For further research
Are you looking for some further reading regarding this topic?
Through researching this topic, I have found painfully little information and just
a few studies looking at this issue. Perhaps a question for another time, but
why? Study after study is done on other aspects of human behavior and how
different things impact us, both consciously and subconsciously, but where is
the research going into this subject? Anyway, here are a few links for you to explore
look at if you are curious to learn more.
This article is excellent for clear, concise information on
a more basic level. Published in 2017, it also discusses the sexual and
relationship impacts from social media, which is a huge, up and coming issue that
we are just starting to consider the consequences of. Surveys show that 23% of teens
get a lot of their health information from social media and 10% get most of
their health information from this source. Social media is incredibly powerful
and can be used for good and education going forward, even for difficult things
such handling relationships and protecting against dangers such as abuse. The
article also discusses the way sex and women are portrayed in more traditional
media as well and the effects that can also have. One, less well-known topic
that this article also brings up is that impacts of sexualized media have
different effects across different ethnicities and races, even within the same
countries. Perhaps an unexpected result, but one that most certainly requires discussion
and further research into the how and why.
http://cdmc.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1998-02.pdf
http://cdmc.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1998-02.pdf
This is perhaps the best source I found. It is a 94-page
document discussing the impacts of different types of media on young people and
the impacts including pregnancy and diseases. It later goes into research
methods and how this topic might best be studied and what results it might find.
Do not let the length deter you from at least looking at the first part. Up
until page 29 is the best information regarding the topic and has some
interesting statistics. It first analyzes the different types of media such as
television and music and how sex is presented in each of these. Then it discusses
how age and other factors impact the view by children on sex, followed by a
look at healthy sex versus sexual health. The paper also discusses other topics
such as basic sexual development and how studies might be best conducted looking
at this issue.
This article offers a slightly different perspective, showing
what is perhaps a less obvious outcome related to overly sexualized media. It
deals with the impact it has on young girls and their self-confidence and body
image issues. While these alone are not necessarily black and white issues related
to sex, they spread the idea that one needs to be skinny and beautiful to be
popular and desired by men. Women are often portrayed in the western media in
very unrealistic ways, abnormally skinny, to the point it negatively impacts
their health. The women in the media are beautiful and thin, sending a message
to women everywhere that they should be all around perfect. Magazines often
flash headlines such as “how to lose 10 pounds in two weeks!” and “50 tricks to
keep your man satisfied in bed!”. These statements enforce the ideas to young
girls that they need to be perfect to be sexy to be desired and popular, and
with the focus so heavily on sex, most girls feel the pressure to be sexy from
a very young age. While one or two exposures to this type of magazine cover
might not have an effect, there are no regulations on magazines such as this
being placed next to the check-out at the grocery store, so no matter how much
one might try to protect their children and teens from this on a daily basis, the
exposure is unavoidable and slowly builds negative ideas among young women.
Citations
Collins, R. L., Strasburger, V. C.,
Brown, J. D., Donnerstein, E., Lenhart, A., & Ward, L. M.
(2017, November 1). Sexual Media and Childhood Well-being
and Health. Retrieved November 23, 2019, from
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/140/Supplement_2/S162.
Huston, A. C., Wartella, E., &
Donnerstein, E. (1998, May). Measuring the Effects
of Sexual Content in the Media:A Report to the Kaiser Family
Foundation. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from http://cdmc.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1998-02.pdf.
Witmer, D. (2019, August 16). How
Does the Media Affect Body Image in Teens? Retrieved
November 24, 2019, from https://www.verywellmind.com/body-image-issues-teens-and-the-media-2609236.
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