IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 19, Issue 11, Ver. VI (Nov. 2014), PP 01-07 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 1 | Page Prevalence and Factors contributing to Pornography viewing among Male Students in selected Universities in Kenya. Ann Wamathai 1 , Merecia A. M Sirera 2 , Margaret Mwenje 3 1 ( Department of psychology: Kenyatta University, Kenya) 2( Department of psychology: Kenyatta University Kenya) 3( Department of psychology: Karatina University Kenya) Abstract: Pornography viewing afforded through advanced technology has become a widespread social phenomenon globally and has contributed to changing the terrain of human sexuality in both positive and negative ways. Technology in form of computers and internet has made the availability of pornography faster and easier than ever before. However, the media provides unfiltered sexual explicit materials which when coupled with the loose regulatory mechanisms may expose university students to pornography. This paper explores the prevalence and factors contributing to viewing of pornography among male students in selected universities in Kenya. The Social Learning Theory was used to inform this study. The study adopted a descriptive research design employing a mixed method approach in data collection. Proportionate, random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 487students from public (270) and private (217) universities and four students’ counselor in Kenya. Research data was collected using a questionnaire and a structured interview guide. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistic, while the qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The findings of the study revealed that 93% of the respondents had been exposed to some forms of Sexually Explicit Materials (SEM) and 16.7 % were highly exposed. The highest age in which participants were first exposed to porn viewing at 62% was between 13 to 18 years. The findings of the study revealed that the students are exposed to pornographic images found in various sources; magazines, videos, televisions, computers and internet. Forty eight percent (48%) of the respondents indicated that they use pornography to satisfy their curiosity, 43% to seek for sexuality knowledge and information and 43% for entertainment purposes. The study recommends for provision of age appropriate sexuality information and education at all educational levels, public and media forums. Strong policy guidelines and programs to control and regulate pornography use should be put in place for the betterment of humanity. Key words: Sexuality, Media, Pornography, Sexually explicit materials I. Introduction Pornography viewing in Kenya, just like elsewhere in the world is becoming widespread due to its availability and affordability of porn materials (Communication Commission of Kenya, (CCK,) 2004). Pornographic materials are easily accessible and available on the internet, television, videos and print materials. According to the CCK (2013) the number of internet users in Kenya stood at 21.2 million by December 2013; representing a 52.3 percent of the population. There is therefore, a possibility that increase in unregulated internet would lead to a relative increase in unlimited exposure to pornography more so to the young people. The world has become a highly sexualized cultural environment (APA, 2007) and the frequency and explicitness of sexual content in mainstream media has increased steadily (Straus, 2004). Use of pornography is becoming increasingly common in today‟s society, particularly on the internet (Hald and Malamuth, 2008). This has been attributed to the theory entitled, Triple- A Engine: Affordability, Anonymity and Accessibility as advanced by Cooper, Delmonico and Burg, (2000). Pornography is affordable due to widespread competition from distributors as well as increasing chances of free supply. Viewers can use pornography in the privacy of their homes; hence, it is anonymous (Carroll et al., 2008). Pornography is also widely accessible (millions of sites with sexual explicit content are available 24 hours a day; 7 days a week), from a number of sources: books, adult magazines, videos, internet and airing of sexually explicit movies on cable television (Kerby, 2009). The easy access to porn material exposes all those that are interested in viewing to unfiltered porn material irrespective of their age. In traditional Kenyan society, the topic of sexuality was handled at an appropriate stage by the elders, grandparents, aunts and uncles. There were cultural activities that catered for the education of both boys and girls on sexual matters, for example, during initiation (Mbiti, 1991). This form of sex education helped to prepare the young people for their adult life. However, in the contemporary society, the traditional methods of sex education are not available and the traditional roles of the society, grandparents, aunts and uncles as educators on sexuality issues are limited. This can be attributed to rural-urban migration of many families