WASHINGTON, 12 April 2006 — Here’s something that will come as no surprise to most parents: According to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, adolescents who get a heavy diet of music, television, magazines and movies are more likely to have sex at the ages of 14 to 16 years than those who have minimal exposure.
The study was done by The University of North Carolina, and tracked 1,017 teens over two years, surveying them on their sexual behavior and media use.
Each teen’s “sexual media diet” was calculated based on the sexual content in 308 different TV shows, movies, songs and magazines the teens were regularly exposed to.
Researchers found that sex content in teen media ranged from banter to depictions of sexual intercourse.
Significantly, the study found that teens whose parents communicated clearly that they did not want them to have sex were less likely to have had sexual intercourse by age 16 than those who perceived less disapproval of teen sex from parents.
It also found that black teens were more influenced by their parents’ expectations and their friends’ sexual behavior.
The teenage pregnancy rate in the United States is 3 to 10 times higher than that found in other industrialized nations, making that and exposure to sexually transmitted infections a major public health concern, the study said.
“In our analysis, movies and music were the most powerful influences,” Jane Brown, chief researcher at the University of North Carolina, told reporters. “Media is a powerful sex educator, but not always in the best interest of children,” Brown said. “’Desperate Housewives’ could use condoms. Why not? On reality programs, let’s get real.
People do use condoms. What’s missing in the media is the three Cs. Rarely is there a commitment, contraceptives or consequences.” The study is titled “Sexy Media Matters: Exposure to Sexual Content in Music, Movies, Television, and Magazines, Predicts Black and White Adolescent Sexual Behavior.”
