Well, duh. The media has been abuzz about a recent "study" released yesterday, that links television watching to teen sexual activity. Reuters reports,

Teenagers who watch a lot of television with sexual content are twice as likely to engage in intercourse than those who watch few such programs, according to a study published on Tuesday

The study covered 1,792 adolescents aged 12 to 17 who were quizzed on viewing habits and sexual activity and then surveyed again a year later. Both regular and cable television were included.

"This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities," said Rebecca Collins, a psychologist at the RAND Corp. who headed the study.

"The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior," she added.

The study found that youths who watched large amounts of programming with sexual content were also more likely to initiate sexual activities short of intercourse, such as oral sex.

It found that shows where sex was talked about but not depicted had just as much impact as the more explicit shows. "Both affect adolescents' perceptions of what is normal sexual behavior and propels their own sexual behavior," Collins said.

Yawn. Someone please, tell us something we don't know. Really, I need to become an "analyst" and start doing research studies, because these "researchers" seem to be making money off of common sense. The human anatomy is sensory. How many times have you been minding your own business, when that juicy quarter-pounder with bacon flashes on the screen and you commence salivation. Note: Veggies, insert tofuburger or whatever gives you kicks. If watching commercials makes us want to buy something, why wouldn't sexual images flashed before us make us want, well, "it"?

I've long been a proponent of guarding your gates (i.e. entry points into the body: eyes, ears, you know the rest) and this recent "study" is why. Since the emergence of man, image has created desire. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was there. It looked good, Adam and Eve went for it. So don't ever tell me anything is "just a television show". The television industry is in need of some serious regulation.

At one point, America was rather conservative in what we allowed on television. I've been to Europe a few times and on both occasions I was shocked with the vulgarity I saw on their television stations. I'm not talking about Cinemax at 3 am when the naughty stuff comes on either. I am referring to plain, old, 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when young Billy gets home from school and flips on the television, and at any given moment, a half naked woman wearing a thong and straddling a pack of spearmint gum is bound to flash across the screen. It's no wonder certain European countries are so perverse and full of lawlessness (and STD's). If what the people are watching is any indication of the future of a nation, America's got some serious cleaning up to do.

So it's been discovered that the idiot box is awakening love before its time. Great. Now what? This is why I hate "studies". They offer proof of an obvious reality, but no tangible solutions (or even resolutions for that matter) to derail that same reality. Instead, we get figures like Jocelyn Elders talking out the side of her face.

Hate to say it, but the revolution IS being televised.

Update:
- The AP reported similarly
- RAND Corporation gives in-depth report
- USA Today reports on the effects of a "sex-saturated diet"
- Parent's Television Council is an interesting watchdog group who, when I visited their webpage, seemed to be endorsing SEVENTH HEAVEN!? as the best tv show of the week. I'm gagging here.

Update II

According to the study, the top three shows reportedly most likely to cause an adverse effect on teen sexuality are:

1) Sex and the City
2) Friends
3) That 70's Show

I find this funny though, since the media generally (overwhelmingly) portrays black people to be the sex-crazed animals. That's another topic. I had a few words for the Manolo Blahnik commerical called "Sex and the City" in my piece Gonorrhea and the City.

Posted by Ambra at September 8, 2004 11:48 AM in Culture