Published online July 1, 2005
PEDIATRICS Vol. 116 No. 1 July 2005, pp. 327-328 (doi:10.1542/peds.2005-0355E)
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SUPPLEMENT ARTICLE

Problems and Solutions Associated With Media Consumption: The Role of the Practitioner

Joe S. McIlhaney, Jr,, MD

From The Medical Institute for Sexual Health, Austin, Texas

Abbreviations: STI, sexually transmitted infection • AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

As is evident from a wealth of literature, the powerful messages in mass media (advertising, movies, music lyrics and videos, radio, television, video games, and the Internet) influence the way children perceive their environment, their relationships, their bodies, and various risk behaviors. Media-consumption habits in children and adolescents predict risk behaviors and adverse health outcomes as diverse as overweight and obesity, violence and aggressive behavior, tobacco and alcohol use, and early sexual debut.

  • The preponderance of evidence indicates that significant exposure to media violence increases the risk of aggressive behavior.1
  • Media messages and images normalize and glamorize the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.2
  • Increased television use has been documented as a significant factor leading to obesity.3
  • Increased television use may lead to decreased school achievement.4
  • Recent data suggest that exposure to the large number of sexual references and images in media and advertising (in the television shows watched by adolescents, 10% of scenes show couples engaged in sexual intercourse) may hasten sexual debut.5

Many parents and some physicians underestimate the negative and lifelong impact of early sexual activity. Sexually active adolescents are at immediate risk for pregnancy and acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In general, the earlier the sexual debut, the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Address correspondence to Joe S. McIlhaney, Jr, MD, Medical Institute for Sexual Health, PO Box 162306, Austin, TX 78716-2306, E-mail: jmcilhaney@medinstitute.org


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