What Nigerian Gen Z Needs to Hear About Overexposure

As seen in MTN’s “Room of Safety” series, Episode 3 dives into the quiet harm of early exposure to explicit content among African youth, especially in Nigeria’s hyper-digital culture.

From TikTok dances to music videos dripping with hypersexual energy, today’s content landscape is loud, fast, and often way too grown for the eyes watching. In Episode 3 of Room of Safety, the MTN MTV series that dives into the mental health battles of African youth, guests like Steezy and Azana unpack what happens when young minds are exposed to adult content before they’re emotionally ready.

For many Nigerian Gen Z kids, the internet was their playground and their classroom. But with freedom came danger. “Being exposed to explicit content at a young age is incredibly dangerous,” Aana shares. “It changes curiosity to confusion.”

And confusion has consequences.

Imagine being 12 and stumbling across a scene meant for 30-year-olds. It may start as curiosity, but that first exposure often distorts how young people view intimacy, love, and even respect. “It changes consent to control,” she says. “It turns something that should be sacred into something performative.”

Let’s be real. Nigerian youth today are navigating a digital minefield. From Afrobeats stars flexing bodies in music videos to skit makers normalising wild behaviour for laughs, it’s easy to lose track of what’s entertainment and what’s real life. And even harder to separate identity from influence. It’s why many young people now equate attention with affection or worse, sex with power.

Take the average TikTok trend. One minute it’s a harmless dance, the next it’s a full-blown thirst trap. “I mean, do the challenge,” Steezy jokes, “but ask yourself, what would your dad or mum say?”

It’s the kind of advice many wish they had heard earlier.

As the episode gently reminds, overexposure is not maturity. Hypersexualising kids doesn’t make them street smart. It damages their understanding of self-worth, boundaries, and relationships. It’s why we now have 14-year-olds feeling pressure to act like 24, chasing vibes they barely understand.

But there’s hope in awareness. “Go and talk about it,” Azana urges. “It’s opened a can of worms, but you can still work through it.”

And for anyone wondering where to even start healing, the advice is simple but solid. Love yourself first. “When you love yourself, people reflect that same love back,” Azana says.

Room of Safety Episode 3 feels like that honest talk you wish someone had given you before the internet got too loud. It is part healing session, part wake-up call, and right now, that is exactly what young Nigerians need. The episode delivers one powerful message: you don’t have to perform adulthood before you’ve even lived childhood. You are allowed to grow at your own pace. You don’t need to keep up with the bad B energy online or copy the alpha male noise just because it gets views. In a world where everyone is trying to grow up too fast, this episode is a reminder that it is okay to slow down. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Protecting your innocence is not weakness; it is strength. And if you have ever felt confused, overwhelmed, or pressured to be someone you are not just to fit in, consider this your permission to pause. You are allowed to take your time. You are allowed to be young. You are allowed to be safe.

Sometimes, the most radical thing you can do is log off, unlearn, and start fresh.