Presentation for Seminar in Mass Communication Spring 2015.

1. Amy Freshman, April 23, 2015,Seminar in Mass Communication

2. OBJECTIVES/GOALS
 Expand current communication and mass media
literature to include mass media’s relationship to teen
boys’ sexual awareness.
 This study will contribute to the working knowledge of
the family communication field, mass communication
field, professionals working with adolescents, and
parents of adolescents.

3. Purpose
 To examine the roles sexual messages in media have on
teen boys’ sexual awareness.
 To examine how teen boys receive and perceive sexual
messages in media.
 To examine the role of media literacy in sex education by
parents and the education system.
 To study the level of ambivalence teen boys feel between
parent and school sex education and sexual messages in
media.
 To study how teen boys utilize social media for sexual
socialization instead of the locker room.

4. Definitions
 Sexual Socialization – the process of learning and
developing sexual awareness, establishment of
expectations regarding sexuality and sexual
relationships (Epstein & Ward, 2007).
 Sexual scripts – sociocultural process that enable
people to determine what is considered sexual and
how one should act sexually (Joshi et al., 2010).
 Sexting – the electronic exchange of nude or sexually
suggestive images (Curnutt, 2012; Drake, Price,
Maziarz, Ward, 2012; Judge, 2012; Lenhart, 2009).

5. LITERATURE REVIEW
Maturation, Sexual Awareness, and Media Content
 48% of 17 year-old teens were sexually active (Guttmacher, 2014)
 Chlamydia all time high among teens in largest Nebraska county – 3,390 cases (Glissman,
2015).
 Wise Guys Curriculum- provide sexual risk education and promotes healthy sexual
behavior (Gruchow & Brown, 2010).
 Alternate sex education discourse progress positive attitudes in teen boys towards
breaking traditional stereotypes.
 Teen boys gain majority of sexual awareness from sex talk with peers (Epstein & Ward,
2007).
 Role of media in sex education in teen boys primarily upholds sexual stereotypes and
projects sex as desirable and natural (Epstein & Ward, 2007; Hust, Brown, & L’Engle, 2008;
Joshi et al., 2010).
 One thousand randomly selected cable television programs 64% contained sexual content
– one in seven contained sexual intercourse and only 6 % represented safe sex (Kunke et
al., 2007)
 Oral sex is not real sex.
 Condoms discussions for males is comedic.
 Masturbation depicted as humiliating instead of risk-free pleasure (Hust et al., 2008).

6. Literature Review
Social Media and Sexting
 Adolescents leaving Facebook for Twitter, Snapchat, Vine and Kikr (Gregg, 2013; Lenhart
et al., 2013).
 Facebook lacks perception of privacy due to parental participation (Olson, 2013).
 New and mobile SNS provide private platforms for teen sexual socialization (Olson,
2013).
 Sexting = communication of ones sexuality through visual language (Curnett, 2012)
 One of three teens send more than 100 texts a day (Judge, 2012).
 93% of teens (12 to 17 years-old) have internet access and 75% have cell phones (Lenhart,
2009).
 Of the 75% with cell phones 4% have sent sexts and 15% have received sexts (Lenhart,
2009).
 Of 1289 teens 218 reported passive or active sexting, and 47% engaged in sexual intercourse
(Drake et al., 2012).
 Issues of Sexting = mass distribution, criminalization, increased sexual behavior, self-
objectification (Curnett, 2012, Drake et al., 2012; Judge, 2012).

7. Literature Review
Media Effects
 Effects on social behavior occur over time through
multiple exposures (Kunkel, et al., 2007).
 Average person exposed to 300 messages a day (Potter,
2004).
 Role mass media play in construction of sexual
awareness concern since early 1930’s as evident in the
Payne Fund Studies.
 Hubert Blumer – young people derive ideals for
romantic and sexual relationships from motion
pictures (Jarvis, 1991).

8. Theory/Concepts
Media Literacy- process by which an individual critically
analyzes and evaluates produced messages; which
include print, television, movies, and digital (Hobbs,
2011; Mhihailidis, 2014; Potter, 2004).
 Media exert constant influence (Potter, 2012).
 Protective- purpose of medial literacy to help people
protect themselves from potential negative effects
(Potter, 2010).
 Empowerment- takes stance young people are capable
and active in their ability to create and choose media
messages (Hobbs, 2011).

9. Theory/Concepts
Social Learning Theory/ Social Cognitive Theory
 How young people learn social behavior through
observation of adult behavior (Baer, 1963; Bandura,
1969).
 Media can potentially symbolize reality and take on
form of social modeling.
 Media have power to persuade and influence
behavioral change.
 More exposure to sexual content leads to risky sexual
behavior among teens (Fisher et al., 2009).

10. BUILD UP – SO WHAT?
 What is the relationship to media as a social model for
teen boys sexual socialization versus peer groups as
social model for teen boys sexual socialization?
 What is the relationship between media literacy in sex
education and teen boys healthy sexual socialization?
 What is the relationship between protective media
literacy in sex education and teen boys healthy sexual
socialization?
 What is the relationship between empowerment
media literacy in sex education and teen boys healthy
sexual awareness?

11. QUESTIONS?

12. ReferencesBaer, P.E. (1963). Social reinforcement and behavior change. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 33 (4), 591-601.
Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. Media Psychology, 3(3), 265-299.
Bandura, A. (1969). Social learning of moral judgments. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 11(3), 275-279.
Curnutt, H. (2012). Flashing your phone: Sexting and the remediation of teen sexuality. Communication Quarterly, 60(3), 353-369.
Dake, J.A., Price, J.H., Maziarz, L., & Ward, B. (2012). Prevalence and correlates of sexting behavior in adolescents. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 7, 1-15.
Epstein, M. & Ward, M. (2007). “Always use protection”: Communication boys receive about sex from parents, peers, and the media. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 37, 113-126.
Fisher, D.A., Hill, D.L., Grube, J.W., Bersamin, M.M., Walker, S., & Gruber, E.L. (2009). Televised sexual content and parental mediation: Influences on adolescent sexuality. Media Psychology, 12, 121-147.
Glissman, B. (2015, February 18). Chlamydia rates in Douglas County at an all-time high. The Omaha World Herald. Retrieved from http://www.livewellnebraska.com.
Gregg, M. (2013, October 30). 8 scary social networking sites every parent should know. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-gregg/8-scary-social-network-sites-
every-parents-should-know.
Gruchow, H.W. & Brown, R.K. (2010). Evolution of the wise guys male responsibility curriculum: Participant-control comparisons. Journal of School Health, 81(3), 152-160.
Guttmacher Institute. (2014, May). American teens’ sexual and reproductive health. 1 -4. Retrieved from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-ATSRH.pdf.
Hobbs, R. (2011). The state of media literacy: A response to Potter. Journal of Broadcast & Electronic Media, 55(3), 419-430.
Hust, S.T., Brown, J.D., & L’Engle, K.L. (2008). Boys will be boys and girls better be prepared: An analysis of rare sexual health messages in young adolescents’ media. Mass Communication & Society, 11(1), 3-23.
Jarvis Jr., A.R. (1991). The Payne Fund Reports: A discussion of their content, public reaction, and affect on the motion picture industry, 1930-1940. Journal of Popular Culture, 25(2), 127-140.
Joshi, S.P., Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P.M. (2010). Ambivalent messages in Seventeen magazine: A content analytic comparison of 1997 and 2002. Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, 12(1), 1-21.
Judge, A.M. (2012). “Sexting” among U.S. adolescents: Psychological and legal perspectives. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 20(2), 86-96.
Kunkel, D., Eyal, K., Donnerstein, E., Farrar, K.M., Biley, E., & Rideout, V. (2007). Sexual socialization messages on entertainment television: Comparing content trends 1997 – 2002. Media Psychology, 9, 595-
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13. References
Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Cortesi, S., Gasser, U., Duggan, M., Smith, A., & Beaton, M. (2013, May 23). Teens, social media and privacy. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved
from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teens-Social-Media-And-Privacy.aspx.
Lenhart, A., & Madden, M. (2013, November 7). 9 things you need to know about teens technology & online privacy. Pew Internet & Life Project. Retrieved from
http://pewinternet.org/Presentations/2013/Nov/9-Things-About-Teens-Technology-Online-Privacy.aspxnet & American Life Project.
Lenhart, A. (2009, December 15). Teens and sexting: How and why teens are sending sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images via text messaging. Pew Internet & Life Project.
Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2009/12/15/teens-and-sexting/.
Lenhart, A. & Madden, M. (2007, April 18). Teens, privacy and online social networks. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/
2007/ Teens-Privacy- and –Online-Social-Networks.aspx.
Mihailidis, P. (2014). Media Literacy and the Emerging Citizen, Youth Engagement and Participation in Digital Culture. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Potter, W.J. (2013). Review of literature on media literacy. Sociology Compass 7(6), 417-435.
Potter,W.J. (2012). Media effects. Thousand Oaks, CA.: SAGE Publications.
Potter, W.J. (2010). The state of media literacy. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 54(4), 675-696.
Potter, J. W. (2004). Theory of media literacy: A cognitive approach. Retrieved from http: eblib.com