Sunday, September 19, 2010

Can Media be the Blame?

Within the last few decades, teen pregnancy has been on the rise. Today, 75 percent of teenagers have engaged in sexual intercourse and within that percentage 20 percent of young girls conceive a child. With this recent uproar of teen pregnancies – who is to blame? Is the media to blame for this uproar? Can the media embed sexual tendencies into the minds of young vulnerable teenagers? Media has created a world where sex out of wedlock is mainstream. Teen pregnancy is mainstream. Media indirectly brainwashes the minds of teenagers to believe media’s perception of “mainstream.”
Social learning is a concept in which users of media model and imitate the attitudes and actions seen in the media. People learn by observing and whether the affects of social learning are immediate the images people see on TV are permanently placed into “vulnerable” minds forever. The constant reinforcement of typical ideas placed in the media (such as pre-marriageable sex) leads to the behavior itself. People without their consent are molded by the media to believe certain ideas. Profit seeking media alters people’s standards for the worse.
The constant reinforcement of sex in the media continues to be a main concern. Sex is seen as cool, useful, and normal. It is seen as something used to manipulate people. The recent show “Gossip Girl” is flooded with provocative sex scenes and promiscuous  situations. With this glamorized form of sexuality, it is evident that shows like this mold the minds of teenagers (being young adults the target age group for the show). “Gossip Girl” shows that sex is mainstream without any real consequences that partake with sex before marriage. It is evident that shows like “Gossip Girl” mold the minds of teenagers by the recent increase in sexual activity and teen pregranacies.  Teenagers cognitive minds are swayed through social learning. The morality of our teenagers has decreased dramatically since media has come into the equation.

The following video shows a provocative sex scene on "Gossip Girl" -


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