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Portrayals of Sex in the Media
  • 75 percent of prime time television in the 1999-2000 season included sexual content
    Sex on TV: Content and Context.  The Kaiser Family Foundation, 5 February, 2001.
  • Movies have an 87% likelihood of presenting sexual material
    Sex on TV: Content and Context.  The Kaiser Family Foundation, 5 February, 2001.
  • More than 3 out of 4 Americans say the way television programs show sex encourages irresponsible sexual behavior
    Teens, Sex, & the Media.  www.mediascope.org, 15 March, 2000.
  • 66 percent of children (ages 10-16) surveyed say their peers are influenced by television shows
    It's Just Harmless Entertainment…Oh Really? Parents Television Council. www.parentstv.org.
  • 64 percent of all shows include sexual content, and only 15% mention waiting, protection, and consequences
    TV Sex Getting "Safer."  Kaiser Family Foundation.  www.kff.org, 2003.
  • Playboy’s largest cable channel, Playboy TV, is available in 24 million of the nation’s 81 million homes that receive either satellite, cable or digital television
    Court Overrules Law restricting Cable Sex Shows, Linda Greenhouse.  The New York Times On the Web.  http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/scotus/articles/052300scotus.html
  • 59 percent of parents say their 4-6 year-old boys imitate aggressive behavior from television
    Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers.   Kaiser Family Foundation, 28 October, 2003.
  • Teenagers who watch a lot of television with sexual content are twice as likely to engage in intercourse than those who watch few such programs according to a study headed by the RAND Corp. and funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
    Study links TV to teen sexual activity.  www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/09/07/tv.teen.sex.reut/index.html.  7 September, 2004.
  • 60 percent of parents say they are “very” concerned about the amount of sex their children are exposed to on television
    Parents Favor New Limits on TV Content in Early Evening Hours.  Kaiser Family Foundation.  23 September, 2004.
  • 63 percent of parents favor new regulations to limit the amount of sex and violence in TV shows during the early evening hours when children are most likely to be watching
    Parents Favor New Limits on TV Content in Early Evening Hours.  Kaiser Family Foundation.  23 September, 2004.
  • Youth exposed to sexual content on television are more likely to overestimate the frequency of sexual activity among peers and have more permissive attitudes toward premarital sex.
    State of the Nation: Challenges Facing STD Prevention in Youth.  American Social Health Association, 2005.
  • Over 80% of shows popular with teens contain sexual content, a rate higher than shows for other audiences. Only 15% of sexual encounters of TV alluded to the possible risks or responsibilities of sexual activity.
    A biennial report of the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003.
  • Adolescents who watch television with high levels of sexual content are twice as likely to initiate sexual intercourse and also more likely to initiate other sexual activities.
    Watching sex on television predicts adolescent initiation of sexual behavior, Collins RL et al.  Pediatrics, 2004.
  • Two out of three parents (63%) say they are “very concerned that children are being exposed to too much inappropriate content in entertainment media,” and another one in four (26%) say they are “somewhat” concerned. A third (34%) say TV concerns them the most.
    Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Fall 2004.
  • When it comes to TV, 60% of parents say they are “very” concerned that their children are being exposed to too much sexual content in the TV shows they watch; 53% are “very” concerned about violent content, and 49% about adult language.
    Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Fall 2004.
  • Fifty-three percent of all parents say they believe that exposure to sexual content in TV shows contributes “a lot” to children becoming involved in sexual situations before they’re ready, with another 30% saying they believe it contributes “somewhat.”
    Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Fall 2004.
  • Sixty-three percent of parents say they favor “new regulations to limit the amount of sex and violence in TV shows during the early evening hours, when children are most likely to be watching,” while 35% oppose them.
    Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Fall 2004.
  • Fifty-two percent of parents say cable should be subject to the same standards as broadcast television, and 43% say it should not.
    Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Fall 2004.
  • Teens with high levels of exposure to rap videos, which often promote drug use, violence and sex, are significantly more likely to acquire an STD.
    A prospective study of exposure to rap music video and African American female adolescents’ health, Wingood GM et al.  American Journal of Public Health, 2003.
  • A Pew Research Center poll in April 2005 showed that most people support higher fines on broadcasters and favor extending indecency rules to cable
    Indecent or not? TV, radio walk fuzzy line, Paul Davidson.  USA Today.  3 June 2005.
  • Pay-TV services reach 85% of U.S. homes
    Indecent or not? TV, radio walk fuzzy line, Paul Davidson.  USA Today.  3 June 2005.