It has been almost a truism that children need to be protected from sexually oriented themes in the media. It’s assumed by many that this is so self-evident that it’s a waste of time to even research the issue.
As a result of the findings of a number of studies, however, many of the beliefs about children and sex are being challenged. In fact, evidence now indicates that many of the widely held beliefs in this area have been the cause of some severe problems, both for youth and society.
Because of the cloud of emotion that surround the issue if sex in general, it has been difficult to do research or publish findings in this area, especially when the research involves children and can threaten the deep personal feelings held by most adults.
Is There A Sexual Revolution?
A national magazine, which undertook a study of the need for sex education in the school, stated that this country presently in the middle of a period of “wrenching change” in the sexual attitudes and behaviour of youth, and most of it is clearly without guidance, information, or control.
Television, being the highly influential medium that it is, has been both part of the solution and part of the problem in the area of sex and youth. It has been part of the solution because it has helped to bring sexual topics out in open (to the consternation of some viewers) where they have a chance of being faced and dealt with.
Research by the TV Watch community reported in 2005 showed that 15 to 24 year olds in Indonesia get most of their information about sex from their friends. This is followed closely by Sex Education Courses. Parents rank third.
We paid, and are continuing to pay a very high price for the silence in matters pertaining to the honest, straight forward presentation of sexual information. The “triple and drivel” about sex that is presented to the adolescent is “dishonest, hypercritical and half baked,” according to one source, who then went on to say that our schizophrenic efforts to prevent adolescent from establishing contact with the real world, whether beautiful or painful, does nothing more than widen the gap between ourselves and them, and make effective adjustment to life more difficult.
Radio and television have been very instrumental in opening doors to the discussions of some topics which were previously ‘taboo’. But sex is not doing much better with the present “demand for performance” and “sexual jock” themes and pressures than it did under the previous “cloak of shame.”
Both extremes have caused, and are causing some severe problems among youth.
GCP 2008
Sources: Syllabus for Universitas Katolik Parahyangan, International Communication class, 2007
