As sexuality in the media becomes an increasingly used feature, the worry of young peoples' exposure is a growing concern. Their attitudes, beliefs, and even behaviors are linked to the amount of sexuality seen in our everyday world. From social media, magazines, and the world of television, sexuality is used in several different forms in order to sell a product. Yet what message is this sending to young minds? Does this change the way they have future relationships and view sex as a whole?
By using sexuality to advertise, it often exploits the body and sends the message to adolescents that sexuality is the key to getting ones point across. It has been proven time and time again that “sex sells.” By advertising a beautiful woman on a commercial or front of a magazine, it draws the attention of the consumer, increasing the sales of that item. In return, the company continues to use sexy and provocative images to advertise their products.
Yet every age group, including very impressionable young adults who are often intrigued by the idea of sex are seeing these advertisements. Young teens may be the most vulnerable to these images, proving the need for stronger restrictions on sexual content in new media masses and on advertisements.
One reason being how these messages are flooding teen minds at an age in which body development, gender roles, and their sexual identity is still evolving. By consistently being shown a male or female body that is altered and perfected, it gives them a false belief on body image, leading to a possible rise in self-esteem issues and self-identity concerns. As the average teen spends an average of six hours a day on social media and television programs, their minds tend to lack the ability to understand the difference between Internet or television images versus real life images.
This exposure to such sexual images only adds to their level of curiosity and may put them at risk for being sexually active at an earlier age or exposing them to the risk of young pregnancy.
While it can be argued that the increased views of sexual content increases teen sexual activity, some may argue that teens are going to engage in sex simply out of curiosity, not because of visual sexual content. And even so, some views of sexual content may lead to positive effects. While there have been multiple studies proving that sex on television and social media increases sexual behavior, it can also be beneficial. Shows that discuss situations such as the use of contraception, teen pregnancy, and STD’s provide teens with information they may not receive in school or at home.
Adolescents are surrounded by a world that lives off of sexual content. These images are forcing young teens to feel as if they need to dress provocatively or post sexual images of themselves in order to “fit in.” By seeing these types of images everyday, it forces them to grow up a little faster and possibly engage in sexual behaviors at an earlier age. So it’s not necessarily peer pressure that is the problem anymore, it’s our society as a whole.
