Abstract

Like many other countries, Mauritius has experienced some major socioeconomic changes as a result of its advancement towards a technology-based society. Such socio-economic changes are indeed impacting on people’s life. Given that early adolescents represent an important section of the future generation, this study focuses on this specific population to look at issues related to the Internet, sexuality and development in Mauritius. Within this context, using Altas-ti 5.0 (a computer aided qualitative data analysis software) a thematic network analysis of 136 narratives and 8 focus group discussions of Mauritian early adolescents (10-14 years old) is carried out to answer the following research questions: How do Mauritian early adolescents access the Internet? What do they use the Internet for? How do they perceive the Internet? What is the nature of their sexual interactions over the Internet? Finally, the paper also considers some indications about future directions for public policy on the Internet, sexuality and development in Mauritius.