(August 30, 2010)
Today there are more reasons than ever to pay attention to media
messages about sexuality and contraception. Teens spend more than seven
hours a day on average with various forms of media, often without adults
around. Television shows and Web sites that are popular with teens—and
the way sex is portrayed in those venues—could be important factors in
the initiation of sexual intercourse. The U.S. has the highest teen
pregnancy rate in the Western hemisphere, and a recent study from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that 1 in 4
teenagers has had a sexually transmitted infection. Just as
inappropriate media messages can be detrimental to teens, socially
responsible programming can be a powerful vehicle for sexual health
education. A revised policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media,” published in
the September 2010 print issue of Pediatrics (published online Aug. 30),
includes updated recommendations for pediatricians and parents. Among
the new recommendations since 2001:
Pediatricians can
help parents and teens recognize the importance of this issue by asking
at least two media-related questions during office visits: 1) How much
time do you spend daily with entertainment media? 2) Is there a TV or
Internet access in your bedroom?
In addition to
supervising their children’s traditional media use, parents (as well as
pediatricians) should understand social networking sites and counsel
kids about using them.
The entertainment
industry should be encouraged to produce more programming that contains
responsible sexual content and that focuses on the interpersonal
relationship in which sexual activity takes place. Meanwhile,
advertisers should stop using sex to sell products.
Pediatricians and
the government should urge and encourage the broadcast industry to air
advertisements for birth control products.
Ads for erectile
dysfunction drugs, which can be confusing to young viewers, should not
air until after 10 p.m.
Parents can use
media story lines as teachable moments to discuss sex with their teens
instead of doing “the big talk.”
The statement also
calls for creation of a national task force on children, adolescents and
the media to be convened by child advocacy groups in conjunction with
the CDC or National Institutes of Health.
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