The Kaiser Family Foundation today released the study "Sex on TV 4," which found that sexual scenes on television have nearly doubled since 1998. (See the foundation's news release on the study at http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia110905nr.cfm.)
"Given how high the stakes are, the messages TV sends teens about sex are important," said Vicki Rideout, the Kaiser Family Foundation vice president who oversaw the study. "Television has the power to bring issues of sexual risk and responsibility to life in a way that no sex ed class or public health brochure really can."
Sure, television has the power to bring these issues to life more than sex ed classes or brochures, but in this age of technological proliferation, are the messages teens get about sex from TV really that important any more?
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Good question you raise as teens are exposed to more messages overall about sex, than ever before, I would assume. And when it comes to television, most don't watch broadcast TV, so it's really Cable content which might have the most impact. And since Cable content isn't regulated by the FCC, yet,...then television isn't going to remove the sex voluntarily, if that's what the viewers want.
Additionally, I don't think the television industry, whether broadcast or cable, is interested in leading the charge for sex education. They're into generating profit, and since the Internet is now their biggest competitor with teens, I don't think it's likely they'll be examining sexual content with an eye for responsible activity.
So maybe it's no longer relevant, maybe television can't be expected to do it voluntarily, so is the study even relevant?
I feel that TV does have a major impact on teens and young adults however, they probably would be more interested in the shows with sex scenes oposed to the ones educating them about sex. For most teens, especially young men, they feel like they already know about sex and they wouldn't feel the need to watch it. There are broadcast stations designed for educating and maybe an educational sex show could be conducted, but the chances are for getting any advertisement for that would be difficult. Producers can tell that shows like that would probably not make it and it would be hard to find a cast and producers to work on it also. It sounds like a good idea, however, it seem plausible.
I feel that TV does have a major impact on teens and young adults however, they probably would be more interested in the shows with sex scenes oposed to the ones educating them about sex. For most teens, especially young men, they feel like they already know about sex and they wouldn't feel the need to watch it. There are broadcast stations designed for educating and maybe an educational sex show could be conducted, but the chances are for getting any advertisement for that would be difficult. Producers can tell that shows like that would probably not make it and it would be hard to find a cast and producers to work on it also. It sounds like a good idea, however, it seem plausible.
This is a great question this day in age. The message that kids get from TV is amazing. We all may see it differently. Sex on TV is way different then it is in real life. The glamour and gilts of TV weather it be broadcast or network. Is not real I don’t think that dropping that would be too profitable for them.
I think in most households parents try to curb what their kids watch, especially when it comes to sex.The problem with seeing sex on tv at an early age is it might create a preconceived idea of what sex should be, rather than some of the realities involved, such as contraceptive use.I mean, when did you last see in the movies, or television when they 'covered' themselves first before engaging in intercourse?
It would be a shame for kids to blindly emulate what they see on tv, and completely miss out on the realities of using birth control, and STD prevention.It is highly important for young adults to define what they believe sexuality is rather than have the media define it for them.Now they have channel blockers so kids can't see forms of sex on television, which could help if parents started using them.
Teens today are exposed to a wide source of communication and information. Especially, when it somes to information, ads and programs realted to sex, its not justifiable to just focus just on the one aspect. Isn't it self consolation to think that TV will work as a source of information for teens, how can one ignore the fact that these teens are exposed to internet, and various other sources everyday. Even educational and sex awareness inforamtion are like a daily news for teens and they often end up ignoring it. Therefore, its not realistic to just lay down the expectation on TVs to bt able to communicate the message.
Today teens are exposed to sexual awareness not only form TV channels but Internet is also good medium for the teens to get information.
Compared to boradcast Tv network Cables are showing much more shows realted to sex. Since FCC doesnot regulate these cable channels so they are free to show any type of shows related to sex, and form which they can attract more customers.
In my opinion if the content is limited to sexual awareness it is good to show in TV but when it crosses the limit as they starts earning its bad and it should be reagulated.
Sex is part of life. Consequently it should not be eliminated from TV content as it once has been. That was an artificial depiction of life. However using sex as a commercial commodity is also an artificial depiction of an important part of life. Television for the most part is a commercial venue and a big money maker. Money has power. So it’s unrealistic to think that it can ultimately be controlled. If anyone thinks that television can be so easily controlled, just look at how standards have declined over the years. There's a very good reason for this. The best we can hope for is that children will watch public television which has higher standards. Parents need to take charge of their children’s education and be pro-active in influencing their children’s TV viewing habits.
Sex is part of life. Consequently it should not be eliminated from TV content as it once has been. That was an artificial depiction of life. However using sex as a commercial commodity is also an artificial depiction of an important part of life. Television for the most part is a commercial venue and a big money maker. Money has power. So it’s unrealistic to think that it can ultimately be controlled. If anyone thinks that television can be so easily controlled, just look at how standards have declined over the years. There's a very good reason for this. The best we can hope for is that children will watch public television which has higher standards. Parents need to take charge of their children’s education and be pro-active in influencing their children’s TV viewing habits.
I think that the answer to that question is yes. It is true that I learned a lot more about sex from TV than I did anywhere else when I was little, but that's not necessarily a good thing. It may not have affected me in a negative way but I think that TV is making it sound more okay in the eyes of teens than it should be. A lot of shows don't even show the importance of having sex anymore and how terribly it could effect your life if it were to go wrong enough that you got a serious STD or even got pregnant, putting a damper on any future plans you might have had. That's why it's a good idea that they have gotten more serious about the commercials showing that you can try to control most of the things that your kids are going to watch, that is if you care enough to teach them your own morals first.
Why does sex on television matter when young adults watch porn? I guarantee that at least 6 out of 10people have either walked in on someone having sex or been walked in on. Sex should be viewed as a natural thing. It is o.k. to show other animals getting jiggy with it on the discovery channel, but they bleep out every sex scene on television. I think if more people were exposed to sex on television then more children might have a better understanding of how sex is, but at the same time, it would violate the privacy rights of the performers and I sure know that the television is in its right mind to edit sex scenes because some things are better left unseen and I know I would not want my sexual business shown to everyone on television. I want my experiences to be private.
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Jessica Brown
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