I was able to attend a forum today sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation to release Sex on TV 4, a cross-sectional, longitudinal study of the frequency of sexual content and behavior on television shows. From the news release:
The number of sexual scenes on television has nearly doubled since 1998, according to Sex on TV 4, a biennial study released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. And while the inclusion of references to “safer sex” issues – such as waiting to have sex, using protection, or possible consequences of unprotected sex – has also increased since 1998, that rate has leveled off in recent years. The study examined a representative sample of more than 1,000 hours of programming including all genres other than daily newscasts, sports events, and children’s shows. All sexual content was measured, including talk about sex and sexual behavior.
The study found that 70% of all shows include some sexual content, and that these shows average 5.0 sexual scenes per hour, compared to 56% and 3.2 scenes per hour respectively in 1998, and 64% and 4.4 scenes per hour in 2002. These increases combined represent nearly twice as many scenes of sexual content on TV since 1998 (going from 1,930 to 3,780 scenes in the program sample totaling a 96% increase between 1998 and 2005). But despite these overall increases in sexual content, the number of shows in which sexual intercourse is either depicted or strongly implied is down slightly in recent years (7% in 1998, 14% in 2002, and 11% in 2005).
Several other findings that caught my attention were:
- Among the top 20 most watched shows by teens, 70% include sexual content, and nearly half (45%) include sexual behavior.
- During prime time hours sex is even more common with nearly 8 in 10 (77%) shows including sexual content, averaging 5.9 sexual scenes per hour.
- Two-thirds (68%) of all shows include talk about sex and 35% of all shows include sexual behaviors.
- One in nine (11%) network prime time shows with sex include a reference to risks or responsibilities. This rate in prime time has held relatively steady over the years – 11% in 1998 and 13% in 2002.
- Among the 20 most highly rated shows for teen viewers, 10% of those with sexual content include a reference to sexual risks or responsibilities at some point in the episode.
Here are links to the Executive Summary and Full Report.
During his Keynote Address, Senator Barack Obama made the usual points about parental responsibility: turn the TV off more often, watch with them, read instead - or better yet, talk with your children. What was more interesting was his focus on the television industry which is already under scrutiny on the Hill. In particular he wants the industry to make it easier to block content by providing better tools for parents to use. Tony Vinciquerra, President and CEO of Fox Networks Group, later commented on this by pointing out Fox's public education efforts to alert parents to how to use existing blocking technology (now if they could just focus on behaviors!).
Other areas touched on by Senator Obama that might be the focus of legislative activity included:
- Improving the current voluntary rating system to include more detailed ratings and use of full screen displays rather than corner shots.
- Insuring that promotions for other shows are not inserted inappropriately (such as trailers for violent programming being shown during a cartoon show).
- Encouraging the Federal Communications Commission to spell out education and PSA policies before the deadline for complete digital conversion.
- Maintaining support for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, the chief source of funding for Public Broadcasting Services.
One issue raised by a reporter from the LA Times was whether "we" were perhaps overreacting to sexual content on TV given that rates of teen pregnancy have been declining over the past few years. Sarah Brown from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy seemed to settle that issue when she noted that not only does the United States still have the highest teen pregnancy rate among industrialized countries, but 3 in 10 teen women will become pregnant before the age of 20.
Is the solution to sex on television one that needs to be addressed by industry, policy makers, parents, or is it part of a broader set of social issues? The KFF data were not meant to suggest possible solutions, but simply to continue to document the extent to which media, television in particular, contributes to the sexual socialization of teens.
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