William Atkins
Wednesday, 19 November 2008 20:21
Science -
Biology
Page 3 of 4
Dr. Chandra added,
"Sexual content on television has doubled in the last few years, especially during the period of our research." [The Washington Post]
She commented that among the shows that teens watched on broadcast and cable network channels three of them were “Sex and the City,” “Friends,” and “That ‘70s Show.”
The authors summarize their results by saying,
“This is the first study to demonstrate a prospective link between exposure to sexual content on television and the experience of a pregnancy before the age of 20.”
Chandra concludes:
“Not a lot of content on TV talks about the potential negative consequences of sex. Characters engage in sexual talk or activity, give positive attributes to sex, and there’s little discussion about the risks and contraceptive use.” [Health News: “
Sexually Charged TV Might Raise Risk of Teen Pregnancy”]
She makes that comment that teenagers may engage in sexual activities without realizing the consequences of their actions.
The Chandra-led study concludes by saying,
“Limiting adolescent exposure to the sexual content on television and balancing portrayals of sex in the media with information about possible negative consequences might reduce the risk of teen pregnancy.”
And,
“Parents may be able to mitigate the influence of this sexual content by viewing with their children and discussing these depictions of sex.”
Page four talks about statistics of teen pregnancies in the United States.
