Media and Adolescent Sexuality Essays

Media and Adolescent Sexuality Essays Media and Adolescent Sexuality Essay Media and Adolescent Sexuality Essay The media has undergone a great transformation over the past 15-20 years and there are numerous sexually charged forms of media that target our younger generation. Part of the adolescent development is the formation of sexual beliefs and patterns of behavior. During this development period the adolescent is very impressionable and the information they receive from various means (parents, family members, friends, teachers, the community and the media, etc. ) is what the adolescent uses to develop their personal sexual beliefs and personal patterns of behavior. With all of the media readily available, adolescents are exposed to sexual content at a much earlier age then previously. The impact of this exposure will be discovered and reported in this research paper. The topic that I have researched is â€Å"Media and Adolescent Sexuality†. For the purpose of this paper â€Å"media† will entail television, music, magazines and the World Wide Web. I have seen a great transformation of media over the years and have noticed the numerous sexually charged forms of media that target our younger generation. Often these forms of media contain homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual references and sexually explicit references. With all of the media readily available, do the media have an impact on adolescent sexuality? Part of the adolescent development is the formation of sexual beliefs and patterns of behavior. During this development period the adolescent is very impressionable and the information received is what is used to develop their personal sexual beliefs and personal patterns of behavior. The information they receive may come from their parents, family members, teachers, the community, the media, etc. As a senior high school Sunday school teacher at my church, I often times lead discussions to provoke the youth to think critically about their experiences and the choices that they make. The discussion is always supported biblically, as the bible is the reference used to support why certain choices should be made or not. I find it interesting to hear from the youth during these discussions because they share exactly what they feel and also what they experience. These discussion are very open and leads many of them to ask questions that they may not feel comfortable asking their parents. Many of the discussions involve the various forms of media they watch and listen to and their thoughts of these forms of media based on the bible lessons we review. In taking a close look at the impact of television, the fist form of media to be discussed, I found interesting information documented from surveys which depict the time spent watching television by adolescents. â€Å"In the United States, young people spend 6 to 7 hours each day on average with some form of media. A national survey in 1999 found that one third of young children (2 to 7 years old) and two thirds of older children and adolescents (8 to 18 years old) have a television in their own bedroom. Many of those televisions also are hooked up to cable and a Videocassette Recorder (VCR)† (Roberts, 2000). The time reported, on the survey, that adolescents watch television is high. This amount of time watching television exposes these adolescents to age inappropriate content. Also, with cable television being a constant and always available, this too increases the exposure to age inappropriate content. There are parents who do not monitor what their children watch on television, thus many parents are unaware of the potential harm exposed to their children. Even the channels that are supposed to be age appropriate, such as Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel contain questionable content. Both Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel have programs that contain dating and kissing scenes. Typically young adolescents (8-12) are not interested in the opposite sex but still consider them gross or view them as possessing â€Å"coodees† or germs. The television programs today are not as they were when I was an adolescent. I can remember watching programs like â€Å"Happy Days†, â€Å"Laverne and Shirley† and â€Å"Good Times†. Figure 1 depicts three programs from another television era. Figure 1: Laverne Shirley, Three Company and Good Times â€Å"Happy Days† and â€Å"Good Times† where programs that contained the traditional family unit (Male/Father and Female/Mother). These shows portrayed the everyday lives of the typical family. There were no sexual scenes and if I remember correct, the only type of kiss displayed was between the husband and the wife and was a â€Å"lip touch† kiss not a French kiss. Laverne and Shirley† was a show that portrayed two young women as roommates that hung out with two male friends. These two programs portrayed the everyday lives of the traditional family and young adults. Another program that I remember watching that was the first of its kind; was â€Å"Three’s Company†. This program went against what was considered â€Å"the norm† at that time and for some people was considered â€Å"radical†. The radical tag was due to the storyline. The storyline was a male that was a roommate with three attractive women. The landlord would not allow the group to rent the room together because they were not the same gender so the male in the group, â€Å"Jack Tripper†, pretended to be gay. This was the first portrayal that I can remember of a gay person on television. There are no programs today which air at prime time, that are suitable, based on age appropriateness, for children to watch. The programs today contain profanity, sexually explicit scenes, same gender relationships, children out of wedlock and other forms of human sexuality that are not age appropriate for adolescents. For families that do not monitor what their children watch on television, the adolescents are exposed to content that may impact their decisions on human sexuality. â€Å"One content analysis found that sexual content that ranged from flirting to sexual intercourse had increased from slightly more than half of television programs in 1997-1998 to more than two-thirds of the programs in the 1999-2000 season. Depiction of intercourse (suggestive or explicit) occurred in one of every 10 programs† (Kunkel et al. , 2001). With all of the sexual content aired on television, â€Å"only about 1 in 10 of the programs on television that include sexual content mentions the possible consequences or the need to use contraceptives or protection against STDs. Unintended pregnancies rarely are shown as the outcome of unprotected sex and STDs other than HIV/AIDS are almost never discussed† (Kunkel et al. , 2001). â€Å"Abortion is a taboo topic, too controversial for commercial television and magazines (Walsh-Childers et al. , 2002). † With the number of hours reported that adolescents watch television on a daily basis, a great deal of sexual content is viewed. Without having full understanding of their human sexuality, adolescents often times are misconstrued and make inappropriate choices. In addition to the programs that are aired on television, there are a host of advertisements by means of commercials. Commercials are used to advertise products and services and many of these advertisements employ sex to sell products. I have witnessed how advertisements for selling toilet paper have even become sensual. The use of animals is one example of how advertisements lure the adolescent in to watch the commercial while sending subliminal sensual messages. The types of products advertised on television are more sexual now than when I was younger, as there were no products for sex on television. Today, there is a commercial that airs quite often, and not always during primetime, that advertises lubricant used for sex. In the commercial there is a couple (probably not married) in bed. The music used in the commercial is used to create the imagery of â€Å"intense sex†. This commercial is too sexual for television but yet it is aired without the thought that adolescents may view it or is it? The second form of media is music. Music today is twofold, as it is heard and can also be viewed on television music channels. Adolescents are drawn to music so channels such as VH1 and MTV are watched mostly by adolescents. Music videos portrayal of women is very negative, as women are portrayed as sex objects, are usually provocatively dressed and perform lewd sexual dances. Some of these entertainers are minors themselves marketing to those who are both younger and older than them. The impact of the music videos shown on television has is immense on the adolescent mind. The power of influence is great and is a danger to adolescent girls who aspire to be like their favorite music stars. The impact of the power of influence these entertainers have on adolescent girls is seen in their behavior and dress. The adolescent girls dress is more sexual; make up is worn at a much younger age and the age of their first sexual encounter is younger than previous years. â€Å"One fifth to one half of music videos, depending on the music genre (e. g. , country, rock, rap) portray sexuality or eroticism† (DuRant et al. , 1997). This exposure depicts sex as a way to be popular and happy. However, this exposure has the potential to permanently impact the adolescent as they grow up thinking that sex is something that everybody does if they are to fit in. Sexually explicit videos create imagery in the minds of the adolescent so it is not a surprise when young people act out what they have been exposed to on television. Experimenting with sex has become a rite of passage for many adolescents and not just heterosexual sex but bisexuality is on the rise in both genders. Sex is no longer viewed as sacred but casual sex is portrayed as the way to live and not the â€Å"wait until you are married† phrase that was taught. Casual sex is viewed as something that â€Å"everyone† is doing, especially with the common break ups of couples in the music (and entertainment) industry. What was once thought to be â€Å"out of the ordinary† is now viewed as the social norm amongst society. Television music channels air commercials for condoms, STDs, HIV, etc. , however do not equally air commercial for abstinence. Sexually explicit programming and advertising is a detriment to the self-esteem of the adolescent. Young girls and boys strive to attain the bodies of their teen idols (entertainers, models and actresses) and many of those that are idolized have undergone cosmetic surgery, thus making it impossible for the youth to have these perfect bodies. Seeing idols like Brittney Spears dating different men, being married, dressing like a vixen, being photographed by paparazzi wearing no underwear and the list goes on- young girls see this as positive because Brittney Spears is in a position of influence. The picture below of Britney Spears depicts an example of the provocative dress of a â€Å"teen idol† that many adolescent girls admire and want to be like. The third form of media is the magazine. Some of the popular women magazines are now crafted for the adolescent girls and there are magazines that originated with the adolescent girl in mind. When paging through the magazines, some of the same sexual ads are in the women magazines as in the magazines for young girls. Also found are articles about sex. Although teen girls and womens magazines, such as Seventeen and Glamour have increased their coverage of sexual health issues over the past decade, the majority of advertising and editorial content in these magazines remains focused on what girls and women should do to get and keep their man† (Walsh-Childers, Gotthoffer, Lepre, 2002). The clothing advertised is very grown up looking and most of the print advertisements contain models posing in sexual poses for the came ra. Sometimes girl models are positioned very close to one another, which make wonder if they are homosexual. Perhaps this is considered suggestive advertisement. Magazine ads and covers contain provocative poses and some nudity. Magazine covers like this are intentional, as â€Å"sex sells†. Parents waiting to check out in the supermarket may be embarrassed when their children are present, if there has not been open communication regarding sex. Below is an advertisement for Calvin Klein and two magazine covers which clears depicts sexual content on the magazine cover and in the advertisement. Figure 3: Sexual Messages in Advertising Sexual content in mass media has been around as long as mass media itself,’’ Arizona State professor Mary-Lou Galician, a researcher, author and media literacy advocate says. The difference is the proliferation of it. We live in a 24/7 media world now. Take, as an example, the exploitation of Britney Spears, who is literally pulling off her clothes during her performances. Her real talent lies in being an objectified image. And it is an imag e, by extension, of our country around the world. ’’ (Galician, July 17, 2010) The final form of media to be discussed is the World Wide Web. Easy access to the World Wide Web or the internet, as most say, has increased â€Å"access† to inappropriate forms of media. Incredibly, all forms of media may be accessed by way of the internet. Although sexually explicit forms of media have been in existence years, the propagation of this type of has changed, as it is easily accessible through the internet. Adolescents using the internet to conduct research for school projects may, at times, lead to unwanted advertisements or inappropriate pictures. This is exploiting adolescents to unwanted content. An interview was conducted with three people asking the following five questions. Do you see a change in the sexual content of the media today compared to 10-15 years ago? If yes- then what kind of a change? What do you think about the sexual content of media? Do the media impact adolescents? If yes, how do the media impact adolescents? Below is a summary of the responses: After interviewing a select group of people, 100% say that there is a change in sexual content of the media today in comparison to 10-15 years ago. The kinds of changes reported in response of the survey question are as follows; Television commercials are now aired for medicines to treat sexual dysfunctions Television commercials for sexual enhancement products (KY-Gel) Television commercials that use sensuality to sell toilet paper There is more homosexual character on television shows Television reality shows have explicit sexual content and sexual scenes Television prime time is no longer family time due to sexual content on programs Daytime soaps contain high sexual content Disney and the Nickelodeon channels have more boy/girl dating. It seems like most of the shows are about girls thinking about boys. There is also a lot more hugging and kissing. Music videos today are very sexual. Some of the dancing resembles strip dances and the dress is too provocative for the young entertainers performing the dances. The sexual content of the media is too much for average viewing/listening. Some of the sexual content is too explicit. The music videos no longer sell music but it sells sex. Magazines for adolescents contain too many ads that are sexually laden. Internet is too easy to inadvertently access sexual content and allows sexual content to be available instantly. The overall thought about sexual content in media is that there is far too much. All survey participants agreed that media impact adolescents negatively. One of the participants shared that sometimes exposure is the only teacher and in this case, adolescents being exposed to sexually explicit music videos and television shows that contain a sex scene every few minutes or characters having sex with different partners is a bad example of how they should behave sexually. Adolescents deal with peer pressure from their friends. The more adolescents are exposed to, the more likely they will experiment in order to fit in with their peers. Based on my interviews and the following studies that have been conducted, the sexual content in the media is not only impacting the adolescents, but it also impacts society. â€Å"According to Cultivation Theory, television is the most powerful storyteller in the culture, one that continually repeats the myths and ideologies, the facts and patterns of relationships that define and legitimize the social order. According to the cultivation hypothesis, a steady dose of television, over time, acts like the pull of gravity toward an imagined center. This pull results in a shared set of conceptions and expectations about reality among otherwise diverse viewers† (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorelli, 1994). â€Å"Tests of the hypothesis have found, for example, that junior and senior high school students who frequently viewed daytime soap operas were more likely than those who watched less often to believe that single mothers have relatively easy lives, have good jobs, and do not live in poverty† (Larson, 996). â€Å"Exposure to stereotypical images of gender and sexuality in music videos has been found to increase older adolescents acceptance of nonmarital sexual behavior and interpersonal violence† (Greeson Williams, 1986; Kalof, 1999). â€Å"Heavier television viewers also have been found to have more negative attitudes toward remaining a virgin† (Courtright Baran, 1980). â€Å"Others have shown that prolonged exposure to erotica leads to exaggerated estimates of the prevalence of more unusual kinds of sexual activity (e. g. group sex, sadomasochistic practices, bestiality), less expectation of sexual exclusivity with partners, and apprehension that sexual inactivity constitutes a health risk† (Zillmann, 2000). â€Å"In one experimental study, college student who were exposed to about 5 hours of sexually explicit films over 6 weeks were more likely than a control group to express increased callousness toward women and trivialize rape as a criminal offense† (Zillmann Bryant, 1982). â€Å"Two correlational studies have found relationships between the frequency of television viewing and initiation of intercourse in samples of high school students. However, because these were only cross-sectional analyses, it was not possible to say with certainty which came firstthe TV viewing or the sexual behavior† (Brown Newcomer, 1991; Peterson, Moore, Furstenberg, 1991). Adolescents are easily influenced and unfortunately many adolescents have entertainers as their idols. Unfortunate again, is that many of the teen idols have sold out to the entertainment industry and promote their sexuality in order to sell their product. The type of sexual behavior exhibited by the music industry has great potential to influence the adolescent that is being overly exposed to this type of media. The media has taken an aggressive form of sexual explicitness. The adolescent of the past is no longer the adolescent of today. In the fact, that the adolescent of today is exposed to sexual content in a myriad of media. Adolescents that are exposed to media infiltrated with sexual content may tend to act out what they see. The social norm for sexuality has shifted and desensitization is occurring. This is evident based on the high sexual content in today’s media. Adolescents are challenged with their hormones and peer pressure. They do not need to be exposed to sexual content and further add to their challenges. One of the motives for intercourse in the adolescent is peer pressure, in the form of wanting to be recognized and wanting to be like their peers. With these motives, more pressure from the music videos, television, magazines and the internet are a detriment to the adolescent. It is imperative the parents keep an open line of communication with their adolescent, as it has been proven that the more the adolescent is informed about their sexuality by their parents, then the less likely the adolescent will fall prey to negative sexual behavior. I have friends that are about my age that have three children. They had their children earlier in their marriage, thus their children are older than mine. In sharing, the couple told me that they talk to their kids about everything including sex. They have shared their personal dating experiences with their children. What was interesting to me is that the husband shared that he showers his daughters with love, gifts and takes them on dates. He explained that with the way the world is today and the way young boys are not being taught how to treat a young lady, he wanted to be sure that he personally showed his daughters how they should be treated. His demonstration is first with his wife and then with them in conversation and taking them out. He opens the doors for them and points out how they should not allow themselves to be treated by a man. This was interesting to me because my thought is that if adolescent daughters had a father or male figure in her life exemplifying how a man should treat women, she would be confident as she got older and be able to easily identify the young men who were only interested in her only for sex. When his oldest daughter was a senior in high school, he purchased her a diamond ring and placed it on her wedding ring finger. He explained to her that whoever proposes to her had to at least match what he put on her finger. The wife told me that she explained to both of their daughters how precious they are. She explained to them that diamonds are precious and forever and that what was between their legs was â€Å"better than a diamond†. She told them that the person they chose to give their â€Å"better than a diamond† to should know how to take care of a precious gem and that it should be forever. This is one example of how communication can take place with adolescents to assist them with their self esteem and self worth. Communication is essential to combat the pressures experienced by adolescents. Having high self esteem and self worth will assist in transforming the mind of the adolescent into knowing that being exposed to the media’s high sexual content is not conducive to staying above the teen sexual statistics. Communication was a key factor in the interviews I conducted. In conclusion of â€Å"Media and Adolescent Sexuality†, part of the adolescent development is the formation of sexual beliefs and patterns of behavior. During this development period the adolescent is very impressionable and the information they receive from various means (parents, family members, friends, teachers, the community and the media, etc. ) is what the adolescent uses to develop their personal sexual beliefs and personal patterns of behavior. There have been research and studies conduct to show that media impacts adolescent sexuality. In my opinion, children have greater opportunity of being influenced to whatever they are exposed to, be it positive or negative behavior. In the bible Proverbs 22:6 says â€Å"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it† (Nelson, Thomas Inc. (1997). What we teach our children is the way they should go, thus it is imperative to teach the adolescent what is right and maintain open communication with them ensuring that the right information regarding human sexuality is shared, otherwise the adolescent will form their behaviors based on the information they receive and with media being a large part of our society they will be exposed to sexual content in a large amount of their everyday lives.