When "Friends" Talk, Teens Listen
USA Today, (11.03.2003) Marilyn Elias
A "Friends" episode that aired Oct. 11, 2001, might have taught teenagers more about safe sex than hours of adult preaching, a survey suggests. Rebecca Collins, a RAND senior behavioral scientist, surveyed 506 frequent viewers ages 12-17 within a few weeks of the episode, then six months later. Her report shows that many got the safe sex facts. The article, "Entertainment Television as a Healthy Sex Educator: The Impact of Condom-Efficacy Information in an Episode of Friends," appeared in Pediatrics (2003;112:1115-1121).
On "Friends," Rachel told Ross she was pregnant even though they had used a condom. The show twice mentioned that condoms are 97 percent effective. According to Nielsen Media Research, about 1.7 million children ages 12-17 saw the episode.
About two-thirds of the viewers in Collins' study recalled that condom failure had resulted in pregnancy. Roughly a third even remembered the success rate for condoms.
Approximately two out of five children surveyed had watched with an adult. Collins found that watching with an adult helped teens have clearer recall about condom effectiveness, and talking to an adult about the show increased their knowledge.
Vicky Rideout of the Kaiser Family Foundation said prime time TV is "saturated with sex." According to Kaiser's 2003 report, about seven out of 10 shows have sexual content, averaging six sexual references an hour. But she added that one out of four shows that talk about or depict sex also mention safer sex, waiting, or consequences, up from about 14 percent in the foundation's survey four years ago. In the 20 top shows watched by teens, almost half the episodes about sex mention safer sex.
A recent Kaiser study showed 70 percent of teens said television sex influenced the behavior of kids their age. Tamara Kreinin, president of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, said parents should try to watch television with their teens so they can help interpret and even magnify positive messages.
Reprinted from the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update. You can view the entire Prevention News Update, search the archives, and sign up for E-mail delivery at http://www.cdcnpin.org/.
 Send this page to a friend >>
|
