By José Gonçalves
Sex in TV fiction was an off-limits theme until the end of the last century. Society was not prepared to see and listen on their little screen anything other than what was sexually correct.
But the world kept on spinning and now things have changed, mentalities are different, TV is different, and sexuality is different.
It has been found that sexual content is present in at least 50% of TV programs, contrasting with a meager 9% of programs which advert to the risks and responsibilities of sexual activity.
This content influences directly the thoughts, behaviors and sexual expectations of teenagers. They are led to believe that things are the same as they are depicted on TV. Sexuality is a delicate subject that should be approached with responsibility and maturity, something that the TV rarely portrays when it comes to this topic.
Data reveals that exposition to sexual content in adolescence is related to a bigger chance of participating in intimate relations in the future and less probability of understanding the negative consequences and health issues that sexual relations may bring, thus being a problem that should be dealt with.
With this, parents come into the picture. Their intervention is decisive when it comes to fighting the negative side-effects of television. Controlling the viewed content and educating teenagers on sexuality is vital in this day and age. But it is not only the TV and family that matter to this; schools, other media, and friends also influence boys and girls alike and must be taken into account.
To sum up, TV is a big influencer when it comes to sexuality and may bring good or bad depending on internal and external factors. TV programs should warn about the risks of sexual activity and it must be understood that when people do not obtain positive information about sex from their parents, they will seek said information solely in media such as the aforementioned television or the Internet, distorting the true meaning of healthy sexual relationships as they had no one to teach them about how it actually is in the real world.
Links used:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1070813/
Comentarios