on an array of themes – some quite normal, and some taboo. As expected, we got swayed in a totally different direction than social media marketing. We were glued to the teenage pangs in India. The survey findings did surprise us, well, not exactly stunned, but made us curious nonetheless. What follows is something that we never bothered knowing about initially, yet still.
While the team behind the survey has not formally announced all the results, the closest we could get was this article in The Times of India. Most of the findings have been derived from the article itself and some twitpics by the Udaan team.
- 20% teens have watched porn before they reached 13;
- By the time they reach 16, 50% teens have already watched porn;
- About 50% of teens have kissed someone of the opposite sex;
- One in five teens have got intimate in the school/college loo;
- 9 out of 10 teens think premarital sex is fine.
Find it plausible? At least in our opinion, it is.
Sounds Blasphemous? I am from the era that only saw sex over the phone in teenage, but still, what the heck. 
Contraception & Abortion – The Double Whammy
There is a dangerous precedent setting up, and may have long term implications. One of the findings that made us go queasy was that almost half of all teenage girls would prefer to abort without letting their families know. [Fig. 1] Mind it, it does not mean that half the girls are getting pregnant. It’s just a mindset. However, just about 3 years ago a survey Indian Adolescents – Changing Sexual Behavior, claimed that a third of all abortions in India took place among unmarried teenage girls. Moreover the survey claimed that teenage pregnancy has doubled between 2002 and 2007. These facts coupled with another independent finding – The Growing use of Emergency Contraceptives – puts across a precarious scenario about the female sexual health in the country. These findings only embolden the claims about poor knowledge among teenagers about (1) safe sex practices; and (2) long term side-effects of reckless use of emergency contraceptives. While pontificating about morals is not our prerogative, nor do we have the right to preach, yet still knowing the facts always helps.
Likelihood of Teenage Girls Aborting Without Letting the Family Know
Policy & Business Scenario of Emergency Contraceptives Segment
Did you know, almost throughout 2009, there was a talk in the Union Ministry of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that emergency contraceptive pills would be taken off the Over-The-Counter list (OTC) of medicines. Over the Counter medicines do not require a doctor’s prescription to be sold. By November 2009, the drugs technical advisory board decided otherwise. Over the Counter drugs market in India has been estimated to range about USD 1.8 billion in 2010. Of which, Emergency Contraceptive Pills segment is worth Rs 100 crore. Surprisingly, emergency contraceptive segment has grown by more than 250 percent since 2008. According to the National Family Health Survey, conducted in 2005-06, only 6 out of 100 women used emergency contraceptive pills. However, presently it is one among the fastest growing segments under the OTC category.
Side Effects of Emergency Contraceptives
Most ECs contain a basic ingredient called levonorgestrel, which, though safe, can cause several side-effects. Mindless use of ECs is resulting in problems ranging from dizziness and nausea to diarrhoea and headache. In some cases women have reported increased menstrual bleeding, vaginal haemorrhage, abdominal pain, as well as ectopic pregnancy (extremely risky pregnancy outside uterine cavity). Moreover, any emergency contraceptive pill is likely to be 95 per cent effective only if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse, 85 per cent within 25-48 hours, and only 58 per cent effective if taken after 49 hours.
Summing Up
Now that you know, realise that ECs are only an SOS method to deal with the crisis, it cannot be a staple method to contraception. Find anything remiss, let me know in comments.
Top Image Source: I Dont Want To Be Pregnant ! by Nazli. G
~by Nitin Srivastava
Nitin espouses to be a libertarian, he loves to read & learn about anything (make that everything). He has a keen sense of observation, and can tell about the guns in ladies' purses by just looking at their heels. Do you get the drift? Follow Nitin on Twitter
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