Preview

Sex Drugs and Viloence on American Television Essay Example

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
598 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sex Drugs and Viloence on American Television Essay Example
Jessica Kent kent1 English 1113
Sex, Drugs, And Violence On American Television
Not very many parents would think that the television set would be their worst enemy located in there very own living room. More than seventy-five percent of our American television shows contain sexual and violent content, as well as drug and alcohol use. MTV, TLC, and TBS are some of the most popular channels that contain sex, drugs, and violence. Adolecents and children of many ages watch and learn from these television programs. Pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, addictions to drugs and alcohol, domestic abuse, and violent crimes have gained popularity on our television shows and in reality.
The Western Journal of Medicine states that on the average, teenage viewers see upwards of 143 incidents of sexual behavior on prime time television a week. This includes movies, television series, music videos, and advertisements, all without any warnings concerning teenage pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. The program "Sixteen And Pregnant" on MTV, glorifies teenage girls participating in sex and becoming pregnant with or without a father. In some cases, these girls have no family involvment or support whatsoever. Other shows, such as "90210" and "Gossip Girls", target high school age children and younger generations with extreme sexual content. The average viewer age for these television shows is from eleven to seventeen. At this age, adolescents are developing sexual behaviors and attitudes, their actions and thoughts are easily influenced and the consequences of their actions are not thought out. They make decisions based on feelings, and this can lead to an unplanned pregnancy, a sexually transmitted disease, or both. kent2 There are not many shows that do not have some form of drug or alcohol use in the story line. “Weeds” on MTV is about a mother who sells marijuana to support her family. All the crime scene movies have some form of drug or

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Kaiser Family Foundation reports show that almost two thirds of all television shows air overtly sexual material. Studies show that being exposed to drug use, sex or violence onscreen can make them more acceptable in reality. In 2002 Madeline A. Dalton and her colleagues at Dartmouth Medical School analyzed R-rated films and their influence in connection with children, the media and risky behaviors. Surveys were conducted on about 4,500 students, ages 10 to 14. Data was collected on many factors influencing their lives (parenting characteristics, school performances, and general rebelliousness.) In this study they found 35 percent of the teens watching r-rated films had smoked and 46 percent tried alcohol. The teens that didn’t watch r-rated films were at one third the risk of smoking and drinking with all factors accounted…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    When it comes to the topic of teenage pregnancy, most of us will readily agree that TV shows like ‘16 and pregnant’ encourage teenage girls to start their own family at a young age. Where this agreement usually ends however, is on the question of rather TV show ’16 and pregnant’ have helped teenage girls from getting pregnant at a young age. Whereas some are convinced that the show has reduced teenage pregnancy rates, others maintain that the show is not something teenagers should be watching because of the influence the show gives teens. Anyone familiar with the TV show ’16 and pregnant’ should agree that the show encourages teenage pregnancy and is not a show teenagers should be watching.…

    • 1650 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One of the biggest problems health experts face today is the growing rate of STDs and unwanted pregnancies. This has become one of the largest health concerns in the United States, especially among young adults and college students. Many college students are not educated enough about the risks associated with contracting STDs, and are not knowledgeable about general healthy sexual practices. In addition, other influences such as the types of media college students engage in could aid to these growing rates. This study specifically aims to examine if media such as TV shows could possibly influence college students’ attitudes and beliefs towards using contraceptive methods. The media plays a big role in distributing information about sex, STDs, pregnancies, and preventative methods through various vehicles. Therefore, it is crucial to identify some of the reasons why TV shows could be a possible influence such as the type of TV show genre college students engage in the most, how much time they…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Drug Trafficking in America

    • 2587 Words
    • 11 Pages

    From the earliest days of Hollywood, the topic of drugs has been one that can attract instant drama and gather a quick audience. What may have started out as actors using smoking to set the mood for a scene have turned now to marijuana usage as the “scene setter” in such movies as Dazed and Confused and Kids and television shows like Entourage. It doesn’t even have to involve illegal drugs either. The show House M.D. centered on a doctor that was addicted to Vicodin. It almost appears that just the usage of drugs is not enough to garner an audience anymore, now some of the top shows on television center around trafficking; shows like Breaking Bad and Weeds.…

    • 2587 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    American culture is unique and well-known throughout the world. The freedom with endless possibilities is a blessing and privilege that not many countries gets to have the same treatment as many Americans. As a result, American’s culture encourages drug use because of media and the concept of individuality. There is no denying that drugs are part of our lives, whether it is directly or indirectly. Teenagers and young adults stepping out into the real world where they will make choices, and experimenting new customs. Discovering the broadness of our culture that keeps evolving throughout many generations. While European countries’ culture have traced back for thousands of years, American’s culture is new and alive since its birth that influences…

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Television shows are detrimental to children in this society; no subject is off limits. Recently, reality shows have become very popular and have introduced many negative images such as exposure of excessive drugs, alcohol use and mockery marriages. Shows on Disney Channel teach young children to have boyfriends and girlfriends. A report by the Psychological Association states that some cartoons on average contain 80 acts of violent per hour. Also the TV has pressured young boys and girls the need for a perfect…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Even though it can affect any age groups, young people are at risk because they are not fully developed yet. Young people are still in a developmental stage where gender roles, sexual attitudes, and sexual behaviors are not fully shaped yet. Nowadays, many music videos and video games contain sexual violence, and TV shows rarely talk about the importance of using condoms and negative side of unprotected sex. Rather, the media makes young people to think that sex is an easy or risk-free. According to the article, “Adolescent sexuality and the media,” “a recent study of African American girls aged 14 to 18 years found that teens with either multiple sexual partners or a history of sexually transmitted infections reported a higher rate of viewing television shows that depicted women as sexual objects or prizes. A few experimental studies have shown that viewing sexual content can have moderate effects on sexual knowledge or attitudes.” As this article shows, many young children are being the victims of the media which can causes harmful reactions. So, it is important to prevent them from seeing sexual images and messages to avoid negative…

    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to David Hinckley of New York Daily News, "The average America over the age of 2 spends more than 34 hours a week watching live television plus another 3-6 hours watching taped programs." This statistic shows how much tv can affect us, considering how much we watch it. I want you to think about your favorite tv show right now. I'll bet you that that show contains some kind of violence, sexual interactions, cussing, drug or alcohol usage, stereotypes and many other bad influences. Even shows like Spongebob Squarepants, a kids cartoon, are saying to have subliminal, or hidden, messages that are disturbing and wrong.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is also correlation between behavioral issues and television. . “Televisions has been implicated in violent or aggressive behavior, substance use, sexual activity, obesity, poor body image, decrease school performance, sleep problems and more.” (Minnesota Health Department, 2014) Television shows and commercials have become more risky from when I was a child in the 90’s. More explicit things are allowed on plain TV than it was twenty years ago. It’s nothing to hear multiple swear words, risky pictures, and sexual content on television, where adults and children watch alike. After children see and hear these words and picture, they can’t be unseen. They implement the violent behavior, substance abuse, sexual activity and etc. as the Minnesota Health Department says it…

    • 1255 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lifespan Development Essay

    • 1601 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In todays modern society, there is a very liberalized attitude about sex. There is more widespread acceptance of premarital sex. However, since adolescents are becoming sexually active at an early age, one of the major concerns is pregnancy. “Teens exposed to highly sexual television content were twice as likely to experience a pregnancy compared with lower level or no exposure.” (Papalia, Feldman & Martorell, 2012, p.399). Teens learn about sex from their peers and the media. This essay will examine three sources related to the topic of teen pregnancy. The three sources that will be examined are the following: “Experience Human Development” (Papalia, Feldma, Martorell, 2012), “Could Hollywood Trick You Into Getting Pregnant” (Khidekal) and “Constructing and Deconstructing Teen Pregnancy as a Social Problem” (Neiterman, 2012).…

    • 1601 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A lot of television shows, movies, music, and media talk or sing about drugs or alcohol. Teens and kids are exposed to this negative influence which hurts their future and health. Some heroin users that get addicted, like Nathan who started using at 17 say he started using because “I wanted to know what it felt like, because, you know all the, all the... famous people do it. There's got to be something to it, you know… All the people with money...do it....” (Duterte, Murphy, Hemphill). Media shows all these celebrities and athletes using and it is clearly impacting the young ones. They are curious to see what is the rave it is and if it is actually good. Celebrities normalize the abuse of drugs even though there are many consequences to substance abuse. The world has lost many through overdose and it would be a tragedy if it continues within the teens. It is not only substance abuse that harms young people, it is also the intensive amount of violence displayed to them on a daily basis. Children watch movies and TV shows that could possibly show violence and introduce them to try some one the behaviors and actions they see. It affects their brains and how they respond which can change how they behave towards others. Teenagers are constantly seeing this violence and studies have show that “the average 7th grader watches about 4 hours of television per day, and 60% of those shows contain…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    From their findings that covered 718 teenagers, there was 91 pregnancies. The top 10th of teens who watched scandalous programs were at the most risk of becoming pregnant or causing a pregnancy compared to the other 10th that watched fewer programs. Television lightly highlights the negative aspects of teen pregnancy and sex in general. So teens are rarely getting any information about pregnancy, sex, or sexually transmitted…

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sex in Popular Culture

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages

    As most Americans are aware, sex sells just about anything from Pepsi to Victoria's Secret underwear. Perhaps the greatest argument of our time is the recent indictment of sex and violence on television. Political groups lined up to do battle over the salacious content on the television. Whether it's graphic violence, or steamy sex, the widest held opinion is that television in the last 10 years has increased the presence of violent criminals in America.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    teen mom

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Reality television is a massive hit in todays’ pop culture. Every Tuesday at ten o’clock on MTV, you will find up to three million viewers tuning in to watch the show Teen Mom, which is a spinoff of the reality show 16 and Pregnant that started in 2009. The girls on the show have volunteered themselves to put their lives on television and have people across the nation watch them struggle to survive as a teenager with a child right by their side. Today's pop culture celebrates teen pregnancy by having shows on television like MTV's Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, not to mention, the stars on the show being glamourized on the cover of magazines. This reality show is raising the questions, “Do we support and glorify teen pregnancy?” Or, “If I’m a teenager in America, and I get knocked up, there is a chance that I might end up on television?” The show has created a large controversy between whether the show aids viewers or harms them.…

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Television viewing is a major activity and influence on children and adolescents. People complain that certain TV shows are having negative effects on their children. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) both feel that TV does influence the behavior of children as young as one year old. From their studies, the AACAP states, “Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see” (as cited in Wilcox, 2004) This speaks to the impressionable mindsets of young children, who are still learning control of their minds and bodies, and are likely to mimic what they see, as it seems quite normal to them. Everything that children see or hear in the media early on in their lives affects them in some way. Violence, sexuality, race and gender stereotypes, drug and alcohol abuse are common themes of television programs. The Academy of Pediatrics says “More than one thousand scientific studies and reviews conclude that significant exposure to media violence increases the risk of aggressive behavior…

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays