SEX STATISTICS - Portrayals of Sex in the Media

The following statistics are from The National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Familes, and can be found at www.nationalcoalition.org

Internet Pornography	Pornography in the Workplace	Pornography and Children	Pornographic Cable Television and Videos
Pornography
Teens and sex STD's	Teens and sex STD's and HIV	Teens and sex Condoms	Teens and sex Abstinence
Teen Pregnancy	Teen Sex	Teen Sex and Parents	Teen Sex Oral Sex
Marriage and Family Cohabitation/ Premarital Sex	Same Sex Marriage	Marriage and Family	Extra-Marital Affairs
Single Parent Households	Single Adults	Religion	Portrayals of Sex in the Media
Sexually Oriented Business (SOB)	Entertainment/Technology/ Advertising/Emerging/Technology		Radio
Cell Phones	Video Games	Television	Ratings
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Portrayals of Sex in the Media

• 75 percent of prime time television in the 1999-2000 season included sexual content.  Sex on TV: Content and Context. 
  The Kaiser Family Foundation, 5 February, 2001.
• 23 percent of couples in scenes with intercourse appeared to be ages 18-24. Your Children & Pornography: A guide for Parents, Tom Buford.  Tommera Press, 2001.
• Movies have an 87% likelihood of presenting sexual material
  Sex on TV: Content and Context.  The Kaiser Family Foundation,
  5 February, 2001.
• The average American adolescent will view nearly 14,000 sexual references per year.  Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media.  American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Public Education, January, 2001.
• Premarital sex is referred to two or three times every hour in soap operas.  Teens and Sex, Paul A. Gore, Ph.D.  University of Missouri-Kansas City.  www.umkc.edu, 22 April, 1998.
• More than 3 out of 4 Americans say the way television programs show sex encourages irresponsible sexual behavior. Teens, Sex, & the Media.  www.mediascope.org, 15 March, 2000.
• 12-17 year old young men are most susceptible and vulnerable to mass media sexual portrayals.  Pornography: A review of scientific literature, Stan E. Weed, Ph.D.  17 October, 1997.
• 66 percent of children (ages 10-16) surveyed say their peers are influenced by television shows.  It's Just Harmless Entertainment…Oh Really? Parents Television Council. www.parentstv.org.
• 64 percent of all shows include sexual content, and only 15% mention waiting, protection, and consequences.  TV Sex Getting "Safer."  Kaiser Family Foundation.  www.kff.org, 2003.
• Playboy’s largest cable channel, Playboy TV, is available in 24 million of the nation’s 81 million homes that receive either satellite, cable or digital television.  Court Overrules Law restricting Cable Sex Shows, Linda Greenhouse.  The New York Times On the Web.  www.nytimes.com
• “The Center for Media and Public Affairs’ new study found that sexual content is featured once every four minutes on network TV, with 98% of all sexual content having no subsequent physical consequences, 85% of sexual behavior having no lasting emotional impact, and that nearly 75% of the participants in sexual activity were unmarried.”   New look at TV sex and violence.  National Catholic Register, 16-22 April 2000.
• Sexual content on prime-time TV more than tripled in the past ten years. More TV Sex, USA Today.  30 March, 2000.
• 40 percent of teenagers have gotten ideas for how to talk to their boyfriends and girlfriends about sexual issues from entertainment media.  Teens, Sex, & the Media.  Media Scope.  2001.
• Teens ages 13-15 rank entertainment media as the top source of information about sexuality and sexual health. Teens, Sex, & the Media.  Media Scope.  2001.
• 59 percent of parents say their 4-6 year-old boys imitate aggressive behavior from television.  Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers.   Kaiser Family Foundation, 28 October, 2003.
• Teenagers who watch a lot of television with sexual content are twice as likely to engage in intercourse than those who watch few such programs according to a study headed by the RAND Corp. and funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development .  Study links TV to teen sexual activity.  www.cnn.com.  7 September, 2004.
• 60 percent of parents say they are “very” concerned about the amount of sex their children are exposed to on television.  Parents Favor New Limits on TV Content in Early Evening Hours.  Kaiser Family Foundation.  23 September, 2004.
• 63 percent of parents favor new regulations to limit the amount of sex and violence in TV shows during the early evening hours when children are most likely to be watching.   Parents Favor New Limits on TV Content in Early Evening Hours.  Kaiser Family Foundation.  23 September, 2004.
• Youth exposed to sexual content on television are more likely to overestimate the frequency of sexual activity among peers and have more permissive attitudes toward premarital sex.  State of the Nation: Challenges Facing STD Prevention in Youth.  American Social Health Association, 2005.
• Over 80% of shows popular with teens contain sexual content, a rate higher than shows for other audiences. Only 15% of sexual encounters of TV alluded to the possible risks or responsibilities of sexual activity.  A biennial report of the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003.
• Adolescents who watch television with high levels of sexual content are twice as likely to initiate sexual intercourse and also more likely to initiate other sexual activities.  Watching sex on television predicts adolescent initiation of sexual behavior,
  Collins RL et al.  Pediatrics, 2004.
• Two out of three parents (63%) say they are “very concerned that children are being exposed to too much inappropriate content in entertainment media,” and another one in four (26%) say they are “somewhat” concerned. A third (34%) say TV concerns them the most.  Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation,
  Fall 2004.
• When it comes to TV, 60% of parents say they are “very” concerned that their children are being exposed to too much sexual content in the TV shows they watch; 53% are “very” concerned about violent content, and 49% about adult language.  Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation,
  Fall 2004.
• Fifty-three percent of all parents say they believe that exposure to sexual content in TV shows contributes “a lot” to children becoming involved in sexual situations before they’re ready, with another 30% saying they believe it contributes “somewhat.”   Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Fall 2004.
• Sixty-three percent of parents say they favor “new regulations to limit the amount of sex and violence in TV shows during the early evening hours, when children are most likely to be watching,” while 35% oppose them.  Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Fall 2004.
• Fifty-two percent of parents say cable should be subject to the same standards as broadcast television, and 43% say it should not.   Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation,
  Fall 2004.
• Teens with high levels of exposure to rap videos, which often promote drug use, violence and sex, are significantly more likely to acquire an STD.  A prospective study of exposure to rap music video and African American female adolescents’ health, Wingood GM et al.  American Journal of Public Health, 2003.
• A Pew Research Center poll in April 2005 showed that most people support higher fines on broadcasters and favor extending indecency rules to cable.  Indecent or not? TV, radio walk fuzzy line, Paul Davidson.  USA Today.  3 June 2005.
• Pay-TV services reach 85% of U.S. homes.   Indecent or not? TV, radio walk fuzzy line, Paul Davidson.  USA Today.  3 June 2005.