What is Your Child Learning from Sex in Television Advertising?

Nowadays, it almost seems normal to turn on a television and see some sort of sexual content. At the same time, it is just as normal for a child to be exposed to the same type of material on television. Just about every type of commercial these days have some sort of sexual language. These advertisements are not just on during late night television, they run around the clock. Over half of all television advertising involves inappropriate sexual language. There are many disadvantages that come along with children being exposed to this type of inappropriate content. Since the average child spends 900 hours a year in school, and 1,023 hours watching television (Downshen, 2005), you can see who is being exposed to these commercials the most. It is time the media stops focusing on the fact that "sex sells" and starts realizing that it is not just adults viewing these advertisements; where is their concern for young viewers? If the media wants to continue to use sexual content to advertise their product, it should be done at a time of the night where the majority of children are sleeping. Clearly, using sexual content in television advertising has a negative effect on children in many different ways and needs to stop.

A major problem involving this issue is that when children are exposed to television, they observe and often imitate what they view. Advertisers that use sex to sell their product never focus on the negative and misleading information children are consuming from these ads. Instead, the media focuses on how enjoyable and entertaining they can make their product look. This is why adolescents who are exposed to a large amount of this type of content on television are twice as likely to begin engaging in sexual intercourse at an extremely early age compared to the children who are not exposed to this type of material. Premarital sex is turning into a bigger problem now then ever before. Each year, one of every four sexually active teens contracts a sexually transmitted disease. If you think about it, that is 25% of teens which is a tremendous amount. Have you ever noticed the lack of commercials for birth control and condoms?

If you think about it, advertising is never targeted toward the appropriate age group for their product. It is a fact that children under eight years old can not even distinguish the difference between programming and commercials (Hopkins, 1997). Having cartoon characters in adult ads is obviously going to interest children. By showing attractive energetic people having fun while promoting adult products, it is sending kids the wrong message. Advertisers should consider using everyday things instead of sex to sell. When advertising a new automobile, media should concentrate on the speed, quality, and safety of the car instead of the attractive girl riding in it. Also, there is no need for a personal hygiene commercial to show a woman caressing her body in a sexual way while using the product.There are many alternatives for media to use in advertising besides always coming up with the conclusion that sex sells.

Alcohol is the number one advertisement promoting sex to youth. By the age of 16, the average teenager will view 75,000 alcohol ads. Most likely, this is the reason why 81% of high school students drink alcohol and 31% binge drink. If the media would change the way they promote alcohol by not making it look sexy, cool, and harmless, then this would not nearly be such a problem. Children would not be as interested in an ad that just showed and talked about the product itself. There are more ads for beer and alcohol then juices and other flavored fruit drinks combined. Children would be more likely to pay attention to commercials for healthy food if they showed fun and colorful things; people wonder why obesity is such a growing problem these days, especially in children.

When it is the right time for a child to learn about sex, it should be the parents that teach them. Parents can fully explain right from wrong, and the consequences that the outcome may lead to. Researchers have shown that only one third of parents discuss sexwith their kids(Hopkins, 1997). As a parent, I do not want my child being taught wrongly about such an important topic that will reflect on the rest of her life.

There are many different ways parents can help their children get the best out of television. Parents can start by limiting the amount of television their child watches. Instead of letting your children sit in front of a television for hours, give them alternative ideas such as playing games or sports, listening to music, or reading a book. Planning what your child will watch for the night is also a good idea for parents. Look through a TV Guide ahead of time and let them pick out a few shows that of course, you approve of. If parents participate and analyze television with their children, it will help bring out the potential positive effects television can have. If there is a situation that is sending the wrong message, you will be there to explain to your child why it is wrong and what would make it right. From a different perspective, if your child tells you they want something they see on television, explain to them that commercials make people want things they do not need or on the other hand, you really do not get happier using or having the product.

Many of you are probably thinking that television has some type of educational value and you are absolutely right. There are many learning channels out there that benefit children. Noggin, for example, is a great channel filled with nothing but educational shows for preschoolers without commercials. Nick Jr. is another good channel that actually teaches your kids things, minus the sexual content.

For those of you up to date on technology, I am sure you are familiar with the V-chip. Most of the programs and channels out there are rated based on the show's content. This rating is based on four different categories (violence, language, sexual content and overall content). V-chip is able to indentify and block the inappropriate programs from your television. There are also parental guidelines that allow parents to determine what their child can and cannot view by programming the V-chip themselves.

Screenblock is a different perspective of monitoring the television. Screenblock is a device that controls the supply of power to a television. Using this, you are able to set time allowances on your television using the "Parent keys". With this device, you are able to pick the amount of time your child can watch television. You can set the device for as many hours and time frames as you would like and it also allows you to change it as often as needed. Once the time you have set is up, the television will turn off automatically. This is a very good way to monitor the shows your child is viewing and the amount of time your child is exposed to the television itself. Screenblock can even be used on video game systems and computers.

If you are not a fan of V-chip or Screenblock, there are still many alternatives you can use to make sure your child is not viewing inappropriate content. Public television stations rarely have ads and if they do, it is never involving anything sexual. Also, buying or renting movies is another great way that can pretty much guarantee you your kids are not being exposed to anything not guided towards children. A more convenient way to make sure your child is getting the best out of television is to record television shows. That way, you have the benefit of fast forwarding through commercials.

If sexual language and inappropriate content continues to be used in television advertising, sexual activities in children are only going to increase. The number of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy, and premarital sex are going to continue to rise each year. It is time we do something about it so that our next generation is not exposed to this kind of inappropriate content on a day to day basis and can learn about it the right way. Everyday, more and more kids are learning from inappropriate content on television. This only goes to show that it is never too late to put an end to our children being exposed to such explicit material.

Dowshen, S. (2005). How TV Affects your Child.

Jones, S. C, & Donovan, R. J. (2001). Messages in alcohol advertising targeted to youth. , 25(2), 126.

Pediatrics, (December 2006). Children, Adolescents, and Advertising. , 18(6) 2563-2569. Retrieved March 21, 2007, from Academic Search Premiere database.
Hopkins, G. L. (1997). How TV and advertising affect you child's health. Retrieved March 21, 2007, from www.screenblock.com