WATCHING
SEX

Topics: Entertainment; Example; Lust; Media; Movies; Music; Pornography; Premarital Sex; Sexual Immorality; Teens; Television; Temptation

References: Job 31:1; Matthew 5:28; 6:22–23; Luke 11:34; 1 Corinthians 15:33

Kids who watch violence on television and in movies tend to become more violent, research has shown. Now research shows that kids who watch sexual activity on TV and in movies tend to become more sexually active.

In a study published in 2006 by the American Academy of Pediatrics, researchers studied 1,017 adolescents, ages twelve to fourteen, over a period of two years. During that time, the teens were exposed to 264 episodes on movies, TV shows, music and magazines, which were then analyzed for their sexual content. In general, the survey found that teens exposed to higher levels of sexual media participated in a higher level of sexual activity. For example, teens exposed to a high amount of sexual media were 2.2 times more likely to have had intercourse between the ages of fourteen and sixteen than teens with less exposure.

One explanation for the increase in sexual activity is the entertainment industry’s role as a peer, researchers say. In an age when parents rarely talk to their children about sex, the media becomes an educator, teaching that sex is fun and there are no risks. Researchers suggest that teenagers exposed to a large amount of sexual media “may begin to adopt the media’s social norms as their own. Some, especially those who have fewer alternative sources of sexual norms—such as parents or friends—may use the media as a kind of sexual super-peer that encourages them to be sexually active.”

—Michael Conlon, “Sexy Media a Siren Call to Promiscuity?” Reuters News Service (April 3, 2006)