Netflix Influence on Malaysian Young Adults' Attitude of Sexual Openness

Lee, Wei Xin (2022) Netflix Influence on Malaysian Young Adults' Attitude of Sexual Openness. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Over the years, sexual content has seen a drastic increase in media. Studies reveal that increased exposure and constant bombardment of sexual messages in media can have an impact on the viewer’s attitudes towards sex (Hackbarth 2006). Meanwhile, Malaysia is regarded as one of the world’s most conservative countries (Zurairi 2014). Therefore, given the amount of exposure of Malaysian young adults on Netflix, it is necessary to examine the relationship between Netflix’s content and Malaysian young adults' attitude on sexual openness within the theoretical framework of cultivation theory. Various genres of Netflix’s series including action and adventure, comedy, drama, horror, romance, science-fiction, fantasy and thriller have been taken into account in the research. Quantitative data analysis has been applied in this research with the responses of 152 Malaysian young people aged between 18 to 25. As a result, the researcher has drawn some insightful discussions and conclusions from the analysis of the data collected. Conclusively, the OTT media platform Netflix does has an influence on the young adults' attitudes of sexual openness in Malaysia. Yet, the research outcome suggests a correlation rather than a causal relationship between the degree of media exposure with predicted differences in cognitive measures due to its involvement in a dynamic and sophisticated process of human-social interaction. The research findings revealed that Netflix’s content somehow indirectly drives Malaysian young adults' attitudes of sexual openness towards different degrees of greater liberalism according to different genres. Nevertheless, the viewers’ attitudes of sexual openness have yet to reach an extreme liberal state like the United States (U.S.) instead still somehow comply with the conservative nature of Malaysia’s Islamic context