Swipe for Sex Education: Young People's Social Media Practices in Understanding Sexual Education and Gender Knowledge Online

Formal and family-based sexual education in Indonesia remains narrow and uneven, pushing young people to learn via social media. This study examines how Indonesian youth assemble sexual education and gender knowledge online. We used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design in quantitative and qualitative methods. A cross-sectional survey of 127 youth (18–25 years) mapped exposure, platforms, discovery modes, appraisal, engagement, and perceived impacts of sex-ed content. Findings informed three focus-group discussions (FGDs; 6–8 participants each) exploring credibility work, stigma/privacy management, and algorithmic frictions. Descriptive statistics summarized survey indicators and reflexive thematic analysis explained mechanisms. The result showed that TikTok and Instagram dominated discovery via For You Page (FYP) or Explore and targeted search. Participants valued clarity and creator transparency but noted uneven inclusivity and variable accuracy. Engagement skewed to low-friction actions and small-circle discussion, reflecting privacy and stigma concerns. Reported outcomes included knowledge gains (e.g., consent, services), increased refusal confidence, and greater help-seeking. Qualitative vignettes showed translation to offline conversations and micro-interventions. For the discussion, treating social media as practice clarifies how content quality, peer micro-contexts, and algorithmic visibility jointly shape learning. Strengthening dialogic basics at school or home, raising creator transparency and inclusive design, and recognizing sex-ed as public-interest content can convert fragmented scrolling into safer, structured learning.