Monkey See, Monkey Do
Teen Promiscuity Linked to Sex on TV
CHICAGO, September 7, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Teens who view television programs containing a lot of sexual content are twice as likely to become involved sexually at a younger age than teens who watched less, a new study published Tuesday revealed.
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Well, no kidding.
We have a saying in computer programming: "GIGO." Garbage In, Garbage Out.
If you spend your free time watching TV shows that treat premarital sex as a ho-hum, everyday experience that is morally neutral, guess what? Your intellect is going to start warping, and you're going to start thinking premarital sex is not so bad. And once your intellect goes, your will is almost sure to follow.
If you spend your free time reading books that treat sexual matters lightly, if you waste your ears on music that celebrates all kinds of sexual deviancy, you are going to start acting that way.
If the suggestion of premarital sex doesn't offend you, then performing the act itself will not offend you either.
If Justin Timberlake's singing "gonna have you naked by the end of this song" doesn't fill you with righteous indignation, and if watching your favorite sit-com character spend the night with his girlfriend doesn't offend your piety, then what reason do you have for thinking that you won't do those very things, at some point in your life?
Trash the TV. If you're really desperate for someone to sit in your living room who will curse, tell dirty jokes, and talk about illicit sex, invite your nasty Uncle Mort over for dinner and give him a few beers. At least he'll eventually go home at the end of the night.
The rest of the article follows ...
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The survey asked 1,792 teens aged 12 to 17 about their television viewing habits and about their sexual activity, repeating the survey a year later. The study was published in the September issue of the American Academy of Pediatrics journal, Pediatrics.
Lead researcher, psychologist Rebecca Collins, told Reuters news, "This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities."
If a show talks about sex, rather than reveal it explicitly, the outcome is just as pronounced. "Both affect adolescents' perceptions of what is normal sexual behavior and propels their own sexual behavior," Collins revealed.
Collins also noted how 12 year-olds who viewed large amounts of sexual content on TV behaved sexually more like kids two or three years older. "The advancement in sexual behavior we saw among kids who watched a lot of sexual television was striking," she said.
Around two-thirds of TV shows depict sex in some way, according to earlier studies referred to by Collins' group. The average teen watches three hours of television.
"The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior," Collins stated.
The study reflects what television advertisers have known for decades. Television viewing can cause major changes in viewers' habits and thinking. Advertisers have therefore spent billions using the almost hypnotic electronic medium to draw people towards buying their products or services or to vote for their candidates or parties. Likewise, tv has been successfully used by others for social engineering and behaviour modification agendas, such as a greater openness to illicit sexual behaviour.
CHICAGO, September 7, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Teens who view television programs containing a lot of sexual content are twice as likely to become involved sexually at a younger age than teens who watched less, a new study published Tuesday revealed.
**********************************
Well, no kidding.
We have a saying in computer programming: "GIGO." Garbage In, Garbage Out.
If you spend your free time watching TV shows that treat premarital sex as a ho-hum, everyday experience that is morally neutral, guess what? Your intellect is going to start warping, and you're going to start thinking premarital sex is not so bad. And once your intellect goes, your will is almost sure to follow.
If you spend your free time reading books that treat sexual matters lightly, if you waste your ears on music that celebrates all kinds of sexual deviancy, you are going to start acting that way.
If the suggestion of premarital sex doesn't offend you, then performing the act itself will not offend you either.
If Justin Timberlake's singing "gonna have you naked by the end of this song" doesn't fill you with righteous indignation, and if watching your favorite sit-com character spend the night with his girlfriend doesn't offend your piety, then what reason do you have for thinking that you won't do those very things, at some point in your life?
Trash the TV. If you're really desperate for someone to sit in your living room who will curse, tell dirty jokes, and talk about illicit sex, invite your nasty Uncle Mort over for dinner and give him a few beers. At least he'll eventually go home at the end of the night.
The rest of the article follows ...
**********************************
The survey asked 1,792 teens aged 12 to 17 about their television viewing habits and about their sexual activity, repeating the survey a year later. The study was published in the September issue of the American Academy of Pediatrics journal, Pediatrics.
Lead researcher, psychologist Rebecca Collins, told Reuters news, "This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities."
If a show talks about sex, rather than reveal it explicitly, the outcome is just as pronounced. "Both affect adolescents' perceptions of what is normal sexual behavior and propels their own sexual behavior," Collins revealed.
Collins also noted how 12 year-olds who viewed large amounts of sexual content on TV behaved sexually more like kids two or three years older. "The advancement in sexual behavior we saw among kids who watched a lot of sexual television was striking," she said.
Around two-thirds of TV shows depict sex in some way, according to earlier studies referred to by Collins' group. The average teen watches three hours of television.
"The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior," Collins stated.
The study reflects what television advertisers have known for decades. Television viewing can cause major changes in viewers' habits and thinking. Advertisers have therefore spent billions using the almost hypnotic electronic medium to draw people towards buying their products or services or to vote for their candidates or parties. Likewise, tv has been successfully used by others for social engineering and behaviour modification agendas, such as a greater openness to illicit sexual behaviour.
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