Teen Sex Is Hollywood's Fault
Those crazy conservative Christians think Hollywood is ruining America and inspiring teens everywhere to have sex.
MGM / '9 1/2 Weeks' 'Take off your dwess.'
If they were right America would be booming with overpopulation instead of putting the brakes on procreation. Well, there is birth control ...
A recent study to be published in the journal Psychological Science concludes that hot movie sex indeed seems to have inspired early adolescents to get freaky:
After coding 684 top-grossing films for sexual content and then matching the viewing of such action against the subsequent behavior of 1,228 participants ages 12-14, researchers found this, says lead author Ross O'Hara of the University of Missouri:
Adolescents who are exposed to more sexual content in movies start having sex at younger ages, have more sexual partners, and are less likely to use condoms with casual sexual partners.
The academics involved in the study found that teens and preteens were susceptible to sexual imagery. According to a summary:
Between the ages of ten and fifteen, the tendency to seek more novel and intense stimulation of all kinds peaks. The wild hormonal surges of adolescence makes judicious thinking a bit more difficult.
(Gosh, sounds like the plot of a movie. Blame it on Rio?).
Anyway, the researchers say this kind of acting out can last well into the 20s and that movies can "fundamentally" change one's sexuality.
A majority of American 14- to 16-year-olds (57 percent) get their "sexual information" from Hollywood and the "media," the study says.
The conclusion? Parents need to "restrict" teens' movie viewing, the researchers say.
More violence, less boobie? We respectfully disagree.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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