Online Sexuality Education on YouTube: Analysis of Status Quo and Practical Recommendations for Sexual Pedagogy

摘要

Young people in Germany increasingly prefer sexuality education on the internet rather than seeking it out in other media, or asking the trusted people around them. Online sexuality education often takes place on the video platform YouTube, as it is the most popular website besides Google. This raises the question of how sexuality education on YouTube is to be evaluated from the perspective of sexuality pedagogy. Based on relevant scientific literature and an examination of YouTube content, this work seeks to explain: 1) who offers German-language YouTube channels dealing with sexuality education; 2) the topics and quality of sexuality education web-videos and 3) what is known about the users, usage patterns and effects of such videos. For the first time, more than 30 such YouTube channels have been identified and described. It turns out that professional sex educators only play a marginal role in the ever-growing field of online sexuality education on YouTube. This paper discusses how YouTube can be better incorporated into research and practice, as well as in public relations and professional training in sexual pedagogy. A contemporary and professional sexuality education needs to keep up with the progression of the digital age. Otherwise, it runs the risk of losing contact with its target groups and of leaving the power to define sexual health and sexuality education in the hands of those who are already using digital media, including YouTube, to their own specific strategic and ideological ends. YouTube and other social media clearly are neither a cure-all nor a substitute for traditional communication channels and educational settings, but they can represent a useful complement.