HIV and AIDS Forum - Are the youth of today naive to the risks of HIV/AIDS?

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Q: Are the youth of today naive to the risks of HIV/AIDS?

asked by: cookiebaby on February 17th, 2009

New User

Hey, I'm Laura and I'm 17. This year I am doing my HSC and as a requirement for Community and Family Studies (CAFS) course, each student must conduct an IRP (independent research task).

My chosen research question is "Are the youth of today naive to the risks of the HIV/AIDS infection?"

So in order to prove my question either true or false, I need a range of both primary and secondary information. Basically people's opinions and thoughts will play a major role in the first hand research. Which brings me to why I'm here...

Please feel free to voice your opinions and discuss your thoughts regarding my question, but please state your age (or if you'd prefer, just state child/teenager/young adult/middle aged so i can make the distinction) and so any patterns in opinions and thoughts can be identified.

If anyone is interested in completing an anonymous survey on the topic please contact me. I understand privacy and other ethical issues are a major factor and I'd be happy to discuss any concerns you may have Smile

Thanks for taking the time to read this and as I said earlier, please contact me if you're interested.

Do the youth understand the dangers of HIV?
Are they oblivious to the effects?
Are the required precautions being taken?
Is sufficient education on HIV/AIDS being provided?

Discuss away!

Replies(2)

homerx

replied on February 17th, 2009

Moderator

Re: Are the youth of today naive to the risks of HIV/AIDS?

cookiebaby wrote:

Do the youth understand the dangers of HIV?
Are they oblivious to the effects?
Are the required precautions being taken?
Is sufficient education on HIV/AIDS being provided?

I am48 and have been HIV for 7 years that i know of but I think I really have been positive for about 15 to 20 years..I just never got ill till 2001.
Do the youth understand the dangers of HIV? not really.When U R young you think you are invincible and think you R going to live forever.That is why,statistically speaking,young people are 85% of all new infections.
Are they oblivious to the effects?yes,for the most part.Since it is mostly an unseen disease until it gets to the AIDS stage,it seems like it is not a big deal and people who don't know you have it are oblivious..
Are the required precautions being taken?That is an individuals choice but considering all the new cases every year and the fact that it is still growing among young people in particular I would say no.
Is sufficient education on HIV/AIDS being provided?Unfortunately,the religious right and republicans and old school "virginity rules" and 'just say no"people don't want it discussed in school and don't want sex or condoms being discussed..its unfortunate because ignorance kills.

deteragram

replied on February 19th, 2009

Supporter

I don't think it's a problem of education. I think teens are probably more knowledgeable about AIDS and HIV than most adults. I think the fear of AIDS and HIV is gone. HIV diagnosis is no longer the death sentence that it used to be. People like Magic Johnson have shown that a person can live a long and productive life with HIV. I think most teens view HIV as any other STD; they think that medication will prevent it from developing into AIDS and they can live normal lives.
But teens aren't the only ones. I think society, in general, has changed its attitude toward HIV and AIDS. 'Swinging' is back in style and, with a resurgence of sexual activity among senior citizens, their STD rate is rising.

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