Sex and Drugs in Mainstream Media
"Just how much vulgarity and violence are teens being exposed to on this teen-targeted network?" asks Casey Williams in an article titled "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol"
(THIS LINK CONTAINS GRAPHIC REFERENCES AND LANGUAGE--IF YOU CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PARTICULAR DISCUSSION, PLEASE DO SO IN AN APPROPRIATE MANNER. IF THIS POSES A PROBLEM FOR YOU OR YOUR PARENTS, PLEASE CHOOSE ANOTHER TOPIC TO BLOG.)
Much of the content commonly found today on news stations, primetime television and common cable shows used to be (as little as ten years ago) censored or regarded as taboo. Today, it is accepted as normal. Shows like Dirty, Sexy Money and Desparate Housewives are not only blatant about their sexual exploitation, but that appear on standard television networks during primetime--when most children can be expected to still be awake. If you listen to KTCL or KBPI or several other radio channels during their rush hour (read: most available listeners) shows, they make frequent references to marijuana and explicit sexual conduct.
Is it acceptable? Should certain content be censored from television and radio? How or where should the line be drawn? What effect does the content of such media have on children or society today? How does such content compare to other graphic material found in documentary and educational programs on Discovery or TLC?
Consider these topics and more as you discuss this issue with your classmates. Remember to cite sources properly and to develop meaningful points in an attempt to keep a running dialog with your classmates.
Some Links (there are many more for you to research):
*Please note that the blogger software does not allow me the ability to underline or indent properly, so portions of the MLA works cited entries will not be in the correct format. However, the citations are correct and you should use them.
"MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
Kaiser Family Foundation Program: Sex on TV
"Sex on TV4" kkf.org. 9 Nov. 2005. Kaiser Family Foundation. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = ("Sex")
A British Study: Smoking, Alcohol, and Drugs on Television
Cumberbatch, Guy and Sally Gauntlett. "Smoking, Alcohol, and Drugs on Television." ofcom.org. Sept. 2005. Office of Communications. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Cumberbatch and Gauntlett)
Please remember to show respect for each others' opinions and to conduct yourselves in an appropriate manner on this academic-oriented site.
(THIS LINK CONTAINS GRAPHIC REFERENCES AND LANGUAGE--IF YOU CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PARTICULAR DISCUSSION, PLEASE DO SO IN AN APPROPRIATE MANNER. IF THIS POSES A PROBLEM FOR YOU OR YOUR PARENTS, PLEASE CHOOSE ANOTHER TOPIC TO BLOG.)
Much of the content commonly found today on news stations, primetime television and common cable shows used to be (as little as ten years ago) censored or regarded as taboo. Today, it is accepted as normal. Shows like Dirty, Sexy Money and Desparate Housewives are not only blatant about their sexual exploitation, but that appear on standard television networks during primetime--when most children can be expected to still be awake. If you listen to KTCL or KBPI or several other radio channels during their rush hour (read: most available listeners) shows, they make frequent references to marijuana and explicit sexual conduct.
Is it acceptable? Should certain content be censored from television and radio? How or where should the line be drawn? What effect does the content of such media have on children or society today? How does such content compare to other graphic material found in documentary and educational programs on Discovery or TLC?
Consider these topics and more as you discuss this issue with your classmates. Remember to cite sources properly and to develop meaningful points in an attempt to keep a running dialog with your classmates.
Some Links (there are many more for you to research):
*Please note that the blogger software does not allow me the ability to underline or indent properly, so portions of the MLA works cited entries will not be in the correct format. However, the citations are correct and you should use them.
"MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
Kaiser Family Foundation Program: Sex on TV
"Sex on TV4" kkf.org. 9 Nov. 2005. Kaiser Family Foundation. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = ("Sex")
A British Study: Smoking, Alcohol, and Drugs on Television
Cumberbatch, Guy and Sally Gauntlett. "Smoking, Alcohol, and Drugs on Television." ofcom.org. Sept. 2005. Office of Communications. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Cumberbatch and Gauntlett)
Please remember to show respect for each others' opinions and to conduct yourselves in an appropriate manner on this academic-oriented site.
posted by Mr. Webb | Monday, September 08, 2008
56 Comments:
Sex, drugs, foul language and other bad behavior are almost always on T.V. these days. It's unavoidable and inevitable, they're everywhere. If you were to flip through the channels on a standard TV (one without cable, or tebo, or any other such device), you'd probably find such referances to these topics on channels 2, 4, 7, 9, 20, 31, and possibly 59 out of channels 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 20, 31, and 59 (channels 6 and 12 being PBS stations). There are few shows worthy of dubbing "family friendly" anymore and even cartoons aren't kid friendly anymore. SpongeBob Square Pants was recently added to MTV and has references to sex, homosexuality, and other issues.
Most of the mature content on TV is sex and sexual behavior, yes, but drugs are another big issue. Many of the "adult shows" refer to drugs on a weekly basis. Shows such as the CSI series, Prison Break, Desperate Housewives, Law and Order, and that's not even half of them. Kids, teens, and young adults are being exposed to said mature content more than ever in this generation or era than any generation or era before them. One such commercial states my point nicely. That being the Dove commercial where the young girl who looks to be around the age of 9 is watching TV on her living room couch and flashes of women in bikinies, tank tops, bras, lingerie, and other skanky outfits pass through the TV on billboards, signs, advertisements, and other methods of today's media. There is more pressure on kids today than there ever has been before and they feel that they have a lot to live up to. "I'm not pretty enough", "everyone else is doing it, why shouldn't I?" "It's ok to do this, everyone does it anyways", "nothing bad happens to them, so nothing bad is going to happen to me if I do this". It's getting ridiculous.
The media needs to get a grip on itself and set standards for what is displayed on television, in advertisments, magazines, and other means of the media. It wasn't until the late 70s or early80s that cursing started becoming acceptable on mainstream television and before that a person could lose their job if they even said the words "damn" or "hell". Saturday Night Live was one of the first ones to have curse words on screen and when it happened everyone else was astounded. They all stopped to ask, "Can he say that on TV?!" Now we don't even notice it. Sex was rarely in movies ever and when it was it was suggested, not shown. You'd see the two lovers kissing on a bench or somewhere and then the screen would black out and it would move to the next scene. The camera wouldn't follow them into the bedroom. The media should go back to its old ways where such content wasn't even brought up, it was unacceptable, and one could lose their job if they said such language on TV. We shouldn't be showing people having premaritual sex to our children, we shouldn't be teaching them to have low standards, we shouldn't be telling them that it's ok to sleep around with every Tom, Dick and Harry they see and there aren't any consequences for doing so. I've yet to see one show that has a character sleep around with everyone they know and get some disease or end up pregnant and not know who the father is.
Charlie Harper from Two and a Half Men sleeps with every woman he lays eyes on and nothing happens to him. None of the girls he's slept with have come back pregnant, no one's gotten any form of HIV or AIDs or anything. They sleep around and move onto the next person with no worries, fears or consequences. If someone were to do that in real life, they'd have at least one kid by now and some sort of infection.
This sort of behavior Is Not acceptable and Should Not be allowed on our televisions.
MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
http://www.powerset.com/explore/go/History-of-Saturday-Night-Live-(1975%252D1980)
TV's Dove commercial and other shows
Saturday Night Live (SNL) was discussed in a previous post. SNL is a late night program and is purposefully racy or distasteful to receive higher ratings. For example, Conan O'Brien co-wrote a sketch called "Nude Beach." In this scene, the word penis was referred to and said or sung at least 42 times. That seems like overkill because it was supposed to be. They wrote the sketch in that way in order to push the buttons of the bow-tie conservatives who they were not targeting as an audience. They were also not targeting children as their audience. They were trying to be funny to the people that they were targeting: the average, older viewer.
Merrilyn K W stated that, "Kids, teens, and young adults are being exposed to . . . mature content more than ever in this generation . . . than any generation . . . before them." I completely agree. However, shouldn't we as a public be realizing a change in the times? If we were to go back to the conservative 50s for example, the rights of women, of African Americans, of gay people would not be the same. Because sex is so prominent in the media these days, it has shown the advancement of the culture over the last 50 years.
There are certain shows that are not supposed to be targeting children, and that is why they pay for a later time-slot. In the online study, "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol," Casey Williams suggests that MTV targets a younger audience in an attempt to corrupt them. MTV's audience is meant to be an older teenager or even a young adult. If a parent is uncomfortable with their child watching it, in this day and age, they can block it. Since our culture has advanced, so has our technology. The exposure of children to sex, violence, and drugs is completely preventable on the behalf of the parent. Also, as Marrilyn K mentioned, the channels that are available without cable have less appearance of drugs and sex on their prime-time shows. Instead of watching Grey's Anatomy or Desperate Housewives, parents can opt to watch a show such as Wipeout or America's Got Talent that are much more "kid-friendly."
As for the appearance of premarital sex with no consequences, I would say that I have to propose this question: have you ever seen the show The Secret Life of the American Teenager or the show Friends? Both of those shows (one on a cable channel and the other on NBC) have examples of premarital sex with consequences. On The Secret Life, a very young teenager gets pregnant from a boy that is very promiscuous throughout the town. On Friends, two of the main characters have sex and have a baby out of wedlock. Premarital sex has been deemed acceptable by our society. It is the choice of the two individuals having sex and in real life, it is the consequences that come with them. However, not every time a couple has sex do they become pregnant, not every time they have sex do they get an STD, not every time they have sex do any consequences come out of it.
Also, the channels do set a standard when it comes to what they have on their shows. All reality shows and music videos on MTV have censors. They do not simply just say a curse word, they bleep it out. This leaves ambiguity for children who would not know a curse word if it did not come out of the playground. For example, on the CBS hit show, Big Brother, there are many curse words, but you never hear any besides "ass." Would a child, seeing that show periodically, understand what it means? Would they have the talent of lipreading at such a young age? Those words do not just leap from the beeped out version on the TV and enter a young child's mind. Most of the time when a child knows a curse word it is because of the constant use they hear of it from their parents.
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Whenever I hear my parents talking about the shows now in todays programs on tv, they aound appaled. They've noticed how there's always something like the superbowl incident with Janet Jackson, that pushes the line that is drawn between adolescence and adults. I've seen it every day when I go through the channels and I've seen first hand the exposure of drugs and sex put into kids. Although, I have noticed these things, saying there's a bad reference to everything would be exaggerrating. I disagree with Merrilyn, because even though we can pick up on the adult humor from spongebob, kids don't. My cousin is growing up the same as every other child and he is ten now, I have not seen any influences from tv or the media in general. The media could tone down on the sexual conduct, but not everything is contaminated with the media. I will say in today's movies that PG-13 rated movies seem more "R-rated" for all the implications of sex and drugs. Not much is seen and I will not be too specific, but sex can be seen--although not entirely--in these movies. If you look back to older movies, the media is more concerned for ratings, but now they are more liberal and expose too much too children. I do agree with the observation that when kids see sex or drugs, they get the implication that everyone is doing it
I've been doing some studies of the tv lately. And I've noticed how humor seems to be more open about sex. As in late night cartoons such as south park or family guy. Some of the humor in these shows are random. However, I hear a lot of jokes about sex and drugs in these shows. It's just joke after joke just pounding sexual, drug-related, and violent conduct into your thoughts. When kids find this funny they will want to tell their peers about family guy. It is a strategy the media uses to spread popularity. They don't care what example they're setting for kids as long as they can relay that message.If kids want druds and sex and find it humorous then of course they're going to air it. On the other hand, the media was not always like this. I watched the cosby show and it was humorous with clever jokes instead of sex or drug-related jokes, it's more family humor. I don't seem to see much family humor now-a-days. It is ironic to name a tv show "Family Guy", because it's not close to being family orientated. They may call the time of night for Cartoon Network Adult Swim, but I remember more kids watching it then adults. Back in middle school (which is when I believe adult swim had started)I remember a lot of kids talking about adult swim. I never heard my parents talk about Adult Swim. Get this. They didn't even know about adult swim. So, what has become of the friendly hearted media that society embraced? It has been shrouded by the dark humor of drugs and sex.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Everywhere you turn sex and drug usage are being shown openly and much more often. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. I gets teenagers and young adults asking more questions. Sex used to be swept under the rug. It did not happen unless you were happily married with a sturdy job that could support a family. If a young woman did not have a husband and she were to get pregnant she was sent away to have her baby and cover it up. It shows growth in our society that we can accept the fact that it does happen and the media shows that it happens. Yes the media does seem to give their audiences unreal expectations of what happens when a couple has sex. They do however show negative consequences when having premarital sex. I disagree with Merrilyn K when it is stated, "If someone were to do that in real life, they'd have at least one kid by now and some sort of infection." That is an inaccurate statement. It has a lot to do with how much information a person has and how responsible they are with that knowledge. It has been discovered that by bringing up the fact that sex happens and being responsible about it is key more people asked questions, "researchers found increases in knowledge about condoms for as much as 17% of a nationally representative sample of 12-17 year old adolescents who saw the show" ("Sex"). As long as someone knows what is going on they have a better chance of reducing their risk of having a child or getting a sexually transmitted disease.
Another point is knowledge about sex in school settings. My younger brother is in elemantary school and in fifth grade he was taught by our schools about sex at ten years old. If the media should not be portraying it in television and on the radio, why then are our schools allowed to teach young students about it? Yes a waiver must be signed by parents in order for the student to be taught the "Growing and Changing" unit but parents also have control over what their children do or do not watch. If a ten year old is mature enough to learn about those things in school why are they not allowed to hear about or view (in moderation) the same things they have been taught.
Casey R brigns up the show The Secret Life of the American Teenager. This show is directly aimed toward teenage audiences and it plays on the ABC Family network. It does not coincide with every teenagers life but it does bring up the idea that 15 and 16 year old are having sex. It is a slap in the face to the American society because people do not want to think of their children having sex yet and that is because society condemns it. American society is a censored one. If we were to go to another country and see their culture and see their ways we would be astonished. In many cultures it is accepted that a 30 or 40 year old man marries and has children with a 14-16 year old. So why is America so afraid to see the reality of our world?
Kaiser Family Foundation Program: Sex on TV
"Sex on TV4" kkf.org. 9 Nov. 2005. Kaiser Family Foundation. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = ("Sex")
MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
Crude humor is all over the television. Almost every show we can think of involves violent actions, sex-related jokes, or drug references. Some of the most popular shows, as Shannon O pointed out, are primarily based on these issues. He states that, “It is just joke after joke just pounding sexual, drug-related, and violent conduct onto your thoughts.” This is because, truthfully, all of the top rated shows focus on sex and violence. How is this ok? MTV is just one of the mile-long list of these shows. Every single show on MTV related to sex. I do not understand why sex is the only thing people can think about. Life is full of other wonderful events, so sex should not be the forefront of everyone’s minds. If television were not so “all sex all the time,” people would not be so absorbed with it. Yes, sex is a part of life but it should not be the basis of every TV show.
The impact of these shows on younger children is ridiculous. In the MTV article, it talks about how frequent sex is on that channel(Williams.) Any child watching MTV must be thinking that sex is the only thing in life. This is because if all you see is sex, then all you know is sex. The idea of blocking a channel was discussed above. The question I have about blocking is that should it even be needed? I do not know if I totally support Merrily k's idea that "such content (shouldn't) be brought up,"but I definitely think that sexual content should decrease in the media. Television should be more family friendly and less adult friendly. If adults want to watch adult content, it should only be available through special purchase or by other means. Society has lost sight of the fact that television should be geared towards the family as a whole.
Taylor R mentioned growth through talk of sex. I do not see this at all. It is true that society has come to accept sex instead of it being “swept under the rug” (Taylor R), but it has gone too far. There is a difference between acceptance and obsession. Sex 24/7 on TV does not show growth. Instead, it shows immaturity. If society had truly grown from its no sex on TV days, the media would accept sex but also focus on other topics.
MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
Sex, drugs, and violence on TV are so regularly in the media that it seems customary. You sit there watching a show, and a sex scene comes on, or dugs are being used, or someone gets killed in an act of violence or hate, and you’re not surprised or shocked that someone would put something like that on local television. They sell sex on TV like candy in a store. Just the other day we got a TV guide in the mail and on the front cover is promoting the new season of Desperate House Wives and it has three of the women dressed like pin-up girls with short skirt, low shirts, and in suggestive positions. You don’t even need access to a television or radio to see how sex-poisoned our culture is and how we accept this as normal. Anyone could get a hold of a TV guide, including young children who sometimes seem to not even be protected with the modern day cartoons. For example in the movie Monster House – which is rated PG – has a few hidden messages or dialect that young children won’t understand. There’s a scene when the baby-sitter has her boyfriend over and there making-out on the couch; he tries going a little further then that, and she kicks him out, then on the front porch he yells “prude” and drinks the rest of his beer and throws it into the street. In this PG rated movie, they have already covered sex, alcohol, and violence. The media isn’t just reaching ages 13-19 but going beyond that to such things like kids as young as three. My mother rented this movie and I watched it with my nephew who is three and I know he doesn’t understand the sex or alcohol reference, but I know he understands violence. Even in this movie they use the “mild” words, according to Williams, where kids can see kids using this type of language. To see this type of stuff in movies that are for kids is disgusting. Its one thing if there’s a show on, during prime-time television, that’s promoting sex, drinking, and foul language but putting it in movies that are meant for young ages, is a totally different issue. It’s the early poisoning of these children’s innocent minds and that we need to keep our eyes open to what we expose our children and ourselves to.
Though some may say that the media is getting worse within the last decade or so, we have to remember that it started way before that. I remember a couple of years ago when my other nephew was visiting and he was about 7 years old he told me he wanted to stick his finger in a light socket because Tom, from Tom and Jerry, did it, and that show was from my parents childhood. So though sex and drug use in the media has spiked in our culture within the past decade, we need to remember that the violence has always been there and that we may just be desensitized from it.
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008
As opposed to some of the comments posted by my peers, I believe that the media also helps portray sex and sex education in a positive way. 9 News puts out a segment called 9Who Care. This segment acknowledges citizens of Colorado for the good they do for the community. Recently, as I was watching the news, they recognized a woman who teaches at Options High School. Options is a school for teenagers who are failing that the traditional-type schooling and wanted a new approach. They learn more about how to survive in the world and pay bills than learning about antithesis or annotating. A section of the school is dedicated to helping pregnant teens decide how they are going to live after the baby is born. Instead of putting down the school for its unconventional ways, the media recognized one of the teachers for taking the initiative to help the teenagers make the right decisions after the mistake has already happened. Most of the media’s approach is to try to educate the reader, listener, or viewer. Instead of ignoring the problem or making it worse, these news sources have attempted to make the problem more widely acknowledged. In contrast, Shannon O. said, “I do agree with the observation that when kids see sex or drugs, they get the implication that everyone is doing it.” I completely think that this is an incorrect statement—or an ignorant statement. As I stated in my earlier post, children do not necessarily get the idea to do something off of what they see on the television. By saying that they get the idea that everyone is doing it, that is stating that the child in question is easily influenced and therefore cannot be that bright. When we were all younger and we saw something on TV that pertained to a sexual act (an innuendo, a prelude to sex, etc) we did not know what it meant. For example, when I was about seven years old, I was watching what was then a regular station TV show, “Friends”. One of the male characters was interviewing a woman to be his roommate. He was attempting to do a word association and said, “G” hoping for “string,” “pillow” hoping for “fight,” and “doggie” hoping for “style.” However, she did not say “style” she said “kitten.” The man looked frustrated and the scene ended. At such a young age, I did not understand what was supposed to go after “doggie,” so I asked my father and he simply stated that it was a grown up joke. Just because the innuendo was in the television show did not mean that myself, as a young child, was going to understand it. So, to further comment on what Shannon O. stated, children are not as easily influenced as you might believe them to be. Even now as a teenager, I do not believe that I ever thought everyone was having sex. And even if I did, would that have mattered? A lot of people are having sex. Maybe it is just time that we accept that and move on.
The American society, as Taylor R. pointed out, “is a censored one.” Compared to other countries, the American public is very sheltered in our views about sex. I traveled to France over Spring Break last year. While I was there, I went to Paris. In Paris, advertisements for a movie were scattered throughout the city. The movie poster had a picture of a woman without a shirt on. Her breasts were exposed, and people were walking along, doing their merry business, not seeming to pay any attention to the poster. At first, when I saw this poster, I was taken aback. Then, I remembered where I was. I was not in America where this poster would be deemed inappropriate and disgusting by the general public. The people of France’s idea of what is inappropriate versus what is not is very different than that of the United States. I just remember that I kept thinking, “This would never be ok in America.” I liked that notion that these people can be so open about something that I have been taught, by society, to be sheltered about my entire life. But I will stay this, not everyone in America is corrupt because of television or the media in general. I have a friend who did not know what simple sex terms were until the other day; it is possible to remain sheltered in this society. And I will say this over and over again, not all humans get all of their influences from television. My cousin’s son is four years old. He does not own a television, nor has he ever seen the internet. Yet, that young boy (who is the oldest of two) is very intuitive. When he was two years old he would pick up sticks at the park and pretend that they were guns. How could he, never having seen a movie or any television, have picked this up? It is part of our human nature to pick up on knowledge like that. Taylor R. also brought up another great point: that young children learning about sex in school are still being exposed to it outside of school. I will say one thing to Taylor’s comment: the actual information that fifth graders receive in school is very different than seeing it. These students learn about what the penis and vagina are and what they do, not what they do to each other. Yes, we learned back then that it took a man’s sperm to fertilize a woman’s egg to make a baby, but usually, on television, that is not the goal of sex. That is what they do not teach in school: that sex is not always used to make a baby. That is the true difference of sex in the classroom versus sex on TV.
I said earlier that parents could control what their children watch on TV and that is how the problem commences. A child, in my point of view, should not be allowed to watch 75% of primetime (5pm-8pm) television shows. However, those 25% of shows are still on and are still there for the innocent eyes of a child to watch. If a parent is watching a primetime show that they think is inappropriate for their child, then either they should not be watching it with their child, or they should not watch it at all. If they think that the show sets a bad example, but they still want to watch it, then the parent needs to find a way around that. We have discussed a lot of late night shows like Saturday Night Live (SNL). To tell you the truth, I can barely stay awake for all of SNL. Those jokes are made to target the older population who can sustain staying up past midnight—most children cannot. Alex P. addressed that she thought that blocking shouldn’t even be needed if we have the right mindset and the right shows on television. I really do not think that this is the point. Our society is changing and is maturing from a sexual standpoint. What is on TV now versus 20 years ago is vastly different; however, I do not believe that we need to go back to the old days where everything on TV was pure and innocent. That would be denying our right as Americans to be sexually free. As a people, we are not pure and innocent—not even close. So why should we cover up our individuality and censor literally all of the expression that is on TV. Whether it is sex, the use of drugs, or whatever, it is expressing the First Amendment. Alex P. also stated, “If adults want to watch adult content, they it should only be available through special purchase or other means.” Think about that for a second. First of all, cable is a purchase that is not required of anyone. Neither is a television. Second, why should an adult be forced to buy their PG-13 or R material as if it were something banned. Parents should have the right to choose what they expose their children to, and if they want to allow their 12 year old to watch PG-13 movies, or their 15 year old to watch and R-rated movie, then so be it. It is their choice. That is what makes American so great.
Another thing that goes along with learning about sex in school is learning about protection. Almost every single television show that has anything to do with sex has something to do with condoms. For example, the characters Ross and Rachel on “Friends” used a condom and still got pregnant. On “Desperate Housewives,” one of the main characters asks one of the other main characters before she goes on a date, “So, you got protection?” It is not a secret that the media is wanted the American public to have safe sex; this is really just promoting it. On 90210, Annie got a condom from her brother because she thought she was going to have sex with her boyfriend. She didn’t end up having sex with the guy, but she thought of protection before the point was raised. As one study shows, “One notable shift related to intercourse portrays [on television] is that the characters involved are increasingly older” (“Sex”). So because the characters are older, a young child, if easily influenced would see that the people are older and individuals, experienced, and perhaps even married. One cannot shelter their child because they are going to be exposed to it one way or another (whether it is with their parents, with their friends, or with the first guy or girl who tries to have sex with them). Another thing is that because sex is on television a lot, that message that the media can send is very important. The same study showed that sex can have a positive message: “Sex is plentiful on television. Consequently, television’s treatment of sex is ripe with opportunity to convey critical messages about sexual health that may literally save lives” (“Sex”).
"Sex on TV4" kkf.org. 9 Nov. 2005. Kaiser Family Foundation. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
As I have stated before and will state again, sex, drugs, and "adult material" is all over today's media. TV, radio, magazines, etc., etc. Since my first post my family has decided to go with comcast, meaning our tele has a lot more channels to explore and watch. It has been interesting to see the differences between cable and the standard channels and notice the variety of shows that are on both. Standard channels conist of Arthur, Desperate Housewives, all the news channels, and other such programs, but cable has things like MTV, Sponge-Bob, Mythbusters, etc.
In reading the posts of my peers, I took to reference what Shannon O said about how older kids and adults pick up the dirty jokes in cartoons such as Sponge-Bob, while younger kids don't. The other day, while I was roaming through the numerous channels on our living room TV, I came across Aladdin and the King of Thieves and being a fan of Disney and Aladdin and remember watching that very movie back in Elementary school, I stopped to take a gander at it. When I hit the "enter" button on my remote, it took me to the scene where Sa'luk (the villain) is singing about being "In or Out" of the band of thieves. In listening to the lyrics of the song, I was astonished to actually understand what they were singing about. Lines 3-6 of the song go as follows: "We'd plunder and pillage
And ransack a village
With nary a worry or care" sung by Sa'luk. Also in Muppets Treasure Island in the song "Professional Pirate", Captain Long John and his fellow pirates sing about stabbing people in the back, killing, pillaging, and taking part in other such pirate activities. And when I was a child and I'd watch the movie, I never knew what they were singing about precisely, but I knew that they wanted Jim to join their plot to steal the treasure from Kermet the Frog and that's all I really cared about because it was Muppets! What else should a child care about?! So I agree with Shannon on that.
Also, I have to comply with what Casey R says about changing times because what she says is true. If we stuck to what life was like back in the 50s, we'd still be anti-african/america and we'd still have racial discrimination, women wouldn't have the same rights as we do now, and homosexuals wouldn't have the same rights either. We have to comply with changing times, yes, but is the amount of adult material that we currently have in the media really necessery? Yes, the media has a right to do so, but couldn't they tone it down a bit? They do talk about protection every so often and some characters use protection, but not every character in every show who participates in such matters do.
Violence is another big thing in the media today. Children's cartoons such as Batman, Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other shows show our heroes punching, kicking, and beating the tar out of the villains. We see the villains blow up buildings, poison people, hurt innocent bystanders, and other random acts of violence. However, it's not all superhero shows that show violence to our young children. Tom and Jerry, the beloved cat and mouse show, doesn't have a lot of talking. Instead, they beat eachother up using mallots, TNT, and house hold items that everyone has in their homes. My mom and I were babysitting a friend's two-year-old son one night and he has a DVD with a million episodes of Tom and Jerry. We sat and watched it twice all the way through and he disappeared into his bedroom and came out with a plastic toy golf club and started beating the cat with it becasue the last episode on the disc shows Jerry trying to smash Tom with one. However funny it was, it was a little alarming to watch and see what messages a simple cartoon like Tom and Jerry is showing our kids. Other shows, like Prison Break and Fringe, show more realistic violence, though most parents don't allow their kids to watch these shows. Some shows have warnings of Viewer Discression before the show actually starts (like Family Guy, Cops, and Law and Order). So even though the media shows violence, they do give warnings to the viewers before it is too late.
http://www.tv.com/Tom-and-Jerry/show/20685/summary.htmlhttp://www.tv.com/Tom-and-Jerry/show/20685/summary.html
http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/aladdin_and_the_king_of_thieves_soundtrack/jerry_orbach_and_chorus_are_you_in_or_out-lyrics-63874.html
The fast paced world that we live in today does revolve around sex, drugs, and violence, because that's what our society chooses to focus on. Throughout all of these posts, the main focus seems to be the affect that sex has on children. Although there is an enormous amount of it on television, think about what shows it is mostly portrayed in. Shows such as Friends, Family Guy, Saturday Night Live (SNL); all of these are mainly targeting adults, not children. The fact of the matter is, it’s not all the studio’s fault for making these shows. It’s the fault of the parent who allowed their child to watch the inappropriate material. Growing up in today’s world is tough for children, teens especially. Teens tend to watch channels such as MTV, read teen magazines, and watch inappropriate movies, all for the sake of fitting in. for young girls, the pressure to be skinny, wear the right clothing, hang out with the right people, and give into peer pressure is influenced by the media. Articles in Teen Vogue and Teen People tell teen girls about diets and designer clothes, when at this age they should not even be thinking about that. Casey R brings up the point that I am trying to convey about the media, “parents could control what their children watch on TV and that is how the problem commences.” They made a setting on the television that allows you to block channels you don’t want your children watching; however, parents either forget about this setting or, simply don’t care.
Growing up in today’s world as my brother is doing as compared to when I grew up is vastly different. When I was younger, my mother would never let me watch PG-13 movies, or read the magazines that I wanted. For my brother though, since everyone else seems to be letting their children watch it, she has simply given up on trying to shelter how much of the media he endures. Children seem to be growing up earlier, and faster due to the media, and it’s not really fair to the child.
As for drugs in the media, it gives way to peer pressure. It makes drugs look “okay” for teens to do, even though their parents and teachers tell them otherwise. On the show Gossip Girl, it shows teens doing lines of cocaine, just openly on network television. It also shows the teens drinking with their parents and making it all look like fun and games. They give teens false impressions, because this rarely happens in the world today. The show also portrays wild parties that the teens go to, and makes it seem like the thing everyone is doing. Foul language is also used openly in not only Gossip Girl, but on most network television shows. It makes these words seem necessary for children to use. The Simpson’s uses crude humor, and so does Family Guy. These shows are watched by many teen boys around the U.S. The influence that the media has on children today should be a great concern. It’s all around us, and although we cannot stop it, we should be able to reduce it and actually allow the children to be children and not grow up so fast because of the media.
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There is a difference between what children (anyone under the age of twelve) should be exposed to through the media and what high school students should be shown through the media.
Parents want their “babies” to keep their innocence as along as possible but most are not sure of what they’re part of the job is. With everything kids are thrown at because of television it used to be hard to keep up control. However, now parents can have real say in what their children watch. There are programs that allow parents to put locks on certain shows and they will keep children from watching them no matter what time they are playing. Adults can even block shows with a particular rating. So anything with let’s say an R rating could be made off limits to anyone who doesn’t know the lock code. With this technology its finally up to the parents to put in the time and effort to look at what their children could be seeing and decide whether they want them to see it or not.
But no matter how many shows adults block school will always be the force that brings about the loss of innocence. Sex education and friends are the ways most innocence begins to die. Middle school should be treated like a transitional period. Pre-teens should slowly be exposed to sex and drugs. Sex education classes should be taken seriously but should be open mindedly taught. Questions should be allowed to be asked. And honest answers should be given. This way any ignorance and confusion can be taken care of. But the media also has to change. More shows that are realistic towards sex and drugs should be produced. Sex happens. Sex starts in high school. And there are serious consequences because of sex. If the media quits glamorizing sex and drugs and begins taking into account all the things that could happen more teens would understand and think twice before they act on impulses.
Although the previous blog posts were very good, many students failed to mention a very important aspect of this issue: the individual. The media may be filled with sexual content, but, ultimately it depends on whether or not the individual will let it affect him/her. Casey R mentions the freedom and rights of American people numerously in one of her posts. She even states that “It is their choice. That is what makes American so great”. We, as a society and as an individual, need to keep in mind that yeah! It is our choice! It is up to us whether or not we have sex—before or after marriage, with or without protection, oral sex, anal sex, even phone and online sex. The media may influence our decision but in the end, it is our choice. Casey R was the only person that even briefly mentioned this idea. She said, “It is possible to remain sheltered in this society”. This is definitely true. Personally, I am going to wait until marriage for sex and I will not make any acceptions. In contrast, the only television channel that I watch is MTV. I loved watching Tila Tequila’s Shot at Love, Tila Tequila being a porn star. I enjoy hip hop music and do not mind at all watching the artists’ music videos, which are normally loaded with half-naked girls shaking their butts in guys’ faces. My parents allowed me to watch rated R movies ever since I was a baby. I was never sheltered from sex and drugs in the media, more like I was exposed to it my whole entire life. But did I let it affect me? No. I grew up making my own judgments and creating my own morals. That is how I became who I am today. So, although the media does contain many references to sex, it is ultimately up to the individual as to whether or not the media’s portrayal will influence his/her life.
However, I must admit that I am very concerned about the rise of acceptance in sex and drugs in our society. I am glad that people are more open to it and aware of it, but actually having sex and doing drugs is a completely different story. One time, I found out that two of my closest friends were actually smoking and drinking. One of them being legal age so it did not bother me as much but the other being only fourteen years old! What is this boy doing smoking cigarettes at that age? I ran upstairs and immediately told my sister, being in complete shock. She just glanced at me and said, “So . . . everyone is doing it.” I wanted to slap her across the face. That is the kind of attitude that promotes this issue in the first place. Just because “everyone is doing it” does not make it okay. My even younger sister, eight years old, goes around the house saying “hoe, whore, slut, skank, etc”. And I am going to guess that she learns all of this from school, because she tends to copy everything she hears from her friends. Once again, I was very shocked. I still think that it’s an individual’s choice, but when all the individuals combine to form a society that is accepting sex and drugs in its negative ways, there is a problem. One must start with fixing himself/herself, and then work on fixing everyone else.
A television channel mentioned numerously throughout this topic is MTV. Everyone seems to think that MTV is only a sexually driven television network with sex on 24/7, but in reality, they are not. I admit, most of the shows contain sexually related topics, but MTV itself is making an effort to spread the word about AIDS/HIV and safe sex. I went onto MTV.com to research more and I actually found something very surprising. MTV has a section called Think. Not only is sex one of the subcategories, but also mentioned are substance abuse, politics, discrimination, etc. When you click on “Relationships and Sex”, you find that there are many shows on MTV about sex, in a good way. For example, there is a new show where a professional relationship counselor helps teens and their parents communicate more about sex. Through communication and education (from the counselor), the teens and even parents develop a more educated and open view on sex. Another part of MTV.com is called Fight For Your Rights (FFYR) and one of their topics is called “Protect Yourself”. In this area, one can find all kinds of information on sex and prevention of disease. One of their sponsors is actually one of the provided links: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. These are just a few of the many steps MTV is taking to educate its viewers. Therefore, people should not just judge MTV by what it is stereotypically known for.
http://www.mtv.com/onair/ffyr/protect/partners.jhtml
http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF0002D79CFFFF0000006E/Issue/Issue.aspx
Our society now a days is filled with violence, drugs, and sex. Because of it, it has brought on a negative and positive view on violence, drugs, and sex.
I have read a few times now that there are serious consequences if you have sex. That is in some cases. In the show Secret Life of the American Teenager, Amy, the main character gets pregnant after one time of having sex. She is fifteen and made a stupid mistake. I am glad that television programs are beginning to show the consequences of having sex, but kids are not dumb, we know reality. I am not saying that you will not get pregnant after your first time having sex, but programs need to promote safe sex instead of just showing the consequences of having it.
When I watch MTV (which is viewed by most teenagers to young adults), on the weekends later at night, my favorite shows such as “The X Effect” or “Making the Band 4” will be on. Let me just restate that MTV is viewed by the young adults/teens. During commercials, starting around 9:00pm., MTV shows censored clips of “Girls Gone Wild” or “Lets Chat.” They both advertise sex. And if anybody else has noticed, those certain commercials seem much louder than the regular scheduled programs. What is coming to the television programs that are suppose to be helping teens make responsible decisions, but then backfiring with crazy wild teens wanting to strip and talking about sex “privately” on the phone. Sex itself is not supposed to be advertised, how to protect oneself from disease and pregnancy is what needs to be advertised. The commercials are disturbing and no teen should be unwillingly exposed to such strong sexual advertising commercials on a general public TV program.
Being a teenager is a difficult stage between childhood and adulthood. Teens are going to do what they feel like doing. If certain programs feel the need to be talking about sex, it needs to be promoted in a responsible way to educate the teenagers and young adults about protecting themselves from life changing consequences.
The explicit language on regular television shows has also become a problem.
“Bleeps” occur when fowl language is used during a program. It is one thing to have a show with one “bleeped” out word, but it is another to be watching a show with “bleeps” occurring throughout the whole thirty minute or hour long show. If words need to be constantly “bleeped” out, doesn’t that give the idea that maybe they should just not be used at all?
I have also noticed that the word bitch is hardly ever “bleeped” out because, the definition of that word is, “ the female of the dog, wolf, fox, etc.” I have never once heard that word referring to a female dog. This was a term used way back in the early 1900’s. We don’t live back then, our society knows what that word means. So why is it ok to “bleep” out a word such as hell when used in a phrase, but then let the little kids ears hear bitch? The sad thing is that young children are being exposed to explicit language at an early age. Kids learn from what they see and hear. Like many of my peers have said, this is why parents have parental blocking on their TVs now. Parents need to use this to help monitor what their young children are watching.
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When reading the bogs previously posted I was shocked to see that how little other forms of media have been mentioned. Television is of course one of the largest influences our media has, but it is by no means the only one. A great deal of media is in commercials, magazines, music, merchandise, and on the internet. The media’s influence is everywhere and virtually impossible to escape. Keeping that in mind I find it difficult to understand how we can put so much pressure on the parents to protect children from explicit content when it is everywhere. I understand that sex is a very large part of today’s society and that we must recognize it, but I do not think we should flaunt it at such extreme levels. The problem, whether we want to recognize it or not, is that these sexual ideas are being ground into the minds of very young and impressionable minds.
I can’t even remember a defining moment when I first learned about sex. It seems to me like it was always there, and in many cases this is true. Of course as very young children, the sexual connotations we receive are small and seemingly insignificant but very rapidly more and more information and ideas are engrained into our minds when we are not yet mature enough to handle it. Too often young people see the glitz and glamour the media puts out but don’t stop to think about the consequences of their actions, whether they are expressed in the media or not. And who can blame them? As Lisa K. Schkloven stated in an article about the adolescent brain that the prefrontal cortex, the last part of the brain to develop, is “responsible for a person’s ability to organize thoughts, think things through, set priorities, weigh one’s options, consider the consequences of one’s actions, delay gratification, suppress impulses and make sound decisions. This thinking, rational part of the brain is truly a work in progress that will not be completed until a person is in his or her mid 20s.” If we cannot make rational decisions yet, and we are constantly having sex thrown in our faces, how can we be expected to make the best decisions? Of course we must still take responsibility for our actions, but I think it is important to realize that we are not yet fully developed and we do not rationalize as clearly as the adults who can better handle the sexual content in the media. Let me give you an example of a young girl I know who is thirteen and pregnant. At thirteen years old and still very much a child herself, can you honestly tell me that she was mature enough to be making decisions to have sex? In the same way we are not yet thinking everything through. I know most of us think we are old enough to handle these situations but the fact of the matter is our brains are not fully developed yet and we are not prepared to make those decisions rationally. The problem with this is that because sex is constantly thrown in our face by the media giving us the ideas that sex is something everyone does we are so much more vulnerable to succumbing to it, even when it isn’t the best decision to make. While I agree that being able to make more decisions for ourselves is one of the many benefits of growing older, I also believe that we are taking that responsibility too lightly and not handling situations properly. I think a great deal of our eagerness to experiment with drugs and sex comes from always seeing it in the media, and if it’s pressures were lessened then we might be less affected by the need to be like everyone else, causing our actions to stem from better sources.
http://parentsofteens.info/archives/the-adolescent-brain-a-work-in-progress
this is america. we have the freedoms to have a good life and make our own decisions if that includes sex and drugs that is what tao said, "the individuals choice"
it is not another persons decision to have sex or do drugs but the individual themsleves. this generation is being so widley portrayed as horn dogs and druggies
beacause that is something our generatio has allowed ourselves to become. we are being exposed to drugs and sex more in the media than everbecause it has become a
ir kept utopic that is not as imbarrising to talk about but something that the propper education should be taught about. this subject is not kept under wrapps anymore
because our society is not. the reason it is portatyed so often in the media has to do with the old but true slogan, "sex sells". sad but true. as a teenager
i honestly have to say that i would rather watch something that was racy or as casey said ""pushing the buttons" than a shoe that depicts high school or life in
general in an unrealistic light. shows like hannah montanna or others on the disney channel. im sorry to say but its true the reason that the media uses drugs and sex
is because its entertainning to a large audience. they want the buisness and the money.
entertainment is exactly what the e=average american wants now a days. our society has changed from a fun loving hard working society to a country filled
with people that want pure enertainment. people in this day and age woudn't open a magazine, turn on a television show if they didin't want to be entertained.
i do agree with some of the earlier posts that sex and drugs should be decreased in the media, and it is true. i dont think that a television program is very funny
if all it does is show people having sex. it should be decreased but not totally taken out of the program. our media portrays on sex and drugs because that is
what our society focuses on.
to move on to the tpc of children being exposed to sex and drugs in the media i completely agree with what tao has posted,"My parents allowed me to watch rated
R movies ever since I was a baby. I was never sheltered from sex and drugs in the media, more like I was exposed to it my whole entire life. But did I let it
affect me? No. I grew up making my own judgments and creating my own morals. That is how I became who I am today. So, although the media does contain many references
to sex, it is ultimately up to the individual as to whether or not the media’s portrayal will influence his/her life". i had a very similar childhood. my parents
didn't sugar coat anything and made me make my own decisions and face thoose conciquences. i was brought up by my extremely open family of nurses so when the da
arose that i asked where did babies come from i got the answer and no it had nothing to do with some maniac bird dropping babies down from the sky to the happy
parents. i dont think that the media influences my life and my decisions because i have always been taught to make them myself. it is rue that alot of children today
are influenced by the media and television but parents cannot blame the media for exposing there children, "If you have such a problem instead of blamming the shows,
maybe you shouldn't let your children watch the show in the first place" (Peter Griffin, Family Guy).
Kaiser Family Foundation Program: Sex on TV
"Sex on TV4" kkf.org. 9 Nov. 2005. Kaiser Family Foundation. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = ("Sex")
MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
TV's Family Guy, Hannah Montana, and other TV shows
This is America. We have the freedom to have a good life and make our own decisions if that includes sex and drugs that is as tao says, "the individuals choice". It is not another persons decision to have sex or do drugs but the individual themsleves. This generation is being so widley portrayed as horn dogs and druggies because that is what our generation has allowed ourselves to become. We are being exposed to drugs and sex more in the media than ever because it has become a topic more common in everyday life, sex and drugs are not as embarrising to talk about anymore. This subject is not kept under wrapps anymore because our society is not letting us. THis is a deffinate sign of how much our world has changed. The reason it is portatyed so often in the media has to do with the old, but true slogan, "sex sells". Sad, but true. As a teenager I honestly have to say that I would rather watch something that was as casey said ""pushing the buttons" on sex and drugs showed in the program, rather than a show that depicting high school or life in general in an unrealistic light. Shows like Hannah Montanna or others on the Disney channel. I am sorry to say but it is true the reason that the media uses drugs and sex
is because it is more entertainning to a large audience. They want the buisness and the money.
Entertainment is exactly what the average American wants now a days. Our society has changed from a fun loving hard working society to a country filled
with people just wanting to be entertained. People in this day and age would not open a magazine or turn on a television show if they did not want to be entertained. I do agree with the earlier posts that sex and drugs should be decreased in the media. Sex and drugs have become a major issue and part of our society, but there portrayal is exaggerated and unrealistic. It should be decreased but not totally taken out of the program. in one of the earlier posts Lydia says, "our media portrays on sex and drugs because that is what our society focuses on".
To move on to the popular topic of children being exposed to sex and drugs in the media I completely agree with what Tao has posted,"My parents allowed me to watch R rated movies ever since I was a baby. I was never sheltered from sex and drugs in the media, more like I was exposed to it my whole entire life. But did I let it affect me? No. I grew up making my own judgments and creating my own morals. That is how I became who I am today. So, although the media does contain many references to sex, it is ultimately up to the individual as to whether or not the medias portrayal will influence his/her life". I had a very similar childhood. My parents did not sugar coat anything if I asked a question. My parents made me make my own decisions and face the consequences. I was brought up by an extremely open family of nurses so when the day arose that I asked, "where do babies come from?" I got the answer, and no it had nothing to do with some maniac bird dropping babies down from the sky to the happy new parents. The media does not influences my life and my decisions because I have always been taught to make them myself. It is true that a lot of children today are influenced by the media and television but parents cannot blame the media for exposing there children. The parents can choose to not allow there children to watch the shows made for adults, "If you have such a problem with the values your children are getting, instead of blaming the shows, maybe you shouldn't let your children watch the show in the first place" (Peter Griffin, Family Guy).
MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
TV's Family Guy, Hannah Montana, and other TV shows
To try to expand on what Taylor R was saying about how “sex used to be swept under the rug”, it is true that sixty years ago America did not want to think about anyone having sex, not even the word sex. It was thought as dirty, evil, and sinful. The media has certainly grown but maybe not in the greatest way.
I grew up in a home that was and still is open about sex. My mother gave me “the talk” in fifth grade, when she thought I was old enough to handle the information. She answered every embarrassing and awkward question I asked her, and I never felt uncomfortable. She is just as open about it with the rest of my siblings (except for the first grader). We are comfortable talking to our mother about uncomfortable topics.
Yet, the media sets an uncomfortable mood about sex. When bad jokes and girls running around in their skimpiest underwear is all you see, on every cover of every magizine, all you can think of is sex. People, in real life, do not walk around discussing who they slept with last night, or what size condom they buy every single day. But kids see people on television doing it so they think that’s what they should do. Whether they know what it meant or not. I’ve heard third graders tell dirty jokes and talk about things that they should not have learned about so early.
Sure, I’m glad our media has become or realistic about sex but I believe the immaturity towards the issue is worse than not talking about sex at all. Our media has grown but instead of just admitting that sex happens and being mature about it we make it look cool and with out consequences. Young children should not be exposed to that. They need to learn about sex in an educational, mature environment.
Censorship betters our lives. Censorship that comes from television actually keeps me from cursing a lot of the time. Instead of beaming out curse word after curse word, I tend to begin my sentence in a normal fashion and come up with a better word to replace a curse word by the end. This is largely part of the influence that reality TV shows have had on me. Instead of saying a curse word on TV, they bleep it out and one is left to infer for themselves. Censorship in old comic books would come when the hero would be fighting a villain. It would come in the form of a big word imitating the noise it would make if one had hit the other. “Pow!” “bop!” and “wham!” were common back in the day. This form of expression also let the reader infer. That is what censorship is. Did we know that they were fighting? Yes. Did we know that one hit the other physically and there was going to be some injuries afterward? Yes. The censor did not prevent anything. In an earlier post, I spoke of the appearance of sex in France. Another part of French culture that I failed to mention was their cartoons. One morning, in my hotel room, I flipped on the TV to see if cartoons were on to see if I could understand any of the language. One show depicted a giant character and a bunch of little men. The giant was chased near the edge of a cliff and the little men pushed him off. Not something that I was really expecting in a children’s show. That was not all. The cartoon actually depicted him falling off of the cliff and showed him dead at the bottom with blood on him. I was really surprised and a little horrified. I know my friend who I was with at the time was also. But that is not our culture. Maybe we are a little sheltered about everything that we see. We don’t see violence (and I refuse to think on Tom and Jerry that they show the actual hit because I have seen the show before and they do some sort of graphic over it so that one need not see it) actually happen when we are younger. That is why it comes as such as shock when we become older. When you shelter anything (animal, people, a society) and then release it to whatever it was sheltered from, it is never going to take it without a little bit of a protest. So perhaps that is what happens with the society that we are in now. Because we have been sheltered for our childhood, what is on TV is now coming as a shock to us. Merrilyn K. mentioned something about a warning label coming on the show at the beginning, but then she goes on to say that the warning comes “too late.” That really makes no sense at all. How does the warning come late if it is at the beginning. The person who is choosing to watch the show probably chose before seeing the warning that they wanted to watch this; however, maybe they did not and the warning is there because they were not paying attention enough to realize that their show was over. That was a really confusing concept for me, so if you could please elaborate. Rachel H. talked about bleeping shows as a way of censorship. Yes, maybe it should not be needed, but that is the choice of the individual to watch a show that has so much cursing in it.
What Dao T. said illustrates what I have been trying to say but could not find the words for this entire time. She suggests that perhaps sheltering of children is actually causing the problems. Myself, I have been sheltered about some things, but my parents always tell me in an appropriate way what I can do. They do not specifically say things like “Do not have sex” or “Do not drink,” but it is almost implied and only a really ignorant person could not understand my parent’s point if they were in my position. By telling me “Getting pregnant would be really stupid” and “It would make the rest of your life significantly harder because you probably wouldn’t go to college” they instilled this knowledge inside me that I would have never discovered on my own, through my friends, the school, or any part of the media. I am an individual and I have the ability to make my own decisions. And I have. Anyone who is influenced so easily by other people that they copy them or do what they do has real problems. In middle school and maybe the first two years of high school I could understand, but now, we are better individuals and we should be able to make some decisions by ourselves.
Ah, innocence. What nostalgic memories that really does bring back. It is almost impossible to have complete innocence once one enters high school and I’ll tell you why: peer pressure and the effect of peers. I respect that some people can not want to know about sexual things or drug-related things or violence. Some people do not have the same respect for those people and feel this weird revenge corruption. Revenge on whoever corrupted them and the corruption they have to give to someone else. It is a passing of the torch—a ritual if you will. Amanda R. speaks of innocence and said, “Sex education and friends are the ways most innocence begins to die.” Although the influence of friends has a major impact on high school age students, sex education does not. What we learned in sex-ed was what a penis is and what a vagina is. Unless you completely put two and two together in the fifth grade, they never said, “If you enter a penis into a vagina you can make a baby.” They do not discuss slang, oral sex, anal sex, phone sex, online sex, the parts as “pleasure” organs, buying condoms, other birth control, pornography, masturbation, hard-ons, sexual stimulation, hand jobs, blow jobs, or any other material that could seriously suggest the children to have sex. Really, if they straight out said, “A boy gets a hard on when he thinks about a girl in a sexual way,” girls would never want to touch boys ever and maybe the problem would be solved. I’m kidding. The ambiguity of the entire situation makes it hard for young children to really understand what is going on and what is going to attack them come high school.
Our society supports the use of drugs and sexual activity on television, in movies, on the radio, in music, and much more. There is no way for parents to keep their children from hearing about such actions. If a parent tries really hard, he somehow might be able to shelter his child through high school by the means of home schooling. Even then college will open his eyes to the truth. The fact is that our society accepts sex and drugs as normal and television exposes children to it at an early age. Even if children don’t lean about it early, they become curious and will find out on their own. Such information should be removed from the media.
While reading through the posts I came across a statement that puzzled me. Merrilyn K W said, “In reading the posts of my peers, I took to reference what Shannon O said about how older kids and adults pick up the dirty jokes in cartoons such as Sponge-Bob, while younger kids don't.” While I agree that older kids such as teenagers pick up on the jokes referring to drugs or sex, I have yet to hear such a joke on the show Sponge Bob. However, Casey Williams of the Parents Television Council stated that “MTV is owned by Viacom, the same corporate giant that owns CBS (which aired the Super Bowl) and Nickelodeon.” This does not mean that Sponge Bob is full of sexual jokes, but it does mean that Nickelodeon—a children’s program—is a supporter of MTV. This made me think that Nickelodeon could have shows that do have some references to inappropriate ideas. I decided to look for such a show. Sure enough I found a show where a young boy and girl were making out in a movie theater. This might not seem inappropriate to a teenager, but for a child around the age of ten it is. Nickelodeon entertains a younger audience and at that age most children would not even think about kissing a girl. This is far from sex, but pictures such as this spark ides in the minds of children and can lead to more graphical shows.
I also agree with Amber R W When she says, “I think a great deal of our eagerness to experiment with drugs and sex comes from always seeing it in the media, and if it’s pressures were lessened then we might be less affected by the need to be like everyone else, causing our actions to stem from better sources.” I went to a private school from kindergarten through eighth grade. I was very sheltered from what went on at a public school. I couldn’t have imagined anyone of my classmates talking about drugs or sex. The topic never came up. One major factor was that my parents kept me from watching channels such a MTV and I had to buy Christian music. The conversations sparked from other ideas such as sports or homework. In eighth grade, the students began to get curious about sex. We had to take home sex education books and our parents allowed us to watch channels such as MTV which seemed to spark our interest more. Once we reached high school our curiosity peaked and we were informed by our new classmates. According to Guttmacher Institute, “Nearly half (46%) of all 15-19-year-olds in the United States have had sex at least once.” This means that the curiosity of sex which is driven by the media also leads to the practice of sex. Television shows are not only informing children about sex and drugs but lead to the use of them also. This then leads to abortions and drug abuse, which can ruin the lives of children and teens.
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008
"Facts on American Teens' Sexual and Reproductive Health." In Brief. Sept. 2006. Guttmacher Institute. 9 Oct. 2008
Rachel W suggested earlier that “children . . . seem to no be protected with the modern day cartoons.” While I do not approve of all of the content in cartoons, there is a protection of sorts for children. Innocence. Because children are children, their unknowingness of sex and other related topics shelters them. Take Shrek for example. That movie is innuendo after innuendo, and yet children never pick up on any of them. I remember watching that movie with my parents and wondering why they thought some parts were histerical. Those same parts seemed totally normal to me. The character, donkey, is the perfect proof of my point. He is always commenting on the women, pointing out their features, and having “dreams” about them. As a teenager, I now realize that because children are not looking for or aware of sexual content, they do not pick up on them. Their innocence keeps them obliviously in the dark from these jokes and comments.
Another comment, made by Casey R, stated, “Children are not as easily influenced as you might believe.” While this may be true in some cases, I must contradict her. This fall, I was an Outdoor Lab Leader for a group of sixth graders. In my cabin, I had almost 13 girls with me, 24/7, watching everything I did. By the end of the week, my favorite color was their favorite color, my favorite song theirs, and so forth. Even in the short amount of time I was with them, I influenced these young children. When children look up to someone, they are going to copy what that person does. It is just a given. So if an older sibling, favorite movie star, or family friend was drinking alcohol, would not they want to try it also? Children who look up to someone aim to be just like that person. Brittney Spears and Lindsay Lohan drink, smoke and everything else. Don’t the kids who admire those two consider doing things because their idol does? In this way, children are, in fact, influenced by those they respect.
Alex and others above posted at the shelter of children and the source of that shelter. The children's young innocence, and pure ideals form a bubble that couldn't be popped by the Minnesota State Fair's sharpest pin. But Does not everything have a loophole? The child who watches Shrek and other movies with the mature viewers jokes snipped in, are as curious as any feline we will ever meet. The sexual connotations that we (the mature viewer) laugh at do not go unnoticed. The child simply has to ask what does that mean and the next few minutes are filled with the joyous sudden trip to the bathroom, "Who wants a snack?", and the story of the friendly stork.
I will agree though when she disagrees with Casey. That kids are much more influential than most people will think that they are. I know from personal being. I am the youngest of three other brothers. I can feel or see when I have started to behave,or say the same things they do. Even the style of clothes I wear was probably at one time influenced by what my brothers were doing. They watched older movies when I was young and I learned about a lot of this censored material at a young age. It hard to escape because it is just so much present in T.V., and clothes, and books even. I go to Barnes and Noble and walking through the aisles the usual cover includes the female either her clothes half off, or half on, you can decide for yourself. Really it is disgusting.
Sex and drugs is in the media too much. It is being used to the point that children, and teens think it is okay. Sex is being used so much in movies and television shows with the kids being in high school, girls begin thinking it is okay to have sex and this age, and it is the cool thing to do, and it will get boys to like them. In reality it really will hurt the girls in the long run, but they think that because of the way it is advertised on television. Except lately, on MTV they have been showing commercials not promoting drugs and sex saying "Live above the influence" but then they do show shows such as; Date my Mom, Parental Control and next which are showing people kissing on each other.
Alex P makes a good point when he talks about children not knowing what was going on in movies like Shrek making sexual comments, because they do not understand what is going on. Sexual comments should not be in a CHILDREN'S movie in the first place though, because that makes them exposed to it sooner, which should not be the case.
Also, Merrilyn K makes a good point when she brings up the Dove commercials. I never thought about it in that way, but they really should not be showing commercials like that considering those Dove ones are on the majority of the channels, so most kids do see that. No little eight year old is going to want to see an older woman with only a bra and underwear on.
The media is showing too much to little kids, period. If they want to do it they should do it at night when the adults watch TV and when the children are sleeping.
Although some people might not be influenced by what they see in the media, many young children are. Children are exposed to sex and drugs just by watching television. Like Lydia B said, “ Children seem to be growing up earlier.” This is true. They might not mature earlier but they are exposed to so much more than older generations were. Children frequently imitate the behavior they see on television. Even my eight year old cousin talks and dresses like the characters she sees on television. She does everything she can to be like them. She is even is asking what sex is because she heard about it while watching television. When I was her age, I was not the least bit interested in knowing what sex was because I was not even exposed to it. I agree with Luke A when he says “ The fact is that our society accepts sex and drugs as normal.” Because we are so used to seeing drugs and sex on television, we get used to it and it hardly bothers us anymore so we start to accept it. Much of the media portrays these issues that it doesn’t seem wrong anymore. When issues such as sex and drugs first started to appear in the media many people were shocked and did not approve because it was something new. However, young children should not be exposed to this. Watching people have sex or do drugs is inevitably going to spark some interest. Although some children do not understand this crude behavior, they still want to know what is going on and eventually they do find out. According to the article “Kids Health,” Children and teens “who watch lots of sexual content on TV are more likely to initiate intercourse or participate in other sexual activities earlier than peers who don't watch sexually explicit shows.” Some of these children might not be influenced by what they see in the media, but they become informed on the matter and there innocence is still being lost.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html
Sex and drugs are a serious problem on TV and as Alex P said earlier children are very susceptible to this. They are heavily influenced by our actions and the actions of those they look up to. All it takes is a day with your younger cousins or siblings to find out how many of your actions affect their own behavior; it is amazing. TV has the same effects, and take for example a TV station like MTV with “12.6 scenes per hour” of sexual content and “32 instances per hour” of curse words there is an issue we need to address. But something I have noticed is no one has blogged about what should be done about this problem and everyone has only said that sex and drugs are bad. So what should be done?
I do not feel anything can be changed on the media. Where can we draw those lines? The lines of what is ok and what is not ok, who can make that kind of judgment call? No one can. Everyone’s morals and beliefs are different. No one person can tell every single other American viewer what they should or should be watching by banning certain things from TV. No, this is problem that needs to be addressed at home. It is so easy for people to point fingers at the "big", "bad" TV corporations but the truth is this. Not a single television company would put content on the TV that wouldn't appeal to thousands of people and therefore produce big ratings. The companies hardly control what is on TV, we do. That's why shows depicting violence and sex are on TV because people will watch it. If you are not that kind of person, who likes violence and sex, then you have something called a remote that can change the channel if something offensive or inappropriate comes on. If you have kids that are defiantly not ready for the things on TV, no one is forcing you to own and keep and television in your house. There are also many parental control options. When my parents got full cable, I was nine, we had strict parental locks on the TV. I completely hated it at the time but now I understand its importance. I feel more people need to be taking responsibility for this problem and not just blaming it on the TV stations. This is a problem we share as a society it is not a TV/media problem.
"MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
Many good points have been made or brought up in past comments. One such comments that stuck out at me was one that Alex P made about how kids are suseptable to their peers. I must say that I agree with him 100%. Children will do anything that they see thier role models or idols doing. One good example of this is the child's parents. You can always find even a slight reflection of the parents' behavior in their children. If a young boy is yelling at his peers and snatching toys from other children, one can only guess that his parents argue with eachother and others and yell at their son. And vice-versa. If a kid's parents are "role model parents" and are patient, good, kind, and other virtuous characteristics, then their kid is usually a "good kid". But this doesn't apply to ALL kids.
Another childrens' idol right now is the famous Miley Cyrus. Better known as Hanna Montana. Not only does she have her own TV show, but you can find her merchandise almost anywhere and everywhere you go. Clair's, Walmart, Target and other stores have isle upon isle, shelf upon shelf full of Hanna Montana clothing and accessories. Three girls I baby sit on occasion own their own Hanna Montana wigs and outfits, I've seen young toddlers running around wearing Hanna Montana wigs and sequin shirts, and I've heard them sing her songs. Young girls want to be like Hanna Montana. Kids want to be like the people that they look up to in any way possible.
Another good point mentioned is what Stephen M said about what we Can do to change what's going on. True, one person can't make the decision of what everyone can and can't watch. That'd be like the President chosing what one religion the whole country can follow. But by watching the shows with violence, sex, drugs and other "bad influences", we decide what remains on TV and what gets the boot. If you don't like something that's on, don't watch it. Simple as that. As to what we can do about exposing our children to these things, don't allow them to watch it. Put the TV on Arthur and leave it there or don't let them watch TV at all. There are other things that we can expose our children to. Like coloring books, children's movies such as Little Einstein, and learning toys, books and games. Don't let the TV teach your kids for you, teach them what you want them to know.
There are other things we can do to entertain ourselves than by sitting in front of the TV and watching all the violence and sex on it.
The Hanna Montana show and other real life experiences.
As others have said, children are influenced by their idols. When they see someone they admire a certain way, they are going to try to act like that because they make it look cool. This is not the case for all children, but it is for most. Watching their favorite celebrities doing drugs makes children think that is fine and that here are no consequences for these actions. Upon seeing their idols participate in bad behavior, kids think that there is nothing wrong with it because they respect that person and they have already created a perfect image of them. Kids start to experiment with drugs because they want their peers to think they’re cool just because they saw it on television. Some of the people we see on television flaunt the number of people they have had sex with rather than to be ashamed of it. This encourages many people to have sex just to impress others. This makes others think that the only way they can be accepted and respected by their peers is by having sex. This should not be allowed anymore.
Rachel H talks about how kids already know the consequences of sex. Even though this is true for most cases, kids still do not practice safe sex. Sex is constantly promoted on television but safe sex is not. It might be promoted in a few commercials but it is hardly ever promoted on shows. Rachel H brings up a good point when she says, “What is coming to the television programs that are suppose to be helping teens make responsible decisions, but then backfiring…” Commercials on MTV appear advertising to live above the influence and to have safe sex but then they have shows that portray these bad influences in a positive way. This is very hypocritical of MTV because they do not stick to one idea. These shows on MTV make sex look like its no big deal and that there will not be any consequences. There are many consequences that can come from sex and the use of drugs that many people are unaware of or just forget about. Kids do not imagine anything bad happening to them due to the consequences of their actions because television doesn’t really show this side of sex an drugs.
While Gabriela states that, "Kids start to experiment with drugs because they want their peers to think they’re cool just because they saw it on television", it is also plausable to notice that most of the things that children are engaging in seem to be a way of excpetance. By acting upon these impulses, you see that many kids will try to become their idol. They will change the way they look, talk, and how they act just to become that one person. When Alex P said that, "When children look up to someone, they are going to copy what that person does" the fact that children are so easily influenced presents an invitation to the media. This invitation, that is mostly seen through television shows, makes the younger generations wonder if that is how they should act or think. Just the other day I saw a young boy of about ten or so who knew more than I did about certain topics. I was suprised by the fact that while the kid was knowledgable about sex and drugs he also had zero maturity and his mom would give him anything to make him settle down or to be quiet. So why is it then, that this boy was acting like this? There are many possible answers but one answer I saw immediatly was to get attention.
But I do have to agree with Gabriela D when she argues that, "These shows on MTV make sex look like its no big deal and that there will not be any consequences." Anymore children are having unprotected sex or are thinking about the idea of sex the minuet they get into eighth grade. And yes, I do beleieve that there should be more commercials about safe sex, even if it is embaressing. But while we have these "talks with the parents" they seem to do nothing more than spark our interests. Kids these days just do not understand that they could get pregnant, and then they would have no future. That person would become a drop out and a shame to their family. I ask you again, what does the media do to prevent this? The answer, nothing.
Gabriella D makes a good point when she discusses children growing up a lot faster these days. It is so true, because kids these days are exposed to so much more then our parents or grandparents were. I have even noticed it with my little sister, she is 10 years old and she knows what 'making out' is and is not disgusted by it, probably because it is shown so much on the TV and media these days that is just seems normal to her. When I was her age, i did not even know what it was to 'make out' and people kissing disgusted me.Just in the past 6 years the media has changed and not in a good way for children, because it seems as if all of them have lost their innocence so much faster then children used too.
Merrilyn K also makes a good point when she says "Children will do anything that they see thier role models or idols doing." It is true. Even my little sister who is 2 years old does it, she loves Dora the explorer and she loves having Dora clothes and anything involving Dora. But Dora is on of the good things shown on TV. Girls wanting to me like the girls on the TV show 'The Girls Next Door' on VH1, however, is not one of one of the good things shown on TV. It is a TV show about the playboy bunnies, which a lot of girls these days seem to watch. They may not necessarily want to be like those girl when it comes to being a play boy bunny but they WANT to look like them. What the girls do not realize is they are all fake, and the beauty they have is not real. The media makes girls think they have to look like those girls to be beautiful, which is not true. And that makes girls have lower self confidence because of the fact they do not have a size zero waist and long blonde hair. The media has totally changed what beauty really is.
Except for maybe some of the Dove commercials that say "Be comfortable in the skin you in" or something like that.
While I agree strongly with the many people who believe that the media is playing too strong a role on children in our society, I also think we need to reflect deeper on it’s effects on teens, girls in particular. Since most of the people blogging on this topic are females I am a little surprised that while this has been briefly touched on, no one has stopped to explore further. It seems to me that as girls we are constantly having scandalously dressed women thrown in our faces telling us that they are the ideal beauty, that they are the definition of sexy. Both Merrilyn K and Connor D have touched on the idea of unnesarily exposed women in the media in places where they don’t need to be like in shampoo comercials and on book covers. The problem with those images is they make most women feel inadequate. Instead of recognizing that they are physically different, they feel pressured into trying to immitate the women they see, to change themselves to fit into a specific mold. Why do they do it? Because society is telling them that they need to, plain and simple.
Many people may argue that they do not want to change themselves to look just like everyone else, or try fit the typical standards. To those people my question is, how many of them wear makeup, style their hair, and wear fashionable clothing on a regular basis? If they don’t care about fitting to the specific molds of beauty then those things should not matter to them. Would they not simply be content with themselves as they are? (To any of you who can honestly tell me you are happy as you are I aplaud you, for that is a rare occurrence you should be proud of.) The fact is that everyone strives to be attractive. Why? For the obvious reasons of attracting the obvious sex. We strive for sex appeal every day. In the way we dress, in the way we act, in how we behave at school we are constantly striving to do things for the opposite sex.
How often do girls try to fix themselves up to try to catch a guys eye? How hard do they try to be attractive for their “special someone” instead of focussing on more important qualities like personality or compatability? Because those things don’t hold as much value in many of today’s relationships. Sex and sexual appeal now rate much higher on the list of importances. When asked to describe the perfect man how many girls answer with the typical “tall dark and handsome” description? How many guys say they want their girlfriend to be hot? We do these things because the media has taught us that we should, that it is what is important.
We have also allowed our relationships to define us. It seems more and more being in a relationship is what defines us. When talking about people how often do we use descriptions like, “that girl who was going out with so and so” or “the guy dating this girl” to define them? In magazines, what is more important than which relationships have ended and which ones are starting? How many movies are there where the main plot is about a couple finding love? It is because the media has placed dating at such a high value. It seems so often we feel pressured to be dating someone, to have a boyfriend or girlfriend that again, we are not happy with ourselves until we fit that mold. We feel like losers and misfits when we are single and often feel like something is wrong with us or we are doing something wrong if we are single. People in relationships feel pressured to stay in one, to do anything to keep from going back to being singled.
Despite whether we want these issues to impact us or not they are unnavoidable. They are problems that we have had always had forming in our lives. The media has placed these desires in our subconsciousness since childhood. We need to recognize this issue and try to make a conscious effort to change this. We will stay under the media’s control until we do.
We need to keep in mind that there are other forms of media other than television, as Amber R previously mentioned, such as magazines, books, merchandise, and, probably two of the most important, music and the internet. Connor D mentions, “I go to Barnes and Noble and walking through the aisles the usual cover includes the female either her clothes half off, or half on”.
Because the internet is such a big part of today’s society, I decided to research sex on the internet. What I found was shocking. Here are just a few statistics:
- Every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being made.
- In 2006, approximately $13.3 billion in the United States was spent on pornography which exceeded the revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC.
- The United States is the top video porn producer.
- In 2006, there were 75,608,612 searches for the search term “sex”.
- From 2005 to 2008, the average number of monthly visitors to adult sites nearly doubled rising to about 75 billion.
- There are 4.2 million pornographic sites on the internet, 244,661,900 being of the United States.
- There are 68 million pornographic searches a day.
- 42.7 % of internet users view porn.
- There are 116,000 requests for child pornography a day and 110,000 sites illegally offering it.
- 1 in 7 youths receives sexual solicitation.
- The average age at which a child is exposed to pornography is 11 years old.
- 90% of 8-16 year olds have viewed porn online, especially while doing homework.
Now you understand as to why I was shocked. The internet clearly contains more sexual content than any other form of media, especially since illegal sexual content can be seen and purchased on the internet. At least on television it is censored and controlled. This could be a part of the huge sex crisis in America. Almost every single household has internet and, usually, it is available to any child. Sometimes sexual content just pops up on the screen, as I have experienced. I was just typing a paper for English when a huge add called PornTube.com, a play on YouTube.com, came up, showing all kinds of nasty things I never hoped to see in the first place. I immediately exited, being frightened for my life and not going on the computer for a good four days. This shows that, although sexual content is viewable usually because people go searching for it, it can also just appear out of nowhere. And because America is all about freedom, we really can’t do anything to control it. Sure there are “report” buttons and such, but seriously. Who actually goes around reporting people and, if they do, does it even change anything? Myspace.com is a great example of this. I have reported some people for putting up explicit pictures, but the following week, nothing had changed on their site.
Music, another huge part of entertainment, also contains all kinds of sexual content. People usually connect rap and hip hop with sexual content, which is logical. Rap and hip hop is constantly, almost always, about sex or girls. For example, after being told what a “cookie” is in the sexual world, the meaning of the song Cookie Jar by Gym Class Heroes totally changed for me and my sister. We just thought it was an innocent song about cookies, who knew they were talking about a woman’s vagina? Even country contains sexual lyrics.
Before I finish, I must clear up my point in my previous post. Casey R thought that I suggested “that perhaps sheltering of children is actually causing the problems”. I was not trying to say that necessarily. I was just trying to point out that ultimately it was my decision whether or not I have sex and do drugs, whether or not I was sheltered at a young age. Honestly, I wish my parents had had “the talk” with me and informed me about all of those things that are previously mentioned. It probably would have helped growing up because I remember feeling stupid and uninformed when others were talking about it. I also make an effort to try to learn about sex and drugs, including slang and jokes, just so I at least know what people are talking about. Through all of the influence in the media and peer pressure and such, I still choose to be obstinate and drug-free though.
http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html
Amberrw said "We need to recognize this issue and try to make a conscious effort to change this. We will stay under the media’s control until we do."
I agree with the first sentence of this that yes it is an issue we need to address and do something about. But the second sentence, under the media's control? This seems a little ridiculous. It is as if the media is some kind of totalitarian regime that wants control over our hearts and souls. The media isn't some kind of thing that is out to get us. There is no underground secret media organization out to take over the world. The media is simply a large group of working people that are simply doing their jobs like everyone else. Yes there may be very greedy people in the entertainment industry but can anyone tell me where there aren’t greedy people just out for money. It exists in any profession, except teaching of course.
To provide a good example, we'll take our very own rebel corner. Great place who doesn't love it? When I worked there last year I was able to, along with the job of serving people, help Mr. Stoeklen and Mrs. Shiktle order food and help with inventory. I was completely amazed by how many bagels were ordered every day. On average we ordered around two hundred bagels and many bags of cheese every week. I was amazed at that I thought, how can we possibly ordered that much? But then it became obviously clear that people love bagels and cheese and therefore the more we bought and sold the more money we could make for school. Supply and demand, simple right? We have excess of bagels and nacho cheese because that’s what people want. Now let’s say everyone found out that you know nacho cheese really isn’t that good for you. What if it had serious consequences in the long run for your health? Should we blame Mr. Stoeklan and Mrs. Shiktle if that were to happen? Are they the bad guys? They were only trying to make money for school right?
Is this no different from what the media companies do to make money? Just give the public what they want?
I know most of us have encountered an awkward incident with our parents when watching a movie or a TV show and sexual acts begin. I know when that happens I get up and leave, but it always seems to come back at me when my parents say, “We need to talk about the birds and the bees.” Because the media is now showing sexual acts more often on TV without showing how to protect ones self, parents feel more obligated to talk about the “birds and the bees.” Shelby G W makes a great point though when she says, “But while we have these "talks with the parents" they seem to do nothing more than spark our interests.” Although we do not want to sit there and listen to them rant about sex and drugs, we all have a million questions racing through our heads. We definitely become more interested. I feel as though parents shouldn’t isolate their children at young ages so we wouldn’t have to receive these talks after something uncomfortable just happened. Parents need to just be more open about everything at a young age so it is a comfortable topic in the house. Why should they isolate us when the media isn’t?
When Amber R W went deeper inside “the girls,” it brought up true reality. Most girls do follow what is in magazines and on TV, on how they dress of do their hair to receive attention from the boys. I don’t think girls mean to follow the ideal look for the “perfect” girl, but some do because they have a low self-esteem and want attention from everyone who will give it. Relationship status seems to be the most important thing in high school girls lives. If your not in one, some people feel as though they are not “good enough.” Amber R W makes a valid point when she says, “People in relationships feel pressured to stay in one, to do anything to keep from going back to being single.” I think this is completely true. And this is where the media gets brought in. On TV shows such as “Degrassi” on The N, some of the teens are very promiscuous to get what they want. Then they have a boyfriend and they will do anything and everything to keep them. If girls are watching shows like that it teaches them a false lesson; How to keep a boyfriend. The wrong way.
Many people have been talking about the effects of commercials and how they affect the thoughts of young girls. Vanessa G W states that “The media makes girls think they have to look like those girls to be beautiful, which is not true.” All of the revealing commercials and shows that are on television are forming in the minds of children what women are supposed to look like, and they are giving the wrong impression. While commercials and television shows are a large impact in the lives of children, so are movies. People of all ages go to movies on the weekends and see inappropriate things. Much of it is sexual; however, there are a lot of references to drug use. The media not only pressure girls to look a certain way, but it accepts the use of drugs also. According to the Greater Dallas Council on alcohol & drug abuse, “Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, and the risk of using cocaine is estimated to be more than 104 times greater for those who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it.” Also, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, “112 million Americans age 12 or older (45% of the population) reported illicit drug use at least once in their lifetime.” These statistics may be surprising to many people. If 45 percent of the population has at least tried marijuana, then children are not only getting ideas from the media but also from young adults or even parents in their lives.
The last movie I watched was Knocked Up. I saw it underage with my cousin who was 23. Many parents such as mine allow their children to watch rated R movies before they are of age to see them alone. Although I am already aware of the drugs and sex in our world, a young child may not be. There is drug use of marijuana and mushrooms many times throughout the movie and obviously the whole movie is based around sex. While the movie is very funny, it shouldn’t be. Today’s society accepts sex and drugs as normal, and it is becoming more and more that way every day. If adults are doing drugs along with youth, then think how our youth perceives drugs. They must think that it is normal. If someone I looked up to did something I was not very familiar with, I would be curious about it and want to try it also. The percent of those who do use drugs is rising every year. As more and more children watch movies, television shows, and listens to music they hear about sex and drugs. The problem is that it is accepted by the media and perceived as a normal, every day thing.
Another problem is also peer pressure. The media shows drugs to be cool and fun, and this leads children or teenagers to try it. Then friends will try and pressure each other into doing something they don’t necessarily want to. Rachel H W makes a good point when she says, “I am glad that television programs are beginning to show the consequences of having sex.” This is not always the case though. Many movies or television shows do not show the consequences of drugs and sex, and if teenagers or children do not know the consequences, then they might be more prone to trying drugs with their friends.
"Drug use." Bureau of Justice Statistics. Sept. 2007. U.S. Department of Justice. 11 Oct. 2008
"Marijuana." Greater Dallas Council on alcohol & drug abuse. 4 Mar. 2006. National Institute on Drug Abuse. 11 Oct. 2008
Commercials have a big influence on our society because they show everyone what is hip, new, and fresh. Luke brings up a good point about the way drugs and sex are shown in commercials. they might be seen as cool and show young people what we should look like, like the victoria secret commercials. Many young women might get there impression of what women should look like from that commercial. not all of them are bad however. There are a lot of commercials that are directly pointed towards the younger generations about drugs and alcohol. These commercials show the direct correlation of using illegal substances, live above the influence. These commercials use average looking teenagers and show how smoking marijuana can directly affect your life. Many commercials show sex and drugs, usually without boundaries.
On that note I would like to address something that Rachel said, " Parents need to just be more open about everything at a young age so it is a comfortable topic in the house. Why should they isolate us when the media isn’t?". The media is not isolating the youth from anything, even though the media presents sex and drugs in an overly exaggerated light, sex and drugs are still shown, and not in a positive way. Not all teenagers are mindless conformists, these situations in the media may not get us to go and do drugs or having sex, but these situations on the media can arise some important questions. Parents, teachers, and schools need to be more open with these topics so there can be a safe outlet to get the correct answers. Many un-planned pregnancies happen because young adult do not have the popper knowledge of birth control or condoms. The media rarely shows adolescents ways to protect themselves while having sex. If this was a more comfortable topic than maybe there would be a lot less teen pregnancy.
MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
Sami brings up another aspect of our media, commercials. These commercials though are shown during times when they believe adults are watching, such as during football games. During large events such as the Super bowl, it seems like every commercial has to do with alcohol. The advertisers do not seem to care that little kids are watching the football game and are subjected to the commercials. Last year when we were watching the game, my nephew asked if he could have one of those, pointing to the TV. I realized he was talking about beer. I then had to explain to him that it was for adults and not children. It’s not fair for them to see this, and actually think that it’s something made for them. On the other hand though, commercials provided by the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign teach teens about tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. It’s a great way to teach children about what could happen if you get involved with the drugs, even if the “skits” they portray may seem a bit exaggerated. It may also be a useful way to help you talk to your children about these matters.
I would also like to comment on what Rachel said, “Parents need to just be more open about everything at a young age so it is a comfortable topic in the house. Why should they isolate us when the media isn’t?’” Parents should not have to be bringing up these topics with their young children when they most likely won’t even understand what is being said. I do believe that they should monitor what their children watch, until they are old enough to understand. When they are of age as Sammie pointed out, talking with your children about sex and drugs could prevent teen pregnancy and possibly prevent your children from doing drugs.
Today though, the internet is a big part of children’s lives. You can access anything with just a push of a button, and this allows our children to learn things that they shouldn’t know about until they’re older. Children hear a good song on the radio, and want o know the lyrics. Today’s lyrics pertain to sex, drugs, and violence. Also, children can type in something on google.com, and accidently click on the wrong link and I could take them to sights that are not appropriate for children. Our world today is uncensored, and it’s up to the adults to educate their children about safety, not only about strangers, but now about the internet.
Negative female portrayl, as Amber brought up, is a huge part of sex in the media. The sad thing about provocative female pictures is that this is not only a U.S. problem. Woman are viewed this way all around the world. When I was in Europe last year, I bought a magazine to read on a train ride. It was a fairly popular teen magazine in the U.S., so I thought that it would be similar in content. It turned out that every other page of this magazine was of a woman in lingerie, half dressed, or in a sexual pose. And this was supposed to be a magazine for teen girls! What I do not understand about this depiction of women is why we, as women, put up with it? Women are viewed as objects to be desired, not as people. These pictures and such really should be recognized as offending and degrading. This sexual representation is not only stereotypical, but wrong. As Amber mentioned, we should be seen as the people we are. Images of nudity not only make women scrutinize their looks but classify us as objects of pleasure.
Since this is a worldwide issue, everyone should work to end it. It is true, as touched on above, that the television companies would not show sexual shows if they were not popular. So, in order to create a better image of life and of people in general, doesn’t it make sense for us to stop watching those kind of shows? Besides, people today are so focused on watching the media that they miss out on life. By going for a walk, playing a sport, or just getting outside, humans could accomplish more than one thing at once. Ratings on sexual and drug related shows would decrease, therefore taking at least some of them off the network. Also, people could actually do something.
Instead of just talking about what is wrong, we should, as Stephen said, work to fix it. Why is it that we just accept these flawed depictions without so much as a why? Not only does this issue hurt children, but, in reality, it hurts the way everyone looks at themselves. Is this feeling of not being good enough something we want to pass on? No. We should end this flawed ideal now so that the next generation can be truly happy with who they are.
Samantha H makes a good point, but I do not completely agree with it. Samantha says, “The media is not isolating the youth from anything,” but the media really affects the youth more than anyone else. Adults do watch movies and listen to the radio, but people around the age of twenty one already know the consequences of sex and drugs and have already experienced them in one way or another. This means that movies, television, or the radio have less of an effect on them because they already know about it. Children and some teenagers are not as familiar with the topics and can be more easily persuaded to try new things.
Teenagers begin to stay up later during their high school years. Late at night on radio stations such as 106.7 KBPI have sex talk shows on. The majority of the people who call in are in their twenties. However, if teenagers listen to such talk shows, they will hear a lot of talk about sex and drugs. The older people who call in are old enough to make their own decisions without being pressured into doing something they don’t want to. However, if a younger audience listens to the talk show, they might hear things that are new to them or even try the things they hear. The talk show is meant for an older audience, but any ages are aloud to listen. Movies are another example. While they might have been made for adults, teenagers and children still end up watching them and seeing things that can change their views on what sex and drugs are really like. Children are not old enough to make the correct decisions about sex and drugs yet, and movies often times show them as a way to have a good time.
Samantha H brings up another good point that, “parents, teachers, and schools need to be more open with these topics so there can be a safe outlet to get the correct answers.” The topic is usually embarrassing for children and teenagers to talk about, but if parents get to a point where they can talk about it openly with their kids then they will be more likely to make the right decisions when the time comes. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “Short, simple comments said and repeated often enough will get the message across.” If parents make sure that their children know how they feel about drugs, then the children will be able to deal with it better in the future. Rob Graham, a member of the Kaiser Family Foundation also reports that “the number of sexual scenes on TV nearly double since 1998.” Children are eventually going to see a television show or movie that references sex or drugs as the number of scenes rises each year. If parents get involved, then children should know the right decisions and be able to handle the events in real life.
"Sex on TV4" kkf.org. 9 Nov. 2005. Kaiser Family Foundation. 8 Sept. 2008
"Talking With Kids About Alcohol and Drugs." Children Now. Kaiser Family Foundation. 12 Oct. 2008
I was very intrigued by the statistics Dao T found on pornography and I thought I might do some of my own research on some of the major sex issues in the States. The information I found was both shocking and disturbing to me. To begin I thought I would start by researching some statistics on rape and sexual assault. Did you know that one is every six women will be sexually assaulted or raped at least once in their lifetime? One in six! That means your friends, your family members, people you know and care about, even yourself. That is a pretty large difference to the one in thirty-three chances for men. Not only that, but someone in the United States is sexually assaulted every two minutes. These numbers give the U.S. the highest rape rate in the world, thirteen times greater than England and twenty times greater than Japan. Next I decided to look into human trafficking. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, “human trafficking is the world’s most organized lucrative crime next to drugs and arms dealing.” In fact, “many drugs and arms dealers are now adding human trafficking to their racket as well. The reason: you can only sell drugs or a weapon once, but you can sell a girl or boy fifteen to forty times a night.” Worldwide, numbers range from 2.5 to 10 million people trafficked every year. The United States, trafficking 17,500 people into the country every year, is the largest in supply and demand in the world. There is also something to be said about the prostitution statistics. Not only are the high prostitution rates alarming, so are the ages of the girls involved. Did you know the average prostitute is fourteen to sixteen years old? Some girls can be ages as young as nine and ten. Contrary to popular belief, prostitution is not something most women and children do willingly, but rather something they are forced into by circumstances, abuse, and other forms of entrapment. In the same way, people in the pornography industry are forced into situations that many of them don’t want to be in. When we look at how much more sexual our country has become in the last few decades we tend to focus on the progress towards rights and the good things that have come out of it, but we fail to look at the reverse side and the millions of victims we have created. While women have made great leaps and bounds towards equality, more and more are forced into human trafficking, prostitution, pornography and other forms of sexual slavery. They are some of the most rapidly growing issues in the world.
In today’s society we need to be much more aware and worried by such problems. We live in a society where sexual predators on the Internet are frequent problems and the use of date rape drugs are far too common. The problem is that as we have changed our moral and standards to fit in with the media and society, we have also provided room for such situations to get far too out of hand. We live in a country of great freedom, but the way we have learned to abuse such freedoms and deny them to others is horrible. How can we allow people to get pleasure out of another person’s torture and abuse? We allow them to be victimized with no chance of escape because we enjoy what we can get out of it. There is a direct correlation between the increase of sex in the media and the increase of sexual slavery and abuse. Unfortunately it is a growing industry and as Stephen M mentioned with his analogy to bagels and cheese at rebel corner, as long as there is a demand there must be an ample supply to keep up with it. As long as there is a demand, there will be a steady stream of victims, and unfortunately for them, there is no end in sight.
http://www.rainn.org/statistics?gclid=CO6FpY7CopYCFQuYQAodyzT26A
http://www.sa.rochester.edu/masa/stats.php
http://www.barnabainstitute.org/2.html
http://www.nataliegrant.com/tag/human-trafficking/
http://www.thehomefoundation.net/facts.html
http://powerhouse-ministry.org/annielobert_prostitution.aspx
After reading Dao T’s last post I realized that my favorite band is probably corrupting my baby sister’s innocent mind. Me and my whole family love and own every CD from Bowling for Soup (B4S). We will all pile into our suburban and thrown in B4S’ second album, “A Hangover You Don’t Deserve”. We don’t even think about it. Sure it’s a really great album that has helped create some of our best times together but when I think about the lyrics I know my little sister doesn’t need to be shouting about a mom “[shaking] her ass on the hood of Whitesnake’s car” or “sleeping with [her] roommate every time [she] passed out”. When she was three she loved the album so much she would carry it around (my mother would take the CD out and put it in unoccupied case) and it wasn’t until Dao mentioned music that I actually looked at the inside cover of the case. There is a picture with the whole band, drunk/hung-over, laying around a bathroom floor holding plastic blow up dolls. Children, under like thirteen, should not being seeing this!
But we didn’t even think about this. And I say we because yes it’s a parents responsibility to watch what their children are begin exposed to but I (an older sibling, also responsible for the child) also could have looked at the cover and thought about it a little bit more and not let my sister carry it around. What I’m trying to get at here is that sex and drinking really do just “pop up” on you. Even if you don’t notice it.
Good feelings and happy memories can block out the tiny voices in our heads saying maybe what we’re listening to is inappropriate. Good feelings made us buy more of B4S’ CDs and my sister was exposed to more ideas about sex and drinking. Is this another example of supply and demand? Did the band know that their music would have such an effect on their fans? Should they really be held responsible for our children singing about getting drunk and having sex? Or is it my fault and my parents fault for not taking time to look at the lyrics and think about what the elementary students would get out of them?
It is our fault. We liked the music so we bought more; which in turn made the band make more of the same kind of music. We could have looked at the content with the child in mind and thought about the consequences’ and made the decision not to buy the CDs. Our children getting the wrong ideals about sex and drinking from the media is our fault.
Everything is way to easy to access today in our societies. Like Lydia B W said, “ You can access anything with just a push of a button.” Kids and teens learn from just a push of a button, but then it takes hours of talks and lessons to actually get the correct idea on what drugs can actually do to you and what sex can leave you with. But while reading my peers blogs, I have noticed that many people have said that most teens have more common sense then what the media is showing us. We know what is right and what is wrong. We make our own decisions not the media. TV shows or the internet might give us some ideas, but it is us who choose how our life is. Williams stated that, “studies on mass media influences on sexuality conclude that people who watch television programs containing depictions of attractive characters who enjoy having sexual intercourse and rarely suffer any negative consequences will be likely to imitate the behavior.” This is true in some cases. But this is when our knowledge comes in. We know were babies come from. We know how babies are made. With this statement Williams almost makes us teenagers appear as zombies that follow everything we see. So I agree that media can give us ideas, but ideas most of the time fall through and never end up happening. Our maturity level easily helps influence the decisions we make.
"MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol."
Williams, Casey. "MTV Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol." parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. 8 Sept. 2008 <>
Citation = (Williams)
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Dao T brings up a good point when she says, “We need to keep in mind that there are other forms of media other than television.” Music is a perfect example of this. According to an article by Hailey Hechtman, “Music Videos and Lyrics imply that teens, especially female teens should feel free to be sexually active and expose such great amounts of skin are working and sex is becoming the style at a young age.” Children are definitely not mature enough to have sex. They are not yet ware of the consequences that can follow. Young girls should not think that they are merely objects and they should not think that that is the only way that they will be valued by men or the rest of society. So many girls feel the pressure to dress inappropriately and have sex just because they see it in the media. The media is convincing girls to look and act a certain way. Girls, especially with self esteem issues, will try to imitate the half naked girls they see in the music videos. When young girls see these inappropriate music videos, they automatically think that sex is no big deal since it is being advertised in the music they listen to. This kind of music makes women seem of little importance or value. Like Alex P said, “Women are viewed as objects to be desired, not as people.” This is true because the women in music videos let the guys treat them like sexual objects, not like actual humans. I don’t think that this should be the case at all.
It is not just the music videos that promote this negative image of women but it is also the lyrics. Music lyrics usually contain sexual content and talk about drug use. They portray these bad influences as a life style and make it seem like a way to entrain one self. This sends out the wrong message to teens. Instead of speaking negatively about sex and drugs and explaining the consequences of these actions, music seems to be promoting it. People of all ages seem to be listening to music that portray sex and drugs in a positive way. Just like Rachel H said, “Parents need to just be more open about everything at a young age.” If parents talked to their children about these issues, they would not have to learn about sex and drugs from the media. And maybe, children would not be so influenced by the media to participate in these activities.
http://teammag.free.fr/Influence.html
The statistics Dao T found was absolutly ridiculous. I would have never guessed that the numbers of porn were so high in America these days. What caught my attention was that "The average age at which a child is exposed to pornography is 11 years old." What has happened to our little kids? How is the average a child had seen porn 11 years old. That is something 11 year old should not be watching, honestly adults really should not be watching things like that, but 11 year olds? Come on now. Children being exposed to porn also could tie into the reason why teenagers are having sex so much sooner, because they are exposed too things like that so much sooner. It is not good. Time have changed so much since I was a kid, I can not even imagine what they are going to be like for my two year old sister. It is sad to think about. It seems as if, back when my grandparents were my age everyone was getting married sooner and starting families. Now girls are having sex earlier, getting pregnant and then being left alone with the baby. What ever happened to waiting until you are married? Another statistic that really shocked me was that "90% of 8-16 year olds have viewed porn online, especially while doing homework." Do the parents not notice what their kids are doing? Do they allow it? Or just ignore it? And 8 year olds have viewed porn online? How do little 8 year old children even know what half of the things going on, on porn websites? Why are 8 year old even looking at stuff like that. I am amazed on how sick the internet has become. I guess we should take into consideration maybe the 8 year old typed in the wrong thing because when I was in third grade, I had just gone to see the movie "XXX" that action movie with Vin Diesel and I liked the movie so much I looked it up online and I got a porn website and it horrified me and also if you type in "myspace.com" wrong it as brought me to a porn website also. But I have never sat there at stared at it, that is discusting. And I do not understand how an 8 year old child could sit there and do it.
It disgusts me, I do not understand why people feel the need to post sex videos on the internet, where anyone can see it by simply typing in the wrong adress.
Drugs have not always been, a bad thing. Drugs were always used, for example the Native Americans smoked because it was a way for them to relax and have a sensual feeling. Drugs were used to cure illnesses not just to get high. Now that we know all the effects of drugs, we know that they can be dangerous. They can give us bad behavior, and adding sex can make it even more dangerous. The brain is impaired at the time of use of a drug and can lead to many dangerous things. Now there is drug abuse and what for, it just gets you high. It is nonsense; they should only be used as directed. The media puts it out there so everyone can see. When even the news gives information about new drugs people get ideas. On the news a few days ago I was watching the news and they came out with a new drug being used, and it turned out that I had that plant right in my front yard. I will not say what it is but most people with flowers in their yard may have it. I did not get any ideas because I have common sense not to use them, but there are people who will. On TV there are always humorous comments about drugs, yes, they may be funny but in the end they all try to get you to maybe use them and try it out for the experience like the people in the shows.
Watching the TV the other day I saw a commercial for jeans. There was this man and woman who started taking off their clothes. In the end it was obvious that they were having sex. This was just a commercial for jeans and they were having this very intimate time. It did not make sense why they would do that; children could easily be flipping through the channels and end up on that commercial. As people say, “sex sell” it is true because they impose the idea that if you buy those pants you will get “laid”. The teenage group is targeted to buy the jeans; they experience these new feelings and then believe that these jeans will solve their problems.
Sex in the mainstream has been growing and will continue to grow. This has become part of our culture and we will need to find a way to control it and make it more positive than negative.
While Arlexis G stated that, "Now that we know all the effects of drugs, we know that they can be dangerous" the truth is that we do not entirely know the true damages of drugs. While we do know some of the side effects and how they mess with our head, younger kids cannot comprehend how bad drugs will mess up your life. I mean sure there are those "live above the influence" commercials but what exactly do these accomplish? When I see them I don't think anything of them really. Younger people especially do not realize the true meaning of what it is like to be "influenced" by drugs. And, unfortunately, this is a problem. When we see someone else smoking or doing drugs you really don't think about how they are bad. For example, if you see a group of teens approach a younger kid at a party and they convince that kid that "its only a one time thing". This in itself is an understatement because once you do it, you might just get hooked. The after affects and issues that you might develop will make that person an outcast, a reject even. And because status is so important you might never be accepted. But what does the media do to stop or help this? Nothing. If anything they should be trying harder to encourage kids to stop and learn about how you can get addicted and they should learn that you actually might die from just a simple "hit".
As for sex in the media however, I have to disagree slightly with Vanessa G when she says, "I guess we should take into consideration maybe the 8 year old typed in the wrong thing". Anymore the internet is open to anything, and this creates a problem. Eight year olds cannot simply type in the wrong word and get a porn site. And even if they did, the possibility of that is very small. In fact the truth could be that they are being influenced by watching or listening to conversations of older generations. I mean everyone knows that little kids think of teens and superstars as their "idols". So they strive to become what that person is, which may lead to them getting into drugs or looking at porn.Kids these days are just curious and they want to be older and more mature than they are. Becuse of this however, they become easy targets and the media seems to do nothing but encourage them.
Commercials, music, television, magazines, radio. All forms of media that oui fast passed society cannot escape. We are always under the impression of the media no matter where we are or what we are doing. We can not escape it. Does that mean we are under the influence of the media? No. I was extremely shocked to see how many of my peers think that the majority of young people are mindless conformists that will follow anything they think is the newest trend. This is true for alot of people but not true for everyone. Maybe we should stop telling people what to do, but teach them how to decide for themselves. No one else is putting the joint in our mouths and forcing us to breath in. We make the decisions to partake in drugs and sex. Although the media makes an impression on our lives about what we could do, it does not always make us say that's what I will do.
This morning I was flipping through the channels when I came upon MTV. There was a show playing called Sex . . . with mom and dad. The show is about being open with their parents about sex. A controversial and embarrassing topic to talk about with your parents but this show should be television. This show makes the troublesome child understand the consequences of having unprotected sex and other various situations. After watching the show I did not start thinking about how I wanted to have sex I started to think about how these people did not have the proper education about sex and how to be safe. This show makes the parents and the children become open and honest about any questions and answers any of them would have. If parents were more open with their children about sex and drugs, then maybe children and teens would not have to get their values and make their decisions based off of what the media is saying.
MTV and Sex . . . With Mom and Dad
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In Arlexis G's blog she mentions a commercial for jeans that is basically one big sexual innuendo. I know of this commercial and when I saw it I was kind of shocked by it. Just a blatant use of sex to sell a product. I was disgusted by it. I hoped that others could recognize this and therefore not buy the product. If such things like this happened regularly to the numerous commercials involving sex, if people recognized bad advertisements like these and no one bought that product; defiantly the number of suggestive commercials would diminish. But, there are people out there who are driven by those commercials whether they realize it or not and keeps the focus of sex on TV in the mainstream. It is very sad that this happens and I feel that especially younger kids who aren’t ready for exposure to this should have parents to watch out for this. If such commercials are seen on basic cable stations during primetime then parents should be very careful about what stations their kids are watching. Parents also should talk to kids about things such as this, when it is left up to the TV, internet, or other kids how are kids supposed to interpret all of it. As Samantha H talked about if parents are more open to their kids then their values can come from their home and not from some other and most likely different view from television.
Another issue I'd like to talk about is the age that kids are being exposed to sex, drugs, and violence. As Vanessa G stated, "The average age at which a child is exposed to pornography is 11 years old." this is shocking that at such a young age some kid's innocence is being destroyed, but really what can we do about it? The more you try and keep something away from a kid the more they want. You know how it is, you’re with a younger cousin and you have something like your cell phone or ipod or just anything really stupid and they want it. They want it really bad and do you know what makes them want it more? You telling them that they can't have it. So how can we keep kids away from that? If we simply tell them that it is something very bad that they shouldn't ever go near is that really going to make them not look at porn? Or is it just going to make this mysterious thing even more intriguing? So what really can be done? We have to resign ourselves to the fact that nature will take its course and the kid’s environment will show him such things even if it is porn at such a young age. There is only so much parents can do except to be open about it and supportive.
Sex is definitely a major selling point in advertising a product. The most blantant commercials I have seen out there would have to be the Body Wash/Spray commercials. The commercial for the body wash has gorgeous women set up like a car wash scrubbing a young man's body down. That is highly inappropriate yet it is a great way to appeal to men. By saying that they will become more attractive by using these products, and giving them the idea that supermodels will suddenly have the urge to tackle them in the hallways at school, they appeal to the part of young people that is focused on self image and sexuality. The extent to which the take things though is shocking. Without the suds having covered the man in the commercial it would have been borderline pornographic. Being able to block television channels and shows from young children is a great idea but you cannot completely block them from the commercials that are shown. Sex becoming a factor in selling products that are meant to clean your body is a bit extreme. Samantha H wrote, "Commercials have a big influence on our society because they show everyone what is hip, new, and fresh". This is very true and very much a problem when it comes to the influence it has on the community. When images such as those are pounded into the minds of young children they will get warped views about what sex really means.
I feel like maybe what is happening on this post is not really being said. Many of the posts done here are in depth and thoughtful, but i feel like others are simply a repetition of what people's parents would want them to say. I am going to be frank. We all know people, people that we walk around with everyday, that we are friends with, perhaps even that we see in the mirror, that have had sex. For me, I see sex and the decision to have it as a personal choice. I read the MTV blog and was sickened by it. In my opinion, it was written by unrealistic parents who want to spit out statistic after statistic. Who cares about the numbers? I would agree with Taylor that it is a positive thing that America is becoming more aware of these issues, but would also add that perhaps we are not doing it in the correct manner. Education is an excellent thing, misinforming ignorant people is a horrible thing to do.
I had a discussion with a friend of mine a while back about sex. I tend to be a little bit more open minded than she does. She grew up in a very censored, Catholic, proper family. Thus, at the mention of sex her face turns bright red and she runs from the idea. I asked her if she had even thought about the possibility of not waiting for marriage. Her immediate answer was "I don't have to". She has been brainwashed. What will happen to her in college? People like her can't survive in the real world and I worry about her. What happens when mom and dad are not there to guide her when a guy she really likes asks her to have sex with him?
Throughout the blog, I have read various posts about certain aspects of the media. One aspect of the media that has been mentioned rarely is the video game industry. In video games such as Grand Theft Auto, and Guitar Hero, drugs, violence, and sex are all portrayed. Although these games are rated Mature, many parents let their children play them. My 5 year old cousin plays Guitar Hero constantly, and in this game the stages are complete with half naked girls in cages. Many might not notice this feature, but it strikes me as odd that the makers of these games would include that. In Grand Theft Auto, the point of the game is to shoot people and steal cars. This teaches teens about violence, and makes it seem okay. This though goes back to the point that parents should be censoring what their children are exposed to.
Another form of media that targets teens is advertising. Stores such as Abercrombie and Fitch, Victoria’s Secret and Hollister all thrive on their advertising. They advertise young men without shirts on, exposing buff bodies, and girls in very little clothing. Basically, they are selling sex to young teens in the form of advertising. These ads cause the teens to want to go into the stores and proceed to buy their clothing. This turns into a status problem, and puts pressure on the teens to buy this clothing in order to “fit in.” Commercials for Victoria’s Secret are aired on public television, and it shows young women walking around in just underwear. All of this advertising is just a way to make money, while aimlessly brainwashing young adults to feel the need to buy the product. Parents cannot protect their children from every form of media, when everyday advertisers and producers find new way to expose their explicit material to the world of young teens and children.
I thought The Simpsons was a fairly good comedy for the family, but I think a little more differently now. I have noticed that there has been more humor focusing on drugs and sex. It was not always like that, maybe they have gone into competition with Family Guy, or American Dad. Children are said to enjoy humor dealing with sex and drugs, but I do not understand why. It seems they have found out that children enjoy that and therefore add that to their shows. Now in competition more and more perverted humor is added. The people running the shows no longer care what they put out, they just want their ratings to go up. They now care less about the family values and now do what they have to keep up. Its funny on what the lyrics mean according to the show. “It seems today that all you see is violence in movies and sex on TV but where are those good ol’ fashion values on which we used to rely lucky there’s a family guy lucky there’s a man who’ll positively can do all the things that makes us laugh and cry he’s a family guy”(lyrics download). The song basically tells you that it is bad, and it’s a catchy tune that most people do not know what it is about.
Alcohol and bad language is also used in the mainstream. On Music Television (MTV) there is a lot of bad language. Before there were so many things that could not be said, but now some words are becoming less of a bad word. Everything used to be bleeped out but now a lot of those bad words are being left. For example if someone was to say “mother fucker” only the “mother” part of it would be bleeped out. Many words are not even being bleeped out anymore, I guess the more common they become the less of a bad word it is. On many family channels there are commercials fro alcohol. This can pose as a threat to children and teens, because they will want to start drinking. They say how good it tastes; and then that child or teenager can go to the stash of alcohol in their house and try it. When they did not even think of trying it they get the idea from the TV. The TV convinces teens and children to do these things and when they do them they think it is cool to do it. Then they pressure their friends to do it because if they do it they will be cool like on that one show or that one commercial. So in the end does sex and drugs help or hurt our society? Does it give a positive outlook giving children the knowledge to not do those things or does it try to convince them. If it is just for the ratings they should think what they are doing to our society, and realize that other countries are laughing at the way we raise our children.
In response to Amy S's post I do not necessarily see it as brain washing. You said yourself that it is a personal choice whether or not someone wants to have sex when they want to do it. There is no question about whether or not people who would like to wait can "survive in the real world" (Amy S). It is more about the way they live thier lives. They can "survive" in this world it is just more difficult to do it. This friend that had grown up with these morals probably has it better off than most people. They know what it is that they believe and while temptation is always there, as it is for everyone, it is easier for someone who knows what they want to resist the temptations our media mass produces.
Arlexis G brings up a brilliant point about The Simpsons. When we were younger my entire family would sit down together and watch The Simpsons. Now, however, my mother does not allow us to watch it anymore. She has seen how disgusting and innuendo laiden the show has become and she blocks it from our t.v. It is crazy to me that a show that I watched as a child I suddenly cannot watch as a young adult due to it's content. It seems a little backwards to me, but that just shows how much things have changed over the years. The Simpsons has been on for over a decade which gives the audience the opportunity to go back and watch the old episodes versus the brand new episodes and you see a very big difference. It is all sex, drugs, beer and violence on that show and they just keep getting worse. The things that are able to skate by unchallenged by those that are supposed to censor are unbelievable.
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