Mass Media and its influence on Adolescents` Sexual Attitude and

Mass Media and its
influence on
Adolescents’ Sexual
Attitude and
Behaviour
Presented by: Sherub
Tshomo
National Seminar on
Comprehensive
Sexuality Education:
Making a Difference
8-9 August 2014
Sexual Content Present in the Mass
Media
Strasburger (2010)
• 75% of programs contain
sexual content
• Only 14% of sexual
incidents in those
programs give indication
of risks or responsibilities
of sexual activity.
Depictions of Sexual Acts in the
Media
• Unrealistic.
• Stereotypical.
• Glorify the sexual acts.
• Real life issues such as
contraception, STIs,
morality, sexual
dysfunctions, & regret
are rarely discussed.
Music and Lyrics
Martino et al. (2006)
• Reported that an average youth
listens to music 1.5 to 2.5 hours
per day.
Arnett (2002) suggest that the
music lyrics :
• Are sexually toned and the music
videos more explicit.
•
Show “Scantily” dressed girls
•
Women are mostly just props
Magazines and Sex
• Strasburger (2010) point
out that magazines devote
an average of 2.5 pages per
issue to sexual topics
• Megazines focus:
• “how to improve sex life”,
• “how to achieve orgasm”,
“how to look sexy”
• “how to please a man”
• “losing Virginity”
Sex Sells? Advertisements and Sex
Jean Kilbourne in the video
“Killing us Softly 4
• verge of becoming
pornography
• females are objectified, and
products are sexualized.
So What?
Albert Bandura’ Social
Learning Theory
• Adolescents tend to use
the actions of others in
the media to decide
proper behavior of
themselves.
Even the mere exposure has
been shown to have some
effect on the decisions we
make.
What adolescents learn from mass
media?
Adolescents who viewed more sexual content
• more likely to initiate intercourse and progress to more
advanced non-coital sexual activities – Collins et al.
(2004)
• associated to a younger age of dating initiation and a
greater number of dating partners- Rivadeneyraa, &
Lebob (2008)
• associated with greater acceptance of stereotypical
–
–
–
–
casual attitudes about sex
higher expectations about the prevalence of sexual activity
higher expectation of certain sexual outcomes
greater levels of sexual experience. Ward (2003).
What adolescents learn from mass
media?
• RAND Corporation study
– exposure to television
programs that contain sexual
content are twice as likely to
be involved in a pregnancy
over the following three years
as their peers who watch few
such shows
– only about 15% who’ve seen
the show believe it
glamorizes teen pregnancy
• Acceptance of sexual and
erotic violence.
What adolescents learn from mass
media?
• Definition of self worth in
terms of sexual
attractiveness- decrease
in Self esteem
• Eating disorders and
discontentment with their
own body
• Reinforce stereotypes of
women as sex objects
Who is responsible?
– Parents,
– Teachers
– Policy makers
– Media Industry
– ADOLESCENTS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iFDdULwtzI&fe
ature=related
Conclusion
• Source: TV, Music, magazines, and
Advertisements .
• Problem: Mass media imply that sex is largely
risk free, that everyone is doing it, and that
planning for protection spoils romance.
• Solution:Media literacy and Sex Education!
Reference:
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Arnett, J. J. (2002). The Sounds of Sex: Sex in teens’ music and music videos. In J. D. Brown, J. R.
Steele, & K. Walsh-Childers (Eds.), Sexual teens, sexual media: Investigating media’s influence
on adolescent sexuality (pp. 253-264). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Bandura, A., & Menlove,F.L. (1968). Factors determining vicarious extinction of avoidance behaviour
through symbolic modeling. Journal of personality and social psychology, 8, 99-108.
Collins, R.L., Elliott, M.N., Berry, S.H., Kanouse, D.E., Kunkel, D., Hunter, S.B., & Miu, A. (2004).
Watching sex on television predicts adolescent initiation of sexual behavior. Pediatrics, 114,
280-289.
Jean Kilbourne (2010). “Killing us Softly 4” Video.
Martino, S.C., Collins, R.L., Elliott, M.N., Strachman, A., Kanouse, D. E., & Berry, S.H. (2006). Exposure
to degrading versus non-degrading music lyrics and sexual behavior among youth. Pediatrics,
118, 430-441.
RAND Corporation (2008, November 3). Teen Pregnancy Linked To Viewing Of Sexual Content On TV.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 14, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/
2008/11/081103084042.htm
Rivadeneyra, R., & Lebo, M.J. (2008). The association between television-viewing behaviors and
adolescent dating role attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Adolescence, 31(3), 291-305.
Strasburger, V.C. (2010). Sexuality, contraception, and the media. Pediatrics, 123(3), 576-582.
Ward, L.M. (2003). Understanding the role of entertainment media in the sexual socialization of
American youth: A review of empirical research. Developmental Review, 23(3), 347-388.