Tv probably does influence Teenagers

When talking about sex with teens can be tricky and also a bonus if they want to know what influences them. Teens like to watch TV, and if parents try to take it away from them, they can now watch it on their laptops or phones when nobody’s looking . All of this exposure can cause some concerns when it comes to their health. The term “Monkey see monkey do” can be used to describe what teens do when they come across something that seems fun or interesting to do, like sex. Teen sex is something that’s shown a lot in social media, people learn about it in school, but it’s mainly seen on TV. But why ? Why does TV influence or encourage teens to pursue sexual activity?  


         The short and simple answer to this question is yes, but the explain is more complex than a simple yes or no. Most Americans spend about a third of their free time watching television. But not all media influences depict teens having sex. According to researchers from the Rand Corporation,  3 kinds of sexual content involving was shown in the media,. The kinds of sexual contents are teens kissing and other kinds of sexual behavior, the second kind of content is the “talk” about having sex or sex in general, and lastly the third kind is the risk of having sex with someone. They surveyed around 2,000 teens, from ages 12-17 and the results found  that heavy exposure to sexual content led teens to sexual activity.

  

 Many teenagers think that having sex is cool, and will make the other person want them even more, or at least that’s how it is being shown in tv shows and movies. That is not true in most cases involving a teen. 43% of High school students have said they already had intercourse with someone and 53% of them said they haven’t, which could be a good thing if they are looking at it statistically. Teens that do have sex experience lower grades and the one who do have sex most likely have older friends that do it and pressure them. Because of this they now know that there is no connection between delays of intercourse and TV,  meaning that most of the teens they surveyed did or didn’t have sex because of TV, there was only a connection with that and African American Teenagers. This group is the one who lets media influence them the most. Many are told that the parents of African American children watch TV more than any other race.  Other than African Americans, overall, most teens think about it but intend not to engage in sexual activity.


  Tv doesn’t always have to show teens having sex or talking about it in a bad way. There are shows out there that can influence them to focus more on school work than worrying about bring pleasure to someone else. TV can also be a source for encouraging them to continue with their abstinence. Studies does shows that Teenagers engaging in sexual activity use condoms, 65% of children can recall them using a condom, according to the researchers from Rand Corp. They have done a lot of research for figure whether or not Television influence them but now that they know TV is mostly likely not the reason that teenagers have sex then what influences them not to?


     So, does TV influence teens to have sex? the short answer is no. Although There is proof that the media can play a part in making them want to have sex earlier in life, there is no way that the media is the one to blame for children having sex. Researchers  found out that there isn’t even a connection except among a specific group. Most teens intend to wait because they know that they can do it anytime they want, it’s just not their time.  


Work Cited

Focus, By Policy. "Does Watching Sex on Television Influence Teens' Sexual Activity?" Collins, Rebecca L. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.


Randall. "Join Our Email List!" ReCAPP: Statistics: Sexual Activity. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct.

2016.


@ParentingWeb. "Sexual Media Influences Teen Decisions About Sex -." Child Development Institute. N.p., 05 June 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.


Age, By. "Teen Health and the Media." Teen Health and the Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.


Comments (1)

Athalia Tan (Student 2018)
Athalia Tan

I didn't really change my thinking to why teens nowadays are having sex, but I think that you could've been more clear in your 2 Fer how people think about the situation. At first you said that it was because of tv but then at the end you said it wasn't. As I was reading, I thought that there were some things that weren't really necessary to put in. But overall, you had good information, at the beginning of your essay, I had to think "Does tv really influence teens to have sex?"