Webboh Lab, the first permanent observatory on Gen Z stemming from an encounter between Webboh and the Sylla research institute, has partnered with Farmitalia to conduct a survey via an online smart poll involving 500 young Italians aged between 14 and 17. The results provide a picture of the perceptions, knowledge and doubts of younger generations regarding sexuality and contraception in Italy.

The results show how the very young face a lot of exposure to these issues, which is also attributed to the numerous information channels available, and how they would like to experience sex education in general, that is, with fewer taboos and more clarity.

How Gen Z stays informed

The details of the data collected by Webboh Lab show that the sources most consulted by respondents are friends (53.4%) and social media (46%), followed by school (43.2%) and the Internet (40.4%). The family is in fifth place with 27.6%, while doctors and advice centres are mentioned by only 5.6% of young people.

Sex education at school

 Sex education at school is considered a key issue by the very young. They would like it to be addressed more, with particular emphasis on certain aspects:

• sexually transmitted diseases (importance score: 8.47/10);
• relationships, affection and partner consent (score: 8.40/10);
• contraceptive methods (score: 7.81/10);
• anatomy of the human body (score: 7.78/10).

Gen Z’s suggetions for better information

The Webboh Lab smart pool also showed that the way in which this issue is dealt with could be improved through various initiatives. Besides more school involvement (score 8.36/10), the main activities identified by respondents were:

• counselling services (score 7.87/10);
• discussions with adults (score 7.59/10);
• access to reliable online resources (score 7.49/10).

Contraceptive methods

The survey also highlighted condoms as the most popular method of contraception among Gen Z (98.2%), followed by the pill (88.4%). Much more limited knowledge is found, however, for IUDs (49.3%) and coitus interruptus (17%).

Emergency contraception: the concept of emergency contraception is familiar to 44.2% of young people. More specifically,86% know about the morning-after pill, while only 41.8% know about the five-day-after pill. The main sources of information for emergency contraception include:

• Internet (25.1%);
• social media (24.4%);
• school (15.6%):
• friends (12.4%):
• family (6.9%).

Furthermore, 23.9% of young respondents admitted to knowing someone who had used the morning-after pill, while only 8.3% knew someone who had used the five-day-after pill.

The research shows a clear need for a more integrated approach to sex education involving not only schools, but also counselling services and families.

Webboh Lab, which came about after a meeting between Webboh (4 million followers on social media) and the Sylla research institute, directed by Furio Camillo, is the first permanent observatory on Gen Z. Webboh Labs is committed to hearing the voice of the younger generation, investigating and exploring their issues and bringing them to the table of people making decisions for them, the adults of tomorrow.

Webboh is the flagship media for Gen Z. Created in April 2019, it has been part of Mondadori Media since February 2023. It currently has a fanbase of 4.5 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp, 70% of which are under 24. The website receives 3 million unique monthly users (source: Audiweb last quarter 2024). It is in the top ten most influential Italian media companies on social media, as well as the first targeting Gen Z for engagement and video views (source: Italian Top Media Rankings for First Communication made by Sensemakers). The topicality, authenticity and interest generated by the content is guaranteed by a bottom-up editorial model: the community is involved in every part of the creative process.