Increase In Teen Sexual Activity
Today in our society all of
our T.V. shows glamorize
sexual activity. Due to this
it has shown that teen
pregnancy has also increased
because of it. The youth in
our nation are so exposed to
such a vast extent of sexual
content it is no wonder
more are becoming
sexually active. Recent
studies show that those who
view a lot of sexual content
are twice as
likely to get someone
pregnant or be pregnant than
those who view the least
amount. Also ask yourself
this, how often do you think
parents are censoring what
their children are watching?
Younger children are
watching naughtier shows
every day so it is no wonder
teens are becoming
sexually active earlier.
Even in our cartoons there
is a large amount of sexual
innuendo take Family Guy,
Futurama, and South Park.
Granted they are all
hilarious, but the fact
remains. The youth in our
nation are having constant
images of hot, steamy sex
shot into their mind every
day. We have to do something
about this. I will admit our
television shows are not the
only reason for an increase
in teen pregnancy. A number
of factors take play in
this: single parents, broken
families, poverty, and the
list could go on. The point
remains though there has
been a drastic increase in
teen pregnancy that
corresponds with television
programming. We need to find
a solution to this problem
though. I am not saying take
the shows off the air,
what we need is a better
sexual education. We should
educate our youth to
understand what they are
seeing and teach them safe
sex. Straight up abstinence
programs normally don't
work, so we should educate
and protect our teens
instead of just telling them
to not have sex. They need
to be prepared
because we can't predict
every eventuality
Our sex ed classes take
place in junior high, how
does that help? All that
did was explain the
reproductive process, it did
not show us how to act. We
should start teaching it
more in high school and
address the issue directly.
After all high school is
when
most teens are becoming
sexually aware of themselves
and noticing the opposite
sex.
- Bulbasaurus 75
6 comments:
I have an issue with your last statement that high school is when people become "sexually aware." Although high school is where most people become sexually active, junior high is where people become sexually aware.
On a similar note, I'm not sure if anything is going to significantly reduce the amount of teens having sex. It's just built into us The media may have a small effect, but not enough to be placing this much blame on them. Put the blame where it belongs: on the immoral people that are having sex. The choice is theirs, don't try to put the blame elsewhere.
I personally agree with a lot of this article. Sex ed classes that we receive in jr. high are way to general and don't really teach us anything specific about sex and its consequences. It is mostly about the reproductive system and not really detailed about the consequences and the risks that go with sex. I think we need to have a mandatory sex ed class in high school and not in jr. high because as bulbusor said, kids are much more active in high school and if they are learning the facts in jr. high, many of them are going to forget them or not care and it will have done no good. If we have it in high school it will have more of a meaning to the kids than it did in jr. high.
I totally agree. I didn't go to junior high here, I attended at DoDDS school overseas. Our "sex ed" was a joke, and from what I've heard, Nebraska's was, too. We got the "birds and the bees" video in
5th grade, and then all three years of middle school we had some chick come in and show us slides of people with STDs. Basically, we got discouraging horror stories; we got scared into abstinence..but what happens when the fear wears off?
Like abortion, underage sex is something that is not commonly encouraged--but it's going to happen anyway, especially as it becomes more accepted in our society.
This country needs an increase in true sex education programs, because the rise in pregnancies and STDs (especially in abstinence-only Nebraska)is due largeley in part to lack of planning.
I am hopeful for Barack Obama's plan to help decrease the need for abortions, and I believe he has the understanding of how to prevent unwanted pregnancies. I don't know if we'll ever see the amount of sex decline in the media (I'm hoping for it, because I totally agree that America's children are becoming sexual way too young). Either way, though, underage sex has always and will always take place--and the safest thing to do is plan, not run from it.
i agree. shows like 90210 ans gossip girls mostly deal with teen sex. and its showing that its like a good thing. the most that goes wrong is that the people having sex get caught. it really doesnt show the dangers of pregnancy or even of stds.
I think it's awful that our school district ONLY teaches abstinence. You're right, Bulbasaurus. Teaching kids not to have sex because it is "bad" is not educationally sufficient. Teenagers are going to have sex BECAUSE they know it's considered taboo in our society. Part of the reason teen pregnancy stats are as high as they are is because teens aren't educated about the ways to prevent pregnancies. They don't know about safe sex and reasons to abstain. Teaching abstinence in my opinion, is just a way to avoid dealing with the real problem.
I don't think media and television really have much effect on young people when it comes to sex. I think if they happen to see it on TV, it should open opportunities for discussion. Talking about it with family is the only way to be informed properly. Sheltering teens from everything "harmful" or "innappropriate" will only fuel their desire to investigate on their own.
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