We all know that adolescents are media junkies, with some studies showing that they consume some six to seven hours of media a day. And we all know that a good chunk of that media has at least a bit of sexual imagery in it.

But what perhaps we don’t all know is that teenagers who are exposed to more sexual content in the media are actually more sexually active. While this might seem intuitive, and thus not all that surprising, new research actually documents the pervasiveness of media's influence. 

That research was published recently in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

“These findings show that adolescents who are exposed to more sexual content in their media diets, and who perceive greater support from the media for teen sexual behavior, report more sexual activity and greater intentions to engage in sexual intercourse in the near future,” write the researchers.

Indeed, they say the media may well be playing an important role in the sexual socialization of teenagers. They believe that sexual imagery in the media, along with the peer influence, may well be undermining the school-based sex ed programs and the values espoused by the adults in the adolescents’ lives.

“Media may serve as a kind of sexual 'super peer' for adolescents seeking information about sexuality because sexual content in the media is ubiquitous and easily accessible, and sexual messages are delivered by familiar and attractive models,” says the study.

The research appears in the March issue of the journal, which is published by the Society for Adolescent Medicine, described as a multidisciplinary organization of professionals committed to improving the physical and psychosocial health and well-being of all adolescents.

In their study, the researchers looked at the media consumption and sexual activity and intentions of more than 1,000 adolescents ages 12-15 in the southeastern U.S. Those studied included equal proportions of black and white, male and female students.

The children were asked which media they used regularly, including TV, movies, music and magazines. They were asked to specify the particular programs, movies, music artists and magazines they consumed.

Based on these results, the content of 264 movies, TV shows, music and magazines were analyzed for sexual imagery, including references to puberty, romantic relationships, nudity, sexual innuendo, kissing and sexual intercourse.

The researchers than correlated this information with the responses of the participants to a series of questions about their sexual behavior.

The questions ranged from whether the participant had ever had a crush to whether they had kissed or had sex. They were also asked if they intended to have sex in the next year, or if they thought they would during their time in high school.

The researchers then factored in other influences such as family, religion, school and peers.

In looking at the results, the researchers found that media influences did seem to have a significant association with an adolescent’s sexual intention and behavior.

The researchers concluded that the media may play a role as a sexual super peer for adolescents who are seeking information about sexuality, in part because it is easily accessible, but also because the messages are delivered by familiar and attractive faces.

However, kids getting their information in this way have a skewed impression of the subject, believe the researchers.

“The majority of sexual content in the media depicts risk-free recreational sexual behaviour between non-married people,” say the researchers. “Media programming rarely depicts negative consequences from sexual behaviour, and depictions of condom and contraception use are extremely rare.”