Source preferences and the displacement/supplement effect between Internet and traditional sources of sexually transmitted disease and HIV/AIDS information

Abstract

This investigation examines the source preferences and the displacement/supplement effect of traditional and new channel usage as Taiwanese college students search for information about sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS from the Internet. The study involved 535 junior and senior college students from four universities. Analytical results reveal that respondents rely mainly on information about sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS from television sources, followed by newspapers, the Internet, teachers, magazines, friends, physicians, radio sources and parents. Regression analyses show that, after adjusting for the influence of other information sources, obtaining information from the Internet significantly and positively predicts respondents' seeking information from teachers, friends, television, newspapers and magazines. In contrast, obtaining information from the Internet negatively and significantly predicts obtaining information from the radio. However, this investigation does not find statistically significant relationships between using the Internet and obtaining information from physicians or parents.