Sex in the Media - Essay Example

Sex in the Media College: Sex in the Media Over a long time, the issue of sex in the media has become a concern for many societies in the world. Research has shown a direct link between media proliferation and the spread of immorality in the contemporary society. Currently, the height of criticism has elevated as the world becomes more conscious of the wide spread of moral rottenness in the society that they believe has resulted from sexual portrayal of the mainstream media. In the 21st century, media technology has become more affordable and more accessible across the world. In the era of internet technology the social media has emerged ushering in a new era of global sharing of sexual content. The computer technology and the advancement of mobile technology have all cumulatively contributed to the moral erosion in the society. The media content has raised ethical issue as research has shown that the sexual awareness of the media has a great impact on the society norms and the increased teen pregnancy and indulgent of sexual arousal among teens and higher statistics of teenage pregnancy. Although the media preforms the role of sex education which is important in the society, the media has resulted to erosion of sexual morality in the society. The media influence on social behaviour has been a topic of discussion for a long time. The social-cognitive theories have linked the social structures of the society with the social influence of the media. The argument of these theories is that the people, especially young adults, are likely to imitate those behaviours that they see often. As such, the youths are likely to imitate the actions that are portrayed in the media and the society as this is their immediate environment. To support this theory, a number of researchers have come out to investigate the link between social structures and the media. After a wide research, scholars have come into a concession that the media shapes the society in all its aspects. The media provides the society with new dressing life styles, new eating habits, new sexual behaviour and even new tastes of their social behaviours (Bayraktar, 2012). On this ground, it is true that the media portrayal of sexual content plays a great role in contributing to sexual titillation in the society. Hence, it is indisputable that the media has played a great role in defining the new sexual behaviours in the contemporary society. The spread of the television technology has been tremendous in the past 20 years with more than 40% of the families owning a television. The widespread of the television technology can be linked to the development in technology and the affordability of these gadgets. However, the sexual content in the media has continuously increased. Particularly, majority of the advertisements contain sexual content that has raised ethical issue on the use of such content in the media. Many advertisements feature young ladies who are exposed half naked and in a very romantic manner. Since many youths have access to this kind of materials right from their young age, they become more conscious of their sexuality right from young age and hence they are likely to engage in sex at their early teens (Kamalipour, 2001). While many have argued that the parents have a responsibility to protect their children against such sexual content, it is clear that this is practically impossible. More than half of the media advertisements on television and magazines contain erotic content. The fact that these advertisements pop out randomly, it is impossible to keep young children and teenagers away from such content. Therefore, sexual content in media advertisement create sexual awareness among teens which is linked with the spread of immorality among the youths. A wide range of TV programs contain sexual content that has far reaching effects as far as moral corruptness is concerned. In the recent past there are many television channels that show erotic TV programs. These TV programs have drawn the attention of many youths who admire the forms of lifestyles that are depicted in these programs. Most of these TV programs show portray sexual relationships as positive in the community. Since most teens have access to these programs and most of them get addicted to these TV shows, it is likely that they are able to copy these behaviours and practice it in real life. The world statistics show that most of the youths have associated relationships with sexual behaviours. As more youths enter in immature relationships, unaware of the consequences of such behaviours they end up contracting venereal diseases and many young girls get unwanted pregnancies. At the early age, youths have little self-control and are likely to be sexually aroused much easily than at any other age. Relationship among teens is the major reason for high spread of HIV and AIDS, high abortion rates and many children are dropping out of school due to unplanned pregnancies (Kamalipour, 2001). The media portrayal of sexual relationships in their programs has contributed to the spread of sexual behaviour among teens whose results have far much reaching effects. The sexual portrayal of fashion in the media has contributed to the negative change in the dressing code in the society today. Most media channels portray a gender disparity in the fashion advertisements which portray ladies fashion in an erotic manner. The fashion shows portray underdressed ladies as the unique fashion while men fashions provide a different look for men. This has raised criticism in the public sphere with social activists asserting that the media has portrayed women as sexual objects, unlike men who are given a different image. On the other hand, the impact of these fashion shows is that they have contributed to the spread of sexual dressing codes that are likely to arouse the public sexually. As the youths copy these dressing codes, they not only become subjects of sexual seduction but also the objects of sexual exploitation. Research shows that underdressed women are at more risk of rape even by their own family members. In an era of family distress, it is likely that parents will abuse their children sexually (Hennessy et al., 2013). When a female child is underdressed in such family set ups, it is likely that they will seduce their parents unconsciously and this may end up in sexual abuse. In addition, these immoral dressing codes inspire males to see women as sexual objects and hence they are lured into such behaviour. As such, erotic fashion shows have become the spice for sexual immorality in the contemporary society. The internet technology has opened up the opportunity for the youths to have access to sexual content more easily. The integration of the internet technology in the learning environment and encouragement of web-based learning is one of the issues that escalated the problem of the sexual immorality. Through the search engines, the youths can access pornographic web content in an instant even when their aim may not have been twisted in this direction. A survey by Samson and Grabe (2012) shows that the pornographic sites are among the top 50 most visited websites in the world. This statistic shows how the society has access to sexual content on their online presence. The proliferation of the mobile technology has heightened the problem as the youths can afford a mobile phone through which they can access these websites (Pascoe, 2013). The evolution of numerous social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have led to the wide spread of this sexual behaviour in the society. These social media sites are rich in erotic web content that contribute to moral corruptness. In addition, social media has led to widespread of complex sexual relationships such as gayism, lesbianism and ungrounded sexual relationships (Clipson, Wilson & Dufrene, 2012). In this light, the internet technology has added to the problem of complex sexual behaviour giving the society an opportunity to learn the wrong perspectives of morality. The widespread of sexual content in all forms of media can be linked with the failure of the government to conduct adequate media censorship and to control the kind of content that is portrayed in these media (Attwood & Walters, 2013). The widespread of irregular sexual behaviour is an issue that does not only affect the family but also religion and the government in a country. For instance, the widespread of sexual immorality underpins the high death rate among the youths due to abortion, use of sexual pills, venereal diseases and suicide. The death of the youths has negative implication on the future of any country. Therefore, it is crucial for the government the government to pay attention to preventive measures that can neutralise the impact on the media on the society. For instance, the government should put a ban on any sexual media content, videos, pornography, music and fashion shows (Semonche, 2007). This would reduce the youth exposure and reduce their urge to experiment on such behaviour that often have dire consequences on all aspects of the community. In countries such as China, the government has conducted internet censorship as a strategy to keep their youths away from immoral contents that jeopardizes their future. Limiting the youth from accessing such content would help them to live decent lives and limit the sexual arousal that drives them to sexual immorality. In conclusion, the media has contributed to moral corruptness in the society today nm more that it has educated the society against this vice. The television media has exposed the young adults to sexual content in various programs, fashion shows, and advertisement. This form of sexual arousal has pushed the youths to experiment, redefining new complex relationships among peers in the society. The sexual portrayal of women as sex objects in the media underpins the rising cases of rape in the society and the unwanted pregnancies. The online media exposes youths to pornography and complex relationships such as lesbianism and gayism that are becoming more popular in the society today. However, the media has undermined the serious consequences of such behaviours and the deep reaching effects of this kind of sexual content. Increase in sexual behaviour among the youths has resulted to rapid spread of venereal diseases and HIV and AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, school dropouts, and abuse of sexual pills. As a result, the youths are dying every day and the society is getting deprived of the younger generation that is expected to support economic development in future. The government reluctance to engage in serious media censorship has resulted to the increase in sexual content in the media and social imbalance in the society. References Attwood, F., & Walters, C. (2013). Fifty Shades And The Law: Regulating Sex And Sex Media In The Uk. Sexualities, 16(8), 974-979. Doi:10.1177/1363460713508880 Bayraktar, A. (2012). Marketing The Media With Sexuality And Violence: Is It Ethical?. Ama Marketing & Public Policy Academic Conference Proceedings, 2276-77. Clipson, T. W., Wilson, S., & Dufrene, D. D. (2012). The Social Networking Arena: Battle Of The Sexes. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(1), 64-67. Doi:10.1177/1080569911423961 Hennessy, M., Romer, D., Valois, R. F., Vanable, P., Carey, M. P., Stanton, B., & ... Salazar, L. F. (2013). Safer Sex Media Messages And Adolescent Sexual Behavior: 3-Year Follow-Up Results From Project Imppacs. American Journal Of Public Health, 103(1), 134-140. Doi:10.2105/Ajph.2012.300856 Kamalipour, Y. R. (2001). Media, Sex, Violence, And Drugs In The Global Village. Lanham [U.A.: Rowman & Littlefield. Pascoe, C. J. (2013). Romancing The Phone. Technology Review, 116(5), 98-100. Samson, L., & Grabe, M. (2012). Media Use And The Sexual Propensities Of Emerging Adults. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56(2), 280-298. Doi:10.1080/08838151.2012.678512 Semonche, J. E. (2007). Censoring Sex: A Historical Journey Through American Media. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. Read More