We live in a society bombarded by various forms of media. From TV and radio, to printed materials and the Internet, information and entertainment are a button click away. Media companies target teens. While all types of media reach our children, two in particular are worth specific note.

TELEVISION

The typical American teen watches around three hours of television a day, making it one of the primary sources for news and information. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that:

• Over half of teens report that they have learned something important about sexual health from TV.
• During the 2003-04 season, 70% of the shows most watched by teen audiences had sexual content, whether it was talk about sex or showing sexual behavior.⁸

The prevalence of sexual content makes TV a powerful force and this has the potential to distort a sense of reality. If a behavior is seen enough, teens may begin to think it’s no big deal, even if personal or family values say otherwise.

INTERNET

Teens today belong to one of the most connected generations ever. Internet savvy, they surf the web to shop, to chat, to play games, and yes, to find out information about health issues.  According to a 2005 PEW Internet & American Life Study entitled, "Teens and Technology":

• Nearly one third of youth ages 12-17 have used the Internet to search for health information.
• 22% of the same age group have specifically searched the Internet for information on sexual health.

Since information on the Internet is unregulated, it is up to the consumer to sort through it or find ways to block out unwanted content. Chat rooms can be especially dangerous – help your teen know not everyone has his or her best interests in mind. Did you know that one out of three teenage girls has been sexually harassed in a chat room? And only 7% of those teens told their parents about the harassment, out of fear that their parents might ban them from future Internet use.¹¹ While a recent study has shown sexual solicitations online to be decreasing (mostly due to heeded warnings about online dangers), still 13% of youths aged 10-17 had been solicited while on the computer.  This is down from approximately 20% in 2000.¹² In addition, the pornography industry has saturated the Internet with porn sites and popup windows. 70% of teens have accidentally come across pornography hile on the internet.¹³

The media can be a great way to initiate conversation with your teen. We encourage you to be aware of what your child watches. If possible, watch shows with your child and then discuss your thoughts, feelings, and values related to the program. Monitor what Internet sites your child visits. Above all, talk to your child about what he or she is seeing. Make sure that the media isn’t doing all of the talking.

What Can a Family Do?

• Put limits on the number of hours and time of day that TV and the Internet/computer are available. Consider doing the same yourself.
• Do not allow TV or Internet connection in the bedroom.
• Teach your child to monitor his or her own media use.
• Take advantage of one of the many screening devices available for cable TV and computers. Examples include www.getnetwise.org and www.icra.org for internet screening. Contact your cable provider for more information about parental control features.
• Make sure homework and other responsibilities are done first.
• Advise your child to never give out identifying information to someone online – not even the name of your family dog.

⁸ “Sex on TV 4,” January 2005, The Kaiser Family Foundation.
⁹ “Generation Rx.com” December 2001, The Kaiser Family Foundation
¹⁰ Harris Interactive poll and Teen Research Unlimited http://docs.yahoo.com/docs/pr/release1107.html

¹¹ “The Net Effect” 2002, Girl Scout Research Institute http://www.girlscouts.org/about/PDFs/NetEffects.pdf
¹² National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2005
¹³ "Generation Rx," Kaiser Family Foundation, 2001