In the past fifty years teenage pregnancies have become less a taboo and more of a mundane occurrence. As the years have progressed, television shows have become more and more lenient with what boundaries to cross, which may be a contributing factor to this phenomenon. While television shows are proven to promote some aspects of teen pregnancy, they cannot be defined as the direct cause of it, since there are many other related factors to blame such as family, friends, and education. Television shows affect the way teens look at sex and pregnancy, it is important for the people around them to make sure they have a realistic view on the consequences of sex and pregnancy, and provide information on how to prevent it.
The article “Sex on TV Increases Teen Pregnancy, Says Report” by Alice Park discusses the topic of whether or not racy content on television shows have an effect on young teenagers. It suggests that it even affects teen pregnancy rates. The article specifically argues that in America, especially, the teen pregnancy rate is double that of other industrialized nations because of the consistent exposure of sexual content in television shows. Robert Lichter, co-director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, explains, “Before 1970, sex on TV was left to people who were in love. After 1970, recreational sex was OK, and by the 1990s it was happening twenty times as often and being presented as positive, even among teens.” Therefore, time has altered the way society views sex as seen on television. This can be considered a causal factor or teen pregnancy because the more and more it is shown as normal and regularly on television, teens will begin to think it is the norm and follow the trend of sex and pregnancy. Romance is not defined, as long term as it used to be portrayed before the 1970’s, now people view sex is the symbol of love instead of a well functioning relationship.
It seems as though, technologies of today cause families to interact less, resulting in parents and children not having close enough relationships to make it easy to talk about subjects in general, especially an intimate conversation such as sex. Due to this lack of communication the topic of sex is uncomfortable to talk about, causing the topic to be excluded all together. According to Psychologist Dave Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the Family parents are “delegating sex education to Hollywood…” (Toppo). This suggests that television is, in some cases, becoming a more prominent figure in teenager’s lives on the topic of sex than their own parents. Walsh goes on to say that it is a known fact that when teenagers are exposed to sex on television, although it does not directly tell them to have sex, watching enough of this promiscuous content will lead them to think these actions are acceptable in society. This supports the fact because it shows how great of an influence television shows have on teens to the extent that it may affect their actions. Hollywood, however gives the impression that it does not want the responsibility of educating these teens about this issue. For instance there are television shows such as “The Secret Life of The American Teenager” that airs ABC Family, which provides the audience with a disclaimer, not about the real consequences of sex and teen pregnancy, but about how important it is for parent to begin to talk to their children about this serious topic.
Due to the fact that is becoming even harder for parents to talk to their children about the topic of sex there needs to be easier ways to make the situation more comfortable. While it is proven that these television shows are related the increase in pregnancy rates, watching the television shows themselves can be a way for parents and teenagers to do something together. Therefore, making the introduction to the topic of sex much easier to bring up. According to Anita Chandra, the lead author of the sex and TV study at RAND, she states that it is definitely possible for parents to “turn these into teachable moments…and opportunities for frank discussions about sex.” (Coffey)
It is technology that not only lessens the interaction between child and parent, but also promotes the television shows that affect the children. Dr. Donald Shifrin, former chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on communications notes on the idea that children are accessing television not just through the small screen TVs at home but through the computer and internet, and increasingly beginning to receive it through their cell phones as well. Shifrin states, “It’s not just ‘appointment’ television, now it’s anytime television.” (Park) With the growing accessibility to television there is almost no way to stop children from watching the racy content that comes with it. It is important to recognize that it is nearly impossible to blind teenagers from sex because it can be found anywhere, influencing them in any direction. It is starting to become more apparent that it is important for a teenagers peers, family members, and educators to notice the importance of teaching the realities of sex.
In conclusion, while it is a shown, in statistics and claims made my professional psychologists, that television shows with racy content greatly affects teenagers view on pregnancy, and increasing pregnancy rates, there are many other outside influence that become more prominent in helping to decrease the ongoing phenomenon of teenage pregnancy. Recent technology is not only seen as a device to promote the viewing of racy television shows by providing the many tools that make it possible to view the shows, but also it is seen as separation of generations between parents and teens. For example, there is not forced face-to-face communication between parent and child, due to the popular use in cell phones and Internet. Along with the decrease in communication between teens and their parents, friends have a major influence on the pressures of fitting into a certain social standard, which affect the way teens decide between what is really right for them and what seems right due to surrounding pressures. Lastly, education becomes one of the most prominent influences in a teenager’s life on the decisions they make, because these television shows are proving false portrayals of sex and pregnancy. It becomes the responsibility of educators now to teach young adults the dangers of being sexually active and how to avoid the repercussions on their decisions. It is important to portray sex and pregnancy truthfully because it has an affect on the views and lives of teenagers. As long as families are not communicating with their teenagers, as well as the pressures by peers, and the lack of education regarding sex in general that rate will only continue to increase within the next few years.
Bibliography
1. Toppo, Greg. "Study Is First To Link TV Sex To Teen Parenthood." USA Today (Nov. 2008): 4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2010
2. Park, Alice. "Sex on TV Increases Teen Pregnancy, Says Report." Time. TIME, 3 Nov. 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2010.
3. Coffey, Laura T. "Study: Sex on TV Linked to Teen Pregnancies." TODAYshow.com. MSNBC, 3 Nov. 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2010
4. Selman, Peter. "The Rise and Fall Of Intercountry Adoption In The 21st Century." International Social Work. Sage Journals, 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2010
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