THE EFFECT OF RADIO PROGRAMMES ON TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

            It has been discovered from findings of this study that radio programmes play an inevitable and indispensable roles towards reducing the spread of teenage pregnancy in rural communities.

            In the course of this study, survey research method was used to elicit information surrounding the views of the sampled population of the subjects. It has been discovered that Radio station, Government and Non-governmental organizations have helped in reducing the spread of teenage pregnancy in Lanlate community. They have been able to do this through transmission of some educative, instructive and informative programmes about the risk or danger associated with teenage pregnancy.

            Programmes like “Labe Igi” features on BCOS FM and “Abule olokemerin” features on Major FM stations in south West.

1.1                 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The right way to deal with a problem is to first understand and analyze the issue involved.

In the same vain, in our attempt to propose effects of radio programmes on a particular social decadence relative to teenage pregnancy in rural communities. It is then becoming imperative to look into media so as to know their function and effectiveness on teenager in rural communities.

 According to S. Adedokun, the traditional function of mass media (Radio) is to Inform, Educate, and Entertain the masses, later Dennis magnet added few other functions of media [Radio}, surveillance of environment, molding of people’s opinion, correlation and co-ordination of facts among others. He further argued the word “surveillance “means keeping close watch over someone or something, in the context, mass media is to inform, provide information to the society and keep watch on the activities of government and also connect uncomplimentary occurrences.

Lasswell {1948} a school of communication and profession of law and tale noted three functions of the mass media as surveillance of the environment, the correlation of the parts of society in responding to the environment and the transmission of the society heritage from one generation to the other.

                 In other to fulfill those traditional and contemporary functions, media stations or houses have to engage in many impacting and inspiring programmes which their concept must be able to serve the three traditional functions and others added by Dennis and LassWell. But, it’s a pity that some programmes which the media transmit have little or no impact on the people in the rural communities [Lanlate] it is known to be fact that radio programmes which create audio effectiveness to rural dwellers [Lanlate] has a particular influence on the attitudes and behavior of the people residing in the community [Lanlate} are traceable to the media especially radio likewise people are exposed to various social vices in every media.

                 So, based on the above review, it is motivating that the media [Radio] through their programmes have the tending in one other to exert influences on the audience.

                 The way which audience decodes radio programmes have little or no impact on their [people’s] attitude. It has been observed that many teenagers in Lanlate community are not adequately exposed and well informed about the danger associated with teenage pregnancy.

                 The purpose of the study is to find out the effect and impact of radio programmes on teenage pregnancy in rural community [Lanlate].