Teen Sex

Yes, There is Too Much Teen Sex

Intercourse is becoming a big thing these days among us teenagers. Some of us engage in intercourse just for the fun of it. Others have intercourse when he or she and their partners are definite that they are ready and they know the consequences. What started out as friendly hugs now turned into fervent kisses and caressing, which can eventually lead to sexual intercourse.

In today's media driven society, it's not unusual that teenagers spend more time in front of the television than they do in the classroom. So, needless to say, teens are seeing and learning a lot from television. The problem is, we are learning about sex too early. And we are also learning too much. And what are teens learning? We are learning about sex on the media.

Adolescence is a stage in a person's life where he or she begins to mature from a child into an adult. During this stage, dramatic changes in the human's body begin to occur. One of these changes is seen in the sexual characteristics of a person. The fulfillment of sex drive is complicated by many social taboos and a lack of accurate knowledge about sexuality.

Since the 1960s, sexual activity has increased among adolescents. Recent studies have shown that among 50 percent of adolescents under the age of 15 and 75 percent under the age of 19 report to having had sexual intercourse. But some of these adolescents are not knowledgeable about birth control methods or the symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases even though they are involved in sexual activity.

Everything about having intercourse during the teenage years has consequences. This includes diseases, pregnancy, bad reputation, and the loss of respect from peers and members of the family. Many teenagers don't thing about these consequences because they are either ignorant about the subject, or just "caught up in the moment."

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Sex is one of the most common things that most companies and advertising agencies are using to sell their products. And as a result, the viewers, which are mostly young adults, are true victims. The media has a lot to do with what teenagers do nowadays. Young adults spend six to seven hours each day on average with some form of media.

Sexual content is not an uncommon thing in the media anymore. It's on a lot of shows, for example: Law and Order SVU and Sex in the City. It's also in movies like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and the newly released movie, Hostel. It's in music videos well. This includes Fantasy by Ludacris, I Can Tell by the 504 Boys, and Red Light Special by TLC. Sexual content is also included in magazines such as Seventeen, Glamour, Teen Magazine, and the ever popular Playboy. One fifth to one half of music videos talk about sexuality or eroticism. A good amount of Hollywood movies made each year are rated R and most young people have seen these movies even before they are the required 17 years of age.

In the U.S. alone, children will see an average of 15,000 sexual images each year on television. Now, that normally may not be a problem, teens today are very mature for their age and can handle seeing those images. The problem is the messages that are sent along with those sexual images. Messages about sex being so nonchalant and no that big of a deal possesses a problem. Saying that sex can only be romantic and if it's spontaneous, three out of four teens say that television shows and movies make sex seem normal for teenagers to experience. With that, the amount of high school students that are having sexual intercourse has rapidly increased.

Because of the media, it's easier for people to learn about sexual intercourse, especially to young adults because they are developing their own sexual characteristics.

The media, including the television, movies, magazines, and internet, are partially responsible for young adults showing affection towards one another and engaging in sexual activities. Although, when younger adolescents are asked where they have learned most about sex, they rank the mass media fourth behind parents, friends, and schools. When older adolescents are asked, they put friends first, then parents, following the media. More than half of the young adults in a national survey in 1997 said that they had learned about birth control, contraception, or preventing pregnancy from television. But, almost 63 percent of the girls and 40 percent of the boys in a national survey in 1997 said that they learned about these topics from magazines and the mass media.

Consequences

Having intercourse during teenage years has consequences. And if you don't think before you act, you could end up with what you most likely thought would never happen to you. For example, having intercourse even with the use of a condom could result in an STD as well as pregnancy. Not to mention, a bad reputation with your peers and members of your family.

Because of the media, what young adults have been taught what they learned, and what they've seen and heard, the ages of young adults participating in sexual activities are getting younger and younger. And because of this, STD'S are at an all time high.

STD's are sexually transmitted diseases which are transmitted by direct sexual contacts. Some are considered among the most serious diseases of the world. To add to the list of STDs, there is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which may lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Having sexual contact in any from in which the sex organs of one person are in direct contact with the sex organs, mouth, or anus of another person can transmit the germs of STDs, if an STD is at hand.

There are many sexually transmitted diseases out there today. Some of the most common STDs are Gonorrhea, which is sometimes called "Clap" or "The Drip," Syphilis, Chlamydia, and genital herpes. And the most popular, the HIV virus.

The United States is experiencing a swift rise in the