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Jennifer Pineda
English 113
13 March 2015
Affects of Media
Many parents are concerned about what their children watch on a daily basis.
Furthermore, concerned parents wonder if the media has any influence in their childs life.
Everything that children see or hear in the media early on in their lives affects them in some
way. Therefore, media has an affect on adolescent development, which contributes to sexual
activity, rebellion, drug and/or alcohol use. Mass media has exposed them to inappropriate
behavior that any parent should be afraid of their children falling into. Mass media has rapidly
grown with their sexual content movies, shows, and television shows that expose the use of
drugs and alcohol to even profanity. Mass media has an impact on everyone but the ones being
affected the most are adolescents.
Teenagers tend to enter a stage of vulnerability that they do anything to fit in. The
department of Psychiatry and bio behavioral Sciences of University of California, Los Angeles,
states that at times they are in their developmental period when gender roles, sexual attitudes,
and sexual behaviors are being shaped. All this sexual content has gone out of hand and has
grown rapidly; University of California, Los Angeles found that 80% of all movies shown on
network or cable television stations have sexual content. Television shows illustrate that it is
okay to have meaningless sex if it helps them to fit in. Thus, young adults learn by imitating
what they see on television. Young teenagers becoming sexualized sooner then average and it
results in poor behavior. Rand health conducted a study of the influences of watching sex on

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television and the correlation of sexual activity. Rand Corporation declares, Across all age
groups, teens who saw the most sex on television were twice as likely to initiate intercourse
within the next year as were those who saw the least(Does Watching Sex On Television
Influence Teens Sexual Activity?). Media that obtains any kind of sexual content has multiple
effects on society. Times have changed immensely. Whereas 50 years ago a teens family,
friends, school and church were the primary influences on his or her attitudes, values and
beliefs about sexuality (Steele). As stated, things have now changed, teenagers have accessed
to wider, powerful influence-the ubiquitous mass media. Mass media shows teens compelling
images of sex. Jeanne Rogge contributor of The Journal Of Sex Research adds, These media
windows of the world are part of teens lived experiences(Steel). Teens now live in a media
centered world. Mass media tends to leave out the crucial three Cs, which are commitment,
contraception, and consequences. By media leaving out the most important Cs it puts
adolescents at risk to have an unwanted pregnancy and get a sexual transmitted disease.
Volunteering to have sexual intercourse comes with great responsibility as well as the
acknowledgement of consequences that come with it.
Consider, a show that premiered on MTV called Jersey Shore from December 3, 2009
to December 20, 2012. Jersey Shore is an American reality television series in United States
that follows the lives of eight housemates spending their summer at the Jersey Shore in the
state of New Jersey. These eight-cast members go out and party every night and influence
premarital sex. This show was very popular and was a great hit that aired for three years (Rader
Online). These cast members engage in extremely inappropriate behavior. Conversations about
sex are endless; cast members are shown to hook up every time they go out. Both girls, and
guys come back home to the Jersey Shore with someone new they met that night to have a

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one-night stand. Is this what teens were actually watching? An article in the McClatchy-Tribune
Business News states that MTV is the highest-rated basic cable network channel among the
important demographic category of people ages 12- 34(Keith). Jersey Shore is a group of
people going out, partying and bringing a stranger home to engage in sexual intercourse.
Consequently, having sexual relations with a stranger can increase your chances to get infected
by a sexual transmitted disease as well as have an unwanted pregnancy. Jersey Shore proves
that mass media influences a large range of people, some perhaps too inappropriately young to
watch it.
The pediatrics of child and health elaborate that, television that contains sexual content
is sending the message that because these behaviors are frequent everybody does it
(Pediatrics). Sexual intercourse between unmarried partners is shown 24 times more often than
sex between spouses, while sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies are
rarely mentioned. Television has succeeded in leaving out the basic fundamentals of sexual
activity that come with responsibility and consequences. In addition, pediatrics of child and
health explain that teens rank the media as the major leading source of information about sex
(Bar-on). Americans have blamed the mass media for inciting youth to ostensibly inappropriate
sexual behavior. The journal of sex research, Laura Carpenter believes, That the media
powerfully shape teens sexual lives to generally deleterious effect is widely taken for granted
by politicians, parents, religious leaders, journalist and even teens themselves(Carpenter).
Pediatric Mirim Bar-on clarifies early sexual intercourse among American adolescents
represents a major public health problem. Although early sexual activity may be caused by a
variety of factors, the media are believed to play a significant role.

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According to a new study published in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics,
Teenagers between 12 and 14 years old use media with high sexual content and are 2.2 times
more likely to have sex by the time they are 16 than those who watch less media (Pediatrics).
Many agree that television programs have increased the number of sexual content a show has.
By teenagers watching television shows that contain sexual content it is opening the doors to do
as they see. Sexual talk and displays are increasing rapidly. Jane Brown from the Journal of Sex
Research explains, One content analysis found that sexual content that ranged from flirting to
sexual intercourse had increased from slightly more than half of television programs in 19971998 to more than two- thirds of the programs in 1999-2000 season (Brown). There has
actually been a 270% increase in sexual interactions (Brown). Mainly what television does is
expose children to adult sexual behaviors in different way that portray these actions as
something normal, and risk free.
As a result, parents notice their beloved children beginning to rebel and they wonder
why. A lot of televisions content our children see contain a lot of bad influence among those
watching these shows. Researchers target the impact on television violence and the results are
astonishing. Decades of research, which include many recent studies, Marianne Hurts a notable
researcher on Target Impact Of Television Violence says, heavy exposure to television violence
can lead children to think it is appropriate to act in the ways that violent TV characters do
(Hurts). Hurts explains, if parents and children are watching television together including
violent content and the parents allow it without saying nothing regards to the violence seen on
television its an implicit endorsement- whereas if a parent says something, it makes their
values clear to the child (Hurts). This all starts when you are a kid, these television shows can
start when they are younger and it slowly builds to be normal to children and how they view

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things. Just by simply watching cartoons that contain minimal violence, it is already
conditioning our children to see and act what they see. Hurts recognizes we can safely say
that viewing violence does lead to more aggressive behavior, noting some estimates that nearly
10 % of all violence can be explained by the viewing of televised violence (Researchers Target
Impact Of Television Violence).
Douglas Gentile, an assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University and the
director of research for the national institute on media and the family points out there is
multiple risk factors that integrate to aggression, but one of he most important cause of
aggression is television violence (Gentile). Their was a study conducted by the Santa Barbara,
California- based center for Communication and Social Policy named National Television
Violence Study that explained that most violent television shows dont emphasize the type of
consequences that the violent acts have. There was a recent study released in 2003 by the
Parents Television Council, a Los Angeles-based group for improved programmings on TV
concluded similar results (Gentile).
This study included 400 hours of prime time programming on all major broadcast
networks from the years 1998 to 2002. This study concluded that violence viewed during the 8
pm family hour increased by 41 percent during those years (Gentile). The per-hour rate of
deaths also doubles, with multiple violent programming becoming more graphic and detailed
(Hurts). Hurts reports, Studies estimate that the average child watches 23 to 28 hours of
television a week, and that by the age of 18, a child will have witnessed 2000,000 acts of TV
violence, including 40,000 murders(Hurts). Teenagers that watch violent television programs
are more likely to become aggressive, as they interpret the mildest of slights as provocation,
researchers have found. The Telegraph reporters states The international society of research

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on aggression (IRSA) concluded that the evidence shows that media violence consumption can
act as a trigger for aggressive thoughts or feelings already stored (Researchers Target Impact
Of Television Violence). Television and violence results have been a debatable topic for years
now. One hundred forty-six articles in behavioral science journals represented 50 studies that
involved 10,000 children and teenagers from every conceivable background. All the 10,000
showed that violence viewing produces increased aggressive behavior in the young. The
amount of television is on a non-stopping rise. An average child sees around 12,000 violent acts
on television annually, which include depictions of murder and rape. More than 1000 studies
confirm that exposure to heavy doses of television violence increases aggressive behavior,
mainly in boys (Researchers Target Impact Of Television Violence).
Unfortunately, violence is one of the most popular forms of entertainment, states Dr.
Christopher L. Heffner. Over sixty percept of television shows being shown in prime time
contain some form of violence. Violent media is associated with aggressive behavior,
confirms Dr. Christopher L. Heffner. Even the academy of pediatrics says, more than one
thousand scientific studies and reviews conclude that significant exposure to media violence
increases the risk of aggressive behavior(Heffner). To children, violence makes them believe
that the world is meaner and scarier place then it really is.
Many shows portray having fun as something that includes alcohol, tobaccos and
even drugs. I have came across shows that show young adults consuming unclean substances
including MTV, ABC family, and prime time. Teenagers see what is depicted in these shows as
something fun to do without seeing the consequences. Teenagers become reckless and see
everything as being young and living the dream life but they dont realize the reality of things.
Of the many media options we have, television programming was voted one of the most

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influential source in which people acquire knowledge and learn about social behaviors, and in
particular, through which youth develop beliefs and attitudes about consuming alcohol, declares
Cristel Antonia Russell. There was a television viewer survey conducted which concluded that
57% of viewed acquired health related knowledge from watching daytime or prime-times
dramas (Russell). Many that watch more television have been found to develop an unhealthy
lifestyle that is contradictory to reality. This results in bad habits, which include the use of
alcohol even drugs. The exposure to alcohol consumption is frequent on television
programming. There was another study of prime time, which concluded that 71% of all
programming depicted the use of alcohol. Also, 77% included some sort of reference to
alcohol. A more recent content analysis of 18 programs showed an increased presence of
alcohol messages in the content of prime-time series, such as two and a half men(Cristel
Antonia Russell). This show was fond to contain visual alcohol portrayals and many verbal
alcohol messages. The worst part of this is that television serious portrays alcohol consumption
as something fun, humorous to associate with and this is condition teenagers that it is okay to
do so. Many televisions programming show alcohol consumption as something humorous but
they dont show the consequences one can experience if they do this act.
For instance, the famous Jersey Shore show I previously stated. These cast member
go out and have fun, they party and dont hesitate about doing wild things, such as drinking.
These roommates like to drink, party and then drink and party some more. They drink so much
that it results in throwing up and not being capable of remembering what accrued that night
(Common sense media). There was one incident were cast member Snookie was hospitalized
for suspected alcohol poisoning. One source, who was on set at the time, admitted to

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RadarOnline.com, She was so drunk that she had to be carried out of the nightclub (Rader
Online). Alcohol can endanger ones life, and this shows justifies it.
On an annual basis, teenagers see between 1000 and 2000 beer commercials that carry
the message real men drink beer, states the pediatrics of childrens health (Pediatrics). The
convincing date suggests that advertisement increases beer consumption enormously. One of
the mains problems with showing alcohol and smoking on television is that they glamorize both
smoking and drinking but they dont portray the long-term consequences.
According to a 2011 study, forty-seven percent of teens agreed that movies and
television shows makes drugs seem like an okay thing to do. Media is basically justifying the
fact that underage teenagers are drinking and it is okay to do so. The Partnership for drug free
kids explains, 12 to 17 year olds who viewed three or more R rated movies per month were
seven times more likely to smoke cigarettes, six times more likely to use marijuana, and five
times more likely to drink alcohol, compared to those who hadnt watched R rated films
(Partnership of drug-free kids). Drugs and alcohol work very quickly.
Unfortunately, mass media has taken a turn for the worst, and the victims are teenagers.
Mass media shows us that it is okay to engage in premarital sex, be violent and consume
alcohol as well as drugs. For years now reality television has taken a great part in todays
society, and is very popular on television. Television shows can be educational, but for the most
part they are endangering our childrens life one show at a time. There is many ways to prevent
teens from following in these unhealthy behaviors. Parents and guardians should take a step by
sitting down with their beloved children and explain that the content shown on television is not
okay. Having a one, on, one conversation with your kids will open the doors to a better stronger
relationship. This will provide teens with the knowledge of bad behavior and acceptable

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behavior, which will reduce the chances of premarital intercourse, violence and illicit
substances use.

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Work Cited
Bar-on, Miriam, et al. "Sexual, Contraception, and the Media." Pediatrics 107.1 (2001):191-4.
ProQuest. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Brown, Jane D. "Mass Media Influences on Sexuality." The Journal of Sex Research 39.1
(2002): 42-5. ProQuest. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
"CAROLINA-LED STUDY EXAMINES SEXUAL CONTENT OF SEVERAL MEDIA,
AFFECT ON TEENS' SEXUAL BEHAVIOR." US Fed News Service, Including US
State NewsApril 03 2006. ProQuest. Web. 9 Mar. 2015 .
Carpenter, Laura M. "Sexual Teens, Sexual Media: Investigating Media's Influence on
Adolescent Sexuality." The Journal of Sex Research 40.4 (2003): 403-5. ProQuest. Web.
9 Mar. 2015.
Collins, Rebecca L., Marc N. Elliot, Sandra H. Berry, David E. Kanouse, Dale Kunel, Sarah
Escobar, Liliana S., Susan R. Tortolero, Christine M. Markham, Barbara J. Low, Patricia
Eitel, and Patricia Thickstun. "Impact of the Media on Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and
Behaviors." Http://pediatrics.aappublications.org. N.p., 1 July 2005. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.B.
"Common Sense Media." N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Hunter, and Angela Miu. "Does Watching Sex on Television Influence Teens' Sexual Activity?"
Does Watching Sex on Television Influence Teens Sexual Activity? N.p., n.d. Web. 05
Feb. 2015.
Gruber, Enid, and Joel W. Grube. "Adolescent Sexuality and the Media: A Review of
Current Knowledge and Implications." Western Journal of Medicine. Copyright 2000 BMJ
Publishing Group, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.

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Hurst, Marianne D. "Researchers Target Impact of Television Violence." Education
Week 24.12 (2004): 8. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
Jeanne, Rogge Steele. "Teenage Sexuality and Media Practice: Factoring in the
Influences of Family, Friends, and School." The Journal of Sex Research 36.4 (1999): 331-41.
ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
"Jersey Shores Snooki Hospitalized For Suspected Alcohol Poisoning." Rader Online.
N.p., 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Ruscitti, Keith. "Seaside Heights Sees Good Times when MTV show Returns."
McClatchy - Tribune Business NewsMay 18 2010. ProQuest. Web. 11 Mar. 2015 .
Russell, Cristel Antonia, Dale W. Russell, and Joel W. Grube. "NATURE AND
IMPACT OF ALCOHOL MESSAGES IN A YOUTH-ORIENTED TELEVISION SERIES."
Journal of Advertising 38.3 (2009): 97-111. ProQuest. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
"Top 8 Reasons Why Teens Try Alcohol and Drugs - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids."
Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2015.