"Although a great deal is known about the effects of mass media on other adolescent behaviors, such as eating, smoking and drinking, we know basically nothing about the effects of mass media on adolescent sexual behaviors,"

S. Liliana Escobar-Chaves of the university's Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research,

But to hazard a guess based on clear evidence that media representations influence teenage eating, smoking and drinking habits, adolescents are almost certainly affected — negatively — by sexual references and images from television, in movies and video games, in music, in magazines and on Web sites.

There is growing concern that youth are accessing media in environments isolated from the supervision or guidance of parents or other adults,"

Despite the advent of V-chips, movie ratings and televised warnings of appropriateness for young people, American teenagers have no trouble getting access to graphic sexual presentations.

"Approximately 47 percent of high school students have had sexual intercourse. Of these, 7.4 percent report having sex before the age of 13, and 14 percent have had four or more sexual partners."

The effect of abstinence-only education pales by comparison with the many graphic messages that portray sexual activity — especially unprotected sex outside of marriage — to be a part of our culture as normal and acceptable as eating a Big Mac or drinking a Coke.

Each year, nearly 900,000 teenage girls in the United States become pregnant (340,000 are 17 or younger). The rates of sexually transmitted diseases are higher among teenagers than among adults, and 35 percent of girls have been pregnant at least once by age 20.

Data suggest that sexually active adolescents are at high risk for depression and suicide,"

"Early sexual experience among adolescents has also been associated with other potentially health-endangering behaviors, such as alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use."

The research indicated that adolescents who watched shows with sexual content tended to overestimate the frequency of certain sexual behaviors and to have more permissive attitudes toward premarital sex.

"On average," it continued, "each hour of programming popular with teens had 6.7 scenes that included sexual topics."

The sexual content of TV is pervasive and increasing.

As for the Internet, one national survey of 10- to-17-year-olds found that one in five had "inadvertently encountered explicit sexual content, and one in five had been exposed to an unwanted sexual solicitation while online."

The report called for better studies to assess the effects of sexuality in the mass media on adolescent beliefs and behavior

The New York Times Company

we wanted to give you some information that might help you and your team better understand how the media your teenagers are engaging with affects their abilities to learn, grow, and relate in today’s society.

Works Cited

asked black children to choose which baby doll they prefer (black or white), 47% of the children stated the white baby doll was the prettiest, reinforcing that ideals on beauty are shaped at an early age.

Mass media gives indicators to young people about what is considered “normal” and “not-normal,”

When [journalists] report what is normal, they also make an implicit statement about what is abnormal.

Low income families spend more money on television programming than on hobbies, and young people in these homes watch far more hours of television than those of higher income homes where more money is spent on hobbies.

The more exposure to unrealistic violence in media (e.g. games, television, movies), the higher the likelihood for aggression or violence in young people.

for every four violence acts on prime time television, 32 violent acts occur on children’s programs every hour."

As many aggressive teens are perhaps labeled as anti-social or defiant, these music/music video choices can help them identify with a social group.

intensive or excessive [media] viewing can affect a child’s brain and the development of creativity and intelligence by: a) reducing stimulation of parts of the brain that are critical for the development of language, reading and analytic thinking, b) diminishing mental ability and attention, and c) discouraging the development of executive systems needed for regulating attention organization and motivation.

All research has room for error, and should be read knowing that there are always exceptions.

Social media and online gaming groups do not necessarily produce a false sense of friendship. 

Television viewing frequently limits children’s time for vital activities such as playing, reading, learning to talk, spending time with peers and family, storytelling, participating in regular exercise, and developing other necessary physical, mental and social skills

Television can be a powerful teacher

In some disadvantaged settings, healthy television habits may actually be a beneficial teaching tool (

The average child sees 12,000 violent acts on television annually, including many depictions of murder and rape.

Television viewing makes a substantial contribution to obesity because prime time commercials promote unhealthy dietary practices

Television exposes children to adult sexual behaviours in ways that portray these actions as normal and risk-free, sending the message that because these behaviours are frequent, ‘everybody does it’. Sex between unmarried partners is shown 24 times more often than sex between spouses (32–35), while sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy are rarely mentioned.

Television can also contribute to eating disorders in teenage girls, who may emulate the thin role models seen on television (8). Eating meals while watching television should be discouraged because it may lead to less meaningful communication and, arguably, poorer eating habits

Commercials for healthy food make up only 4% of the food advertisements shown during children’s viewing time

On an annual basis, teenagers see between 1000 and 2000 beer commercials carrying the message that ‘real’ men drink beer.

One-half of the G-rated animated feature films available on videocassette, as well as many music videos, show alcohol and tobacco use as normative behaviour without conveying the long term consequences of this use

tend to believe what they are told and may even assume that they are deprived if they do not have advertised products.

A number of studies have documented that children under the age of eight years are developmentally unable to understand the difference between advertising and regular programming

The average child sees more than 20,000 commercials each year (12). More than 60% of commercials promote sugared cereals, candy, fatty foods and toys

Studies show that parents play an important role in their children’s social learning (44), but if a parent’s views are not discussed explicitly with children, the medium may teach and influence by default.

If children are allowed to be exposed to these media without adult supervision, they may have the same deleterious effects as television.

Music videos may reinforce false stereotypes.

Parents may feel outsmarted or overwhelmed by their children’s computer and Internet abilities, or they may not appreciate that the ‘new medium’ is an essential component of the new literacy, something in which their children need to be fluent.

Music lyrics have become increasingly explicit, particularly with references to sex, drugs and violence.

Some video games may help the development of fine motor skills and coordination, but many of the concerns about the negative effects of television (eg, inactivity, asocial behaviour and violence) also apply to excessive exposure to video games.

Up to 75% of videos contain sexually explicit material (45), and more than half contain violence that is often committed against women. Women are portrayed frequently in a condescending manner that affects children’s attitudes about sex roles.

The effect of violent video games on children has been a public health concern for many years.

The Internet has a significant potential for providing children and youth with access to educational information, and can be compared with a huge home library. However, the lack of editorial standards limits the Internet’s credibility as a source of information.

Parents can use technology that blocks access to pornography and sex talk on the Internet, but must be aware that this technology does not replace their supervision or guidance.

The amount of time spent watching television and sitting in front of computers can affect a child’s postural development

2003 May-Jun

Correspondence: Canadian Paediatric Society

it is important for physicians to discuss with parents their child’s exposure to media and to provide guidance on age-appropriate use of all media, including television, radio, music, video games and the Internet.

REFERENCES

The objectives of this statement are to explore the beneficial and harmful effects of media on children’s mental and physical health, and to identify how physicians can counsel patients and their families and promote the healthy use of the media in their communities.

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