Sex in Television, Content Analysis of

Deborah Schooler

Quantitative content analyses conducted over the past two decades have documented the form and frequency of sexual content on television programming, finding that the programs most watched by youth are saturated with references to and depictions of sexual behavior (often physical flirting, passionate kissing, or intimate touching). Indeed, more than 80% of the prime-time television programs most popular among adolescents contain references to or depictions of sexual behavior. These analyses have further demonstrated that, over time, the amount of sexual content on television has increased, as have discussions of sexual risk and safersex topics. Qualitative content analyses find that television's sexual content includes multiple thematic messages about the value, consequences, and nature of sexual activity. For example, sex is frequently depicted as recreational in nature, and men and women are typically depicted as having different sexual roles. Recent analyses find that roughly one third of television programs contain at least ...

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