abstract
- The media arguably have become the leading sex educator for American children and adolescents. More than 80% of the top teen shows contain sexual content, and the average teen views nearly 14,000 sexual references on television alone. The gap between suggestive and responsible content on primetime television is narrowing, but only slowly. Parents and teachers need to recognize the power of the media to educate and begin incorporating principles of media literacy into existing sex education programs.