Source: Bloomberg

April 3 - Adolescents who get a heavy diet of music, television, magazines and movies are more likely to have sex at the ages of 14 to 16 years than those who have minimal exposure, said a study published in the journal Pediatrics

White 12- to 14-year-olds exposed to sex through the media were 2.2 times more likely to participate in early sexual activity than their peers who reported the lowest exposure to media, said the study in the April issue. Black teens, however, were more influenced by their parents' expectations and their friends' sexual behavior.

The study, in analyzing 170 songs, discovered 40 percent of the lyrics contained sexual content. Among the artists the adolescents listened to were Nelly, Ja Rule, Jay Z and Destiny's Child, said Jane Brown, chief researcher and a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

“In our analysis, movies and music were the most powerful influences,'' Brown said. “The media they're using doesn't always show up on the Top 10 lists. Most of the kids are listening to rap.''

The other media, magazines and television, had about 11 percent sexual content, she said, adding “The Simpson’s'' was the most popular television show.

“The main thing we've done is look beyond television. It's not only television; other media affect sexual behavior,'' Brown said.

The researchers interviewed 1,017 black and white adolescents from 14 middle schools in central North Carolina. Each teen was evaluated at age 12 to 14 years and once again two years later.

Five to Six Hours

Surveys cited by the study said white adolescents in the U.S. spent an average of five to six hours a day with some form of media that showed frequent, glamorized and consequence-free sexual activity and black youth spent even more time.

“Media is a powerful sex educator, but not always in the best interest of children,'' Brown said. “Desperate Housewives' could use condoms. Why not? On reality programs, let's get real. People do use condoms. What's missing in the media are the three Cs. Rarely is there a commitment, contraceptives or consequences.''

While the media used by black youths had more sexual content than media used by whites, the influence was less, which was a surprising aspect of the study, Brown said. Researchers said if they had started the study of black adolescents, who were more mature than their white peers in the sample, at an earlier age, they may have found more impact from the media.

`Significant Predictor'

“Parents were a significant predictor,'' Brown said. “If the teen knows what you think, your teen is less likely to have sex. Parents are more powerful for blacks. It may be because there is more talk about sexuality in the black culture. We all need to take more and healthier sexual information to teens.''

The authors said media literacy education for parents, and youth partnerships with youth-oriented media and physician education and intervention, provide opportunities to help reduce media's negative effects. The study is titled “Sexy Media Matters: Exposure to Sexual Content in Music, Movies, Television, and Magazines, Predicts Black and White Adolescent Sexual Behavior.''

The following commentary and views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of Adult Rental.

Teens Are Out Of Control Part 2!

Teens Are Out Of Control Part 1

Last week, I commented on a story where Sharon Stone said teens should use oral sex more often instead of straight sex, and basically went off on how I thought teens were too easily influenced, lacking in respect for society, one another and most importantly themselves.

This week I want to continue with my thoughts based on the story above. I think the survey proves my theory of the lack of respect, eroding family values, and how easily teens are influenced by movies and music.

First off I want to say that the survey is by no means perfect and contains many flaws or the report omits some important information. For example, it surveyed teens in of North Carolina only. This certainly does not reflect the entire state let alone the country and the world. They also mention the results were different by race but did not break down the numbers, what percentage of each was surveyed? Regardless, some of the numbers and findings were extremely interesting.

The difference between Caucasian and African American children and what influences them sexually was an eye opener. African American kids were more influenced by what their parents and friends did when it came to sex than Caucasians. What does this tell us really? That some kids will follow what they see on TV or hear in music lyrics more than others? That some kids respect their parents more than others? Or that some kids learn from the bad behaviors of their family and friends and are generally going to follow their paths and make the same mistakes? I think that there really is no difference between races, you cannot generalize or stereo-type them.

In general the study found that exposing kids to sex either in movies, music or some other form of media influenced them more to have sex. I find this tells me that more kids are followers than leaders, like I said last week.

I am willing to be that the study tells us a lot more than just the influence of sexual relations. This goes much deeper than just sex, and I am willing to bet that it includes violence and lack of respect towards others.

The ironic thing about these types of studies is that they often offer up some issue or cause but never a solution. Are they telling us that we have to eliminate rap music or music that has lyrics with sexual connotations? That because TV Shows like Desperate Housewives feature sexually liberal people, and don’t use condoms is the reason for higher teen sexual activity and unwanted pregnancies?

I don’t think so. As I said, I think the issue lies with Teens themselves. They need to take responsibility for their actions and learn that there are some things you just cannot do or follow. We need to teach them these things, both at school and in the home, as you can see in the study some kids are more influenced by what they see from their close ones than what they see in the media.

I would like to see someone offer up a solution to the problem instead of what they perceive as the cause.

These days, there is too much political correctness, too many people sitting on the fence, and not enough teaching, mentoring and nurturing of our children. I also have said in the past that movie and production companies are relying too much on copying what the porn world is doing, and are too unimaginative to come up with something unique and fresh.

I don’t have the answer, governments certainly don’t either, but when will someone step up to the plate and produce a meaningful study with some substance? What do you think the problems REALLY are and what solutions do you offer?