As my little cousin grows up and becomes a pre-teen or a "tween", her choice of television shows will change and it's important for all parents to monitor what their kids watch. Adolescence is an awkward stage that occurs in young people between the ages of 12-18 years old. It's a time of growth and exploration as one begins a journey into adulthood.
As my previous blog stated, television has an impact on the behaviors of parents and now I will explore TVs effects on a adolescent's behavior and since T.V is saturated with some form of sex or sex appeal, I find it interesting to explore what the research has to say on its effect on adolescents sexual behavior.
Below is a clip from the ABC Family show named "The Secret Life of the American teenager" used as an example of what teens today are watching.
Collins,et.al(2004) wrote an article in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics entitled "Watching Sex on Television Predicts Adolescent Initiation of Sexual Behavior". Their research included a national longitudinal survey of 1792 adolescents, 12 to 17 years of age whom were 48% female, 77% white, 13% African American, 7% Hispanic, and 4% Asian or other race. In baseline and 1-year follow-up telephone interviews, participants reported their TV viewing habits and sexual experience and responded to measures of more than a dozen factors known to be associated with adolescent sexual initiation.
As some you may predicted, the results indicated that a "a diet of TV high in sexual content at baseline was strongly related to initiation of intercourse and advancement of non coital activity levels in the following year...however, TV exposure to the risks of sex was related to less progression in non coital behavior."(Collins,et al, 2004). Researchers also discovered in their study that "the factors that were positively associated with initiation of intercourse among virgins were older age, having older friends, getting low grades,
engaging in deviant behavior, and sensation-seeking."
This study reaffirms my own beliefs that parents should exercise control with regards to what their teen is watching on T.V; however, I'm in no way saying that a teen should watch cartoons instead of comedies,dramas etc. With teens, it may be best to watch the shows with them and later use the shows as a way to open up discussions about sex and other teen-related issues.
Speaking of provocative television, have you ever watched an episode of Glee? Many of my friends raved about that show, so out of curiosity, I watched an episode. The first few minutes opened up with someone's dream of high school cheerleaders dancing provocatively around in the gym. I was blushing a little. I couldn't believe that people let their children watch that show, but I think part of the reason is that they have no idea how sexually provocative it is.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important for parents to exercise control with regards to teenagers viewing options. My Mom had to watch a show first and she would give us a yes or no on whether we could watch it or not. A few times, I was caught watching things that may not have been appropriate for my age, and I remember my Mom sitting down with me to discuss why it was inappropriate.
@ Dog Blogger- I have never watched an episode of Glee but I could imagine what kids are exposed to when watching that show.
ReplyDeleteI like how your mom would watch the show first and then decide if you could watch it.
My 12 year old has looked over my shoulder a few times and has noticed this topic that I'm blogging on which has allowed us to start a conversation about the importance of me monitoring what she watches. I set parental controls on my cable t.v and I have it set to block out certain ratings which makes monitoring her television content easy.
I am shocked at how much sex it takes to sell a product such as: cars, Jenny Craig diet food, and cologne. I go to the store to buy something not because I saw a provocative ad. Most times I go to a restaurant and they are playing music that was banned from the airways when it came out and could only be played at a club. When I was younger, in the 1980's, Dynasty, Dallas, and All My Children were all the rave. I used to walk around and act like Erica until my mother saw me doing it and stopped me from watching all of the programs. I was turning into a snob and bossing people around. Well, I was just emulating my idols.
ReplyDeleteKids are copy cats until they develop their own identity. They want to be like everyone else, you know cool. I find it appalling as usual that a Christian girl is portrayed as being a naive flake, while all of the bad role models are making fun of her. That in and of itself is not cool. I was a Christian in high school and never acted like a twit. Remember, I was acting like Erica Kane in my younger years. I was just as cool, even more respected because of being a Christian and not an easy rider.
Anyway, being a parent is hard and knowing when too much control over your kids is harder still. My hat is off to parents who can balance the modern age in parenting, working and going to college.
First, the idea that your 4 year old cousin can navigate technology at such an early age is amazing, and a little scary. That's the very reason why if/when I become a parent I'm going to be a little crazy when it comes to the internet and TV. Most of the shows on TV these days are absolutely not suitable for children. Sure, we can block some of the channels from them but sooner or later they will be exposed to the craziness out there at a young age. I'm not even sure how the producers of these shows think it's OK for children to watch. My half sister watches Glee, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Teen Mom like a hawk. She's 15 and currently dating a 19 year old. Maybe there's a connection...maybe not. Either way, what are children watch is a huge issue and I'm not sure many parents feel the same.
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