Joy of text spells huge fall in Shropshire teenage pregnancies
Pregnancy rates among under 18s in Shropshire have more than halved since records began – because teenagers are too busy chatting online.
Experts today said relationships through social media are replacing physical relationships.
In 1998, when the Office for National Statistics first started compiling conception data by local authority, the pregnancy rate for young women aged between 15 and 17 in Telford & Wrekin was 64 per 1,000 .
In the 12 months up to June 2017, the period covered by the latest statistics, that figure more than halved to 19 per 1,000.
There was a similar fall in the rest of Shropshire, down from 34 per 1,000 to 15 per 1,000.
Numerous local authorities saw under-18 pregnancy rates reach record lows. Across England the rate dropped to 18 per 1,000 girls, also a record low.
Experts say the dramatic fall has happened because teenagers who in the past would meet up are instead talking online.
Katherine O’Brien of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said cultural changes among young people, which also include drinking less, had caused under-18 pregnancy rates to plummet.
She said: “Under-18 conception rates in Telford have been falling dramatically, particularly over the last decade, and they currently stand at record lows.
Generation
“Improvements in contraception and better sex education undoubtedly play a role, however we believe some societal shifts are also important factors.
“This is a generation who focus on their academic work much more, they are less likely to go out binge drinking and get involved in activities which can lead to sex.
“They are spending more and more time socialising online, and less time in person with their partners.”
A Bpas report found that social, romantic and sexual relationships are increasingly experienced online, and sexting is seen as an alternative.
In total, 60 young women under 18 became pregnant in Telford & Wrekin in the 12 months to June 2017. In the Shropshire Council area, 79 fell pregnant.
The under-18 conception rate is below the average for the West Midlands, which is 21 per 1,000 young women.
Ms O’Brien said that given cuts to sexual health services, pregnancy rates might have been expected to rise.
“Contraception services have been closing down or reducing their opening hours,” she explained. “The sex education curriculum is not fit for purpose and a lot of youngsters are not getting the information about sex they need.
“This is why we think these life and societal factors have brought down the conception rate.”
