What the experts say - 1

While a few years old, this article gives a really good idea of what impact the media has on teens. While there are few actual studies, one has to think that seeing an over-abundance of sex in the media could lead to altered behavior in teens, who are at the point in their lives where they are forming who they are and gaining an understanding of the world. In this study, kids aged 12-14 who had not yet had sex were surveyed and categorized into groups based on how much sexual media they consumed. Then again, 2 years later at the ages of 14-16, the same children were surveyed again about their sexual activity. There was a marked difference in the patterns of black children and white children. Black children were significantly more likely to be influenced by the sexual behaviors of their peers and parental sexual attitudes than by the media. Among white teens though, the ones who were exposed to the most sexual media were 2.2 times more likely than the least exposed group to have had sexual intercourse. 

Unfortunately, as previously stated, there are few actual studies, but this survey supports what one might imagine could result from the consumption of highly sexualized media, especially by young people. 

Citation

CBS News. (2007, June 20). Media May Prompt Teen Sex. Retrieved November 26, 2019, from

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/media-may-prompt-teen-sex/.