Media Communication: In conversation with Dr Khutso Mabokela
Written by Ubusha bami
July, 19, 2023
Hello, hello, Parents of Ubusha. Welcome to the dual podcast-article series in which we have a sit down with experts on sexual and reproductive health. In this series our experts share reliable, accurate and scientifically-based information in an easy to understand way so you can support your adolescent on their journey to good choices about their health.
In this episode we speak to Dr. Khutso Mabokela who holds a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Limpopo. Dr. Mabokela currently at the University of Venda, has a long history in journalism and media studies, having been part of news reporting teams for numerous publications and future journalist programs. In 2013 she co-founded VikeMap Communications, and has spent her career in various positions including public relations, marketing and radio broadcasting, and of course academia.
We would like to thank Dr. Mabokela for generously sharing insights on adolescents and their use of media. We hope parents, guardians and community members listening are now better equipped to support them through this crazy thing called life.
Do enjoy.
16 Things to know
- Communication happens verbally and non-verbally.
- Communication is the conveying of a message.
- Media (plural for medium) is the platform through which communication happens.
- Digital media are social media and platforms, anything that is a way to spread communication digitally.
- Adolescents prefer digital media.
- Social media has a huge appeal to adolescents because it gives them a sense of belonging in a global world, makes them feel like they are or can be fitting in, can negotiate a sense of identity and, peer-affirmation, both of which are very important to adolescents in this developmental stage.
- The use of social media is part of the socialization of teens, however this must be done safely and responsibly.
- Parents need to monitor social media use of adolescents as they can be influenced by peers and people they look up to online – Google has great parental control functions.
- Cyber bullying and sexual exploitation occur online – more proactive parenting towards monitoring.
- Create open lines of communication with your child to talk about what they do online and raise their awareness of using social media carefully to protect privacy.
- Encourage teens to read and do more things offline as spending too much time online has adverse effects on their health.
- Be mindful that children do as you do, not as you say – so be mindful of your own use of social media.
- Sexual and reproductive health may be content online however may come as misinformation – it is important to encourage fact-checking. Cross-checking what is learnt online with health experts at health care services is important.
- Sexual grooming can occur online – be vigilant for this criminal offence.
- Keep personal identifying information offline – do not disclose where you live, what school your child goes to etc.
- It is a myth that everyone will trend or blow up by being online – a very small fraction of content creators become big.
*This dialogue is based on the transcript of the interview with Dr. Khutso Mabokela conducted on July, 2023. The text has been edited and adapted according to length specifications, for increased readability and coherence from the original audio-visual recording. The full audio recording is available on the Ubusha Bami podcast, available on all streaming networks.
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- Image – https://pin.it/SLj9Yo1