We know that TV and movies can help shape the way our kids view the world. According to Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council in the US, media has a very strong impact on today’s kids, especially when it comes to how they view sex. "Research proves that television is a teen sexual superpeer that can, and likely will, influence a teen's decision to become sexually active."
Backing his statement up are studies done by Rebecca Collins, a senior behavioral scientist and research director of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention program at the RAND Corporation in Los Angeles. In one study, Collins discovered that teenagers who consumed the most TV shows with sexual material were twice as likely to get pregnant in a span of three years than those who watched the least amount. In another study, she noted that teens who watch a lot of sexualized content are more likely to try having sex in the following year compared to teens who watch less.
Not all the news is bad, however. Collins and her team of analysts also found evidence that media can be used as a tool to educate teenagers on sex responsibly. Unlike most sex education classes that talk only about abstinence, today’s TV can be a non-judgmental source of information.
Collins emphasized that this should be supplemented with proper guidance from parents. She wrote, "Parents may be able to mitigate the influence of this sexual content by viewing with their children and discussing these depictions of sex." Open communication is needed. Without it, your kids just might try knocking for answers on the wrong doors.
Need advice for teaching your teens and kids about sex? Check these out on FN:
- New Study: Teens Look to Their Parents as Sexual Role Models
- How to Teach Your Teenager about Smart Sex
- 3 Statements Every Mom Should Make When Explaining the Birds and the Bees
- All about the birds and the bees: Talking with your kids about sex
(Screencap from Juno courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures)
