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Sex on TV
by TAG and Ellen Friedrichs, 02.17.06
"TV glamorizes the idea of having sex. Sex is not always as great as it is sometimes portrayed on screen." |
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A study released in November by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 70 percent of TV shows include some sexual content, with an average of five sex scenes per hour. That's a lot of sex! Shows that were popular with teenagers generally had more sex scenes than shows that weren't.
Here's what the Teen Advisory Group (TAG) had to say about sex on TV:
TW: What are your favorite TV shows?
TAG: American Idol, America's Next Top Model, Desperate Housewives, Family Guy, Law & Order, Making the Band 3, The Real World, Pimp My Ride, Sex and the City, Scrubs, Smallville.
TW: Do you think these shows have a lot of sexual content?
TAG: Yes, they all do, except American Idol and Pimp My Ride.
TW: Do you think that messages about sexuality on TV are realistic? Are they healthy?
Olga: Yes, they are realistic, but they don't always send positive messages.
Joshua: No. Everyone who has sex seems to be pretty and hot. There aren't any consequences to people's actions.
Sifat: Most shows don't make you think about using condoms.
Alex: For the most part, no. Law & Order is different because it is realistic and shows the detriments and consequences of [unprotected] sex.
TW: Do you think teens shouldn't be watching so much sex on TV? Is it a bad influence?
Adam: No. Just because you see something on TV doesn't mean you are going to imitate the behavior.
Eliza: No, teens should be exposed to it. By the teenage years kids are mature enough to handle those situations you see on TV. But there is a fine line between being exposed and being overexposed. It is fine to see sex on TV sometimes, but if that is all that a show talks about, then that is a problem.
Olga: It is better to be exposed to the content that to be sheltered from it, because later if you did see it, you would be shocked.
Adam: If you don't want to watch something, there is no law that says you have to.
TW: The Kaiser study found that only 14 percent of shows talked about safer sex or birth control. Can you think of any shows that talk about this?
TAG: 7th Heaven, Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, MTV commercials.
TW: Do your parents keep track of the shows you watch?
Adam: Not anymore, but until I was 13, they did.
Olga: They never did.
Joshua: They did until I was 12 or 13.
Sifat: They stopped when I was 10.
Eliza: My parents always trusted me because for the most part I never wanted to watch age-inappropriate shows.
TW: What do you think of V-Chips? (Parents can use V-Chips to block TV shows based on their ratings.)
Olga: I think it is good for parents to be able to monitor what their kids watch.
Joshua: They're stupid and don't really prevent kids from watching shows if they really want to see them.
Alex: They're not fair because they go by ratings, not an individual basis of content.
TW: What do you think of TV ratings?
Adam: I think they are a useful guide.
Sifat: I never notice them.
Eliza: They're not completely accurate and they are based on opinion. Is bad language worse than violence?
Olga: They are OK as a guide, but it is dumb to make all your choices about a show just because it gets one rating and not another.
TW: What effect do you think TV sex can have on teens?
Adam: It really affects a teen's concept of sex and can make you compare yourself to people on TV.
Joshua: In some ways, it encourages teens to be sexually active even if they are not ready.
Eliza: I don't think it affects me. I just look at TV sex like I look at everything else in the show. They have nice houses and good jobs and the problems they have aren't that bad. It's not like the rest of the show is real, so I don't think the sex is real either.
Alex: It glamorizes the idea of having sex. Sex is not always as great as it is sometimes portrayed on screen.
TW: Any other thoughts?
Adam: Seeing sex on TV can be a useful tool for kids to lean about sex if they don't feel comfortable talking to parents.
Joshua: If a teen has sex, it really depends on a family and what they think about sex more than the shows a teen watches.
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What would you like to hear TAG talk about? Send us a Talk Back comment with the subject line "TAG." |
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