Looking at the behaviour of our youth, it is safe to say that It will take a long time before young people realise the seriousness of this HIV/AIDS issue. For some weird reason, the youth believe that they are invincible and "it won't happen to them". There are still a lot of stereo types and that will prevent us from reaching our goal of having an H.I.V free generation.
Alcohol seems to be one of the leading causes of the spread of H.I.V, when under the influence, a lot of young people in parties engage in unprotected sex and most of the time it's with poeple they just met. The morning after, all they worry is about is morning after pills which only prevent pregnancy and not AIDS. There's a team of young people who are currently doing research on this topic, and have confirmed thus far that after the unprotected sex, most of these young people don't go for testing due to fear of the outcome.
The music and the things they are exposed to may have a lot to do with their behaviour, take for example the new Snoop Dog song; "Living Young And Wild And Free" it is such songs that lead to the reckless behaviour which leads to them being at risk of getting infected with AIDS.
Even though most of the people believe the topic on AIDS is overrated, we need to adress it as it affects all of us in a way. The research continues and the question remains; Is an HIV free Generation possible?...
beautifufz, i think as it stands south africa is fighting a loosing battle until our calture our society through our music, education systems and political systems change and make a concious effort to condition the youth to think critically about their lives the future and what legacy they want to leave behind then we are waisting our breath
ReplyDeleteI think South African will never be a HIV free generations, because we the youth are more afraid of getting pregnant than getting HIV. Even when we leave our homes to go to parties with our friends our parents would say, don’t impregnate a girl to the boys and to girls say that don’t come back with a baby. And nowadays a mothers advice to her daughter is go to the clinic and get prevention pills.
ReplyDeletei dont think that songs should influence how we behave as the youth.most of the youth like saying that HIV is just a desease that everyone has so why worry about it, so much has be done to make people understand why we need to proctect ourselves but we are just ignorent.
ReplyDelete@Phemelo, I am with you on that one.@ Nyiko, I get what you are saying but never is a long time we can't really say that. like Phemelo said, it is up to us as a society to stop being ignorant and making excuses and make a change. @Nokuthula, you would be suprised how the media has an effect on people especially the youth. not everyone is strong willed, some people are followers and just go with the flow.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think an HIV-free generation is possible but as much as we shud stand united as a team, it all starts with the individual. How many years have we been drinking alcohol? Ok and in all those years of drinking, what rewards have we reaped from our drunken states? Uhmmm ya I'm also still on zero. I think we can all agree that we make more informed decisions when we are sober more than drunk. So if the individual stops drinking, they will make informed decisions ALL the time. Now would you have sex at a party when you're sober? Lol neva. Ul insist on a more private place. If ur partner doesn't have a condom ul insist that he hustles one simply because ur fully aware of the consequences. Let's all try by all means to stay sober minded and c if that doesn't for us.
ReplyDeleteThulz I agree with you on that. I think it all starts with an individual deciding to take responsibilty for their lives. Alcohol must not control us, we need to practice responsible drinking or not drink at all if it's going tp make us lose ourselves in the process.
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