Dr. Huffman goes on to make another good point: “With schools and parents not always eager to tackle the subject adequately, the media have arguably become the leading sex educator in America today. And that’s not particularly good news”. This means that adolescents are soaking in what the media says about sex. The media portrays sex and sexuality as alluring, fun, safe, and easy. The media does not tell the entire truth; it rarely tells of the consequences sex has such as STDs, pregnancy, or
One mechanism to explain how this happens is that the constant exposure to these themes and behaviors make them more accessible from memory (Shrum, 2003) – and when asked to make judgments in real life, those who are more exposed to certain mediated constructs are more likely to use them (Rhodes, Edison, & Bradford, 2004). Is the level of sex in advertising increasing? What are some reasons? First: Men control the media. Through centuries the man and women battle have been real about who have more power in the society.
As an alternative, some schools also now offer comprehensive education. This approach offers and provides more insight on sex education in which one can be better prepared for real life situations such as std’s and unwanted pregnancies. Although both these methods of teaching offer insight on sex education, it has been proven that they are not as successful as one may think. Sex among teens, as well as teen pregnancies, is at an all time high verifying that “teenage pregnancy has a lot more to do with what it means to be a teenager than with how someone gets pregnant” (Quindlen 297). Suggesting that sex is more of an ethical issue, sex education is merely facts built upon foundations that have already been instilled in teens.
There has been a major breakdown in society where morals and ethics have been heavily compromised because people today have failed to teach this generation right now from wrong. Teens are having sex at these ages because they see it and think it’s alright for them to do it. They have sex because they know that they will get nothing bad out of it. They will use sex as a form to get attention from people. Teen sex is at the age of 17 and younger.
They have the notion that it is used for protection against unwanted pregnancy, when there are many other benefits. In the book Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, Dr. Spock states, “Does sex education encourage sex? Many parents are afraid that talking about sex with their teenagers will be taken as permission for the teen to have sex. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, the more children learn about their sexuality from talking with their parents and teachers and reading accurate books, the less likely they feel compelled to find out for themselves” (2004).
Well as I was growing up, I learned from my parents and other various forms of media that sex occurs between two people in deep love and in most cases marriage as well. But as I matured and grow, I became more aware of my surroundings, that society teaches us that this is not how sex occurs. Men and women are enlightened to a variety of social differences in regards to sex through society. One of the prevalent double standards seen between men and women is when non marital sexual relations are acceptable for men, but not for women. This can be seen throughout all ages starting in the early teen years all the way through adulthood.
In The passage ‘’The Stranger’’ (referring to the television as a he) the author writes ‘’He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing…’’ This leads kids to engage in sexual activity at a very early age. Parents must make sure they do what they can to keep their children from viewing inappropriate material on the internet and television. The second challenge that parents must overcome is the temptation of drugs and alcohol.
The circumstances surrounding this rite of passage may have long-term effects on individuals, depending on the perception of his or her culture. The association between virginity loss and growing into adulthood are essential to sexual empowerment, emotional well-being and physical health. On average, adolescents have sex for the first time around 17. At age 19, 70% of adolescent boys and girls have lost his or her virginity (National Survey of Family Growth). The reasons teens give for early sexual encounters are peer pressure, curiosity, and the idea that "everyone does it."
The typical American teenager encounters thousands of sexual references in the media every year. These references come in the form of television shows, movies, music, advertisements, magazines, and the internet. Although there is frequent criticism concerning the amount of sexual content in the media, it continues to increase. The way sex is portrayed by the media does indeed influence teenage behavior because sex is constantly shown as consequence-free, and gives teens the wrong ideas of body image and gender roles. The media has made body image very important in today’s society.
Over the past few decades porn has become mainstream and easily accessible for people. We’ve also become more comfortable with talking about sex in public and in schools so that we’re able to educate the younger generation in the use of protection and disease’s. Though not all pornography is “good” pornography even to those that view any type of porn as not being a big deal, child pornography has been one that has been a huge issue among adult’s men especially. In some it makes it difficult to separate sexual fantasy from desire. November 7, 2011 a 26 year-old man was tried and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being charged with 454 counts of possessing child pornography, one for each picture found on his computer.