YOUNG VOICES: TV shows aren't as good as open communication

Our society is fascinated by sex. No matter where you look it is everywhere, and children are more exposed to it every day.

On TV there are shows such as "Vampire Diaries" and "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," movies such as "No Strings Attached" and "Superbad," and practically nude pictures in magazines and advertisements.

There is no doubt that these things are entertaining, but when children and teenagers are exposed to these shows that depict casual sex as normal and without consequences, of course they are going to learn it is acceptable.

I was shocked to find out that many of my friend's younger siblings (even as young as 8 years old) liked to watch shows like "Jersey Shore," which talks about and also shows a lot of sex (not even mentioning all the references to alcohol, fighting and cursing.) The audiences for these types of shows keep getting younger and younger, and it makes me wonder, where are the parents?

For some, they think of it as "harmless entertainment." Statistics show, though, that shows and movies that have sexual content influence children to have sex when they are too young. In a sample of programming from one whole TV season (2002), sexual content appeared in 64 percent of these shows, and these numbers have risen since then.

No matter how cheesy it sounds, these TV series and reality shows target teenagers and the characters that are the "cool kids" are usually portrayed as the ones having sex.

No matter how parents try to prevent their children from watching these shows and movies, children having access to their own TVs and computers gives them the freedom to access these programs that many of us did not have when we were younger.

The media are out of control. Teenagers and younger children are learning more about sex from what characters on TV are doing than what they should be learning in sex education classes or from talking with their parents. Teens as young as 14 are getting pregnant because they are not properly educated and they believe what they see on TV. With shows such as "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and "Teen Mom" making teen pregnancy look easy, no wonder the teen pregnancy rate is increasing again.

If the FCC does not take control and tighten the rules of what is allowed on TV, and if parents do not tighten the rules on what their children are allowed to see, the problem of teen pregnancy and the practice of unsafe sex will only continue to get worse. Learning about sex from what is on TV can bring a lot of consequences, but having open communication between parents and children can make all the difference.

Aly Austin, of Merrillville, is a freshman at Ball State University. The opinion expressed in this column is the writer's and not necessarily that of The Times.