Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - August 22, 2009
Claire Keeton
MXit, the mobile social networking system popular among 16-to 29-year-olds, asked members about HIV, marriage, contraception and the government's role in sexual health.
About 20000 South African users answered the question "do you go for regular HIV tests", with nearly 7000 claiming they were tested at least once a year.
Just over 6000 members chose the response: "I don't believe I'm at risk."
Commenting on the results of the survey, Dr Olive Shisana, CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council, said: "Not believing that they are at risk is quite common ... in fact, in the last survey we did, about 50% of the people infected thought they were not at risk of HIV!"
The MXit survey seemed to confirm the latest HSRC findings that condom use had increased dramatically.
According to the council's 2008 research, 87% of young men aged 15 to 24 had used condoms when they'd last had sex, and 73% of women in this age group said condoms had been used during their most recent sexual encounter.
Of the 14000 MXit users who answered a question on whether they used contraceptives to prevent pregnancy, about two- thirds - just over 9000 - said they did.
But according to South Africa's largest youth-targeted HIV/Aids campaign, LoveLife, one in three girls have children by the age of 20.
Shisana said: "The majority do not use contraceptives - 57% of young people (teenagers) never used a contraceptive."
About half of 20000 respondents criticised the government's failure to educate and protect youths when it came to their sexual and reproductive rights - and a further 5000 said they had no idea what their government was doing on these issues.
The MXit survey elicited 220000 responses from countries around the world.
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