Since its introduction
into American school systems, sex education has been a controversial
issue. Some parents worry sex ed classes teach too much,
while some worry they don't teach enough. Many parents don't
like the idea of some stranger telling their children about
the birds and the bees. Others are relieved they don't have
to be the ones who have the conversation with their kids.
It turns out a lot of impressionable kids are get daily
sex ed lessons in locales nowhere near their schools. Parents
should be concerned because most of the lessons kids learn
in these places bear no resemblance to the facts, and they
encourage just the kinds of risky behaviors so many parents
worry about. Where is this place and who are the educators
perpetrating this misinformation campaign? It's happening
right in our living rooms and our children's bedrooms. The
teacher, of course, is television.
A new study published in the medical journal Pediatrics
entitled, "Watching Sex on Television Predicts Adolescent
Initiation of Sexual Behavior," says…well, exactly
what it sounds like it says. The teens who watch the most
programming containing sex have sexual intercourse earlier,
much earlier, in their lives than their peers who don't
watch as much sex on TV.
This is a big problem. The United States has the highest
rates of teen pregnancy and STDs in the industrialized world.
Making matters worse, fewer than one in five adolescents
report having good communication about sex with their parents.
Unfortunately, it seems your average teen takes his or her
cues from someone who does a great job of communicating:
the TV set. And since the average American kid watches TV
nearly enough hours each week to hold down a full time job,
the family TV has become the American sexual educator.
The Pediatrics study shows that TV is doing a very
effective job. The promiscuous, disease-free sexual escapades
of so many TV characters are hard to ignore. The message
that sex is both normal and desirable for teens is sent
and received, and the adolescents who are bombarded with
it go out into the world and act on it.
The authors of the study suggest that parents make more
of an effort to talk about sex with their kids. They also
suggest that moms and dads watch the programs their teens
like and talk to them about how they coincide or conflict
with their own sexual values. That sounds exactly like what
all good MediaWise parents do: watch what their kids watch.
There's more we can do too. We can make sure our kids, whether
they're already in the midst of adolescence or still a long
way off from it, watch age-appropriate programs on TV sets
out of their bedrooms. Really, it's the least we can do.
Their educations depend on it.
David Walsh, Ph.D. is the founder of the
MediaWise Movement, a program of the National Institute
on Media and the Family (www.mediafamily.org).
His latest book, Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival
Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen
is available at all major booksellers.
