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Effects of the Media on Adolescents Effects of the Media on Adolescents Sex and the secular lifestyle, seems to be the biggest selling industry on the marked, next to electronics; however has its fair share of effects on the adolescents of today. The media identifies or portrays the act of sexuality as the norm. The average television show often shows young girls being flirtatious, performing sexual acts, and disrespecting their parents. The media often display young men as sexual predators, acting like horn dogs, pressuring the girls for sex.
Homosexuality is now more prevalent in the media, as other aspects of sexuality are. The good thing about the media and its advanced sexual content is that it helps to educate the youths about what is out there in these streets, such as sexually transmitted diseases, sexual predators, and how to deal with people such as homosexuals; who might be considered different. With the exposure to this type of media, the adolescents will be more aware and better equipped to deal with the situations that the might face while growing up.
On the other hand, others may disagree with sexuality being so prevalent in the media. On the down side, too much sexual exposure may influence the youths to be more eager, and ready to participate in such acts. Even a young boy may think that the men they see dominating and assaulting women are cool, because of the level of control and power the men assume when the commit rape. It is very difficult to determine what may happen from viewing or listening to sexual media, so its best that some material be limited to the a specific age group; hence the rating on certain films.
The media portrayal of sexuality was a big influence on me growing up. Being born on the Island of Jamaica, I grew up with a strong Christian background; loaded with good teachings of how to live with thy neighbor. So treating others as good as I would like to be treated, and honoring the commandments was my guide. However, the Island is also known for its culture of dancing carnival and whining, which are very sexual displays; also reggae music is either roots and culture or usually sexual lyrics.
Along with the music, most parents or grandparents usually tell their children, that they know they might be growing pubic hair, but they are still children, and must respect their elders. As a child we could not watch any movies with sex scene, not even kissing, and public television had more fighting omitted romantic scenes. Though we understood sexuality, being limited to its exposure, in my opinion, helped to maintain a safer and less sexual environment, because we were less exposed to sex and more exposed to dancing dirty and fine art.
Overall, the media can be good and it can be bad. It is for the parents and adults of today, to help censor some of the things that’s in the media as we deem fit for our youths and their households. At the end of the day, each home differs and people may react differently to the same type of exposure. I am more for less sexuality in the media, because the less a child knows about a certain thing, the less they will explore it. Eventually they will know it, but it will happen over time.