Mass Media Influences on Sexuality

Abstract

The mainstream mass media (television, magazines, movies, music, and the Internet) provide increasingly frequent portrayals of sexuality. We still know relatively little about how this content is used and how it affects sexual beliefs and behaviors. The few available studies suggest that the media do have an impact because the media keep sexual behavior on public and personal agendas, media portrayals reinforce a relatively consistent set of sexual and relationship norms, and the media rarely depict sexually responsible models. More longitudinal research, especially with early adolescents is needed to learn more about how media content is attended to, interpreted, and incorporated into developing sexual lives.

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Sexual Media Practice: How Adolescents Select, Engage with, and Are Affected by
Sexual Media
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PrintPublicationDate: Dec2012 Subject: Psychology,Personal ityandSocia lPsychology
OnlinePublicationDate: Jan
2013
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398809.013.0013
SexualMediaPractice:HowAdolescentsSelect,Engagewith,andAre
AffectedbySexualMedia 
AutumnShafer,PiotrBobkowski,andJaneD.Brown
TheOxfordHandbookofMediaPsychology
EditedbyKarenE.Dill
OxfordHandbooksOnline
AbstractandKeywords
Thischapterfocusesontherolemediaplayinthesexualsocializationofadolescentsandemergingadultsin
modernsocieties.ThereviewofrelevantresearchandtheoryisorganizedaroundtheSexualMediaPractice
Model’scorecomponentsofidentity,selection,engagement,andapplic ation,whicharebasedonthefollowing
assumptions:(1)mediaconsumersareactiveparticipantsandsometimescontentproducers;(2)selectionand
useofsexualmediaaremotivatedbytheadolescent’sidentityorsexualself-c oncept;(3)sexualmediaeffectsare
acyclicalprocess,suchthatsexualcontentmaybesoughtthatreinforc esexistingtendenciesthatleadstofurther
useofrelevantcontentandfurthereffec ts;and(4)friendsandpeersareimportantthroughouttheprocessin
generating,sharing,andinterpretingmedia.Thedisc ussionincludessuggestionsforfurtherresearchandan
examinationofpotentialmedia-relatedsolutionstoenhancehealthyadolescentsexuality.
Keywords:adolescentsexu ality ,adolescents,emergin gadul ts,mediapracticemodel, sexualmedi aeffects,sexu alsocial ization
Introduction
Sexisanimportantpartofmostpeople'slives.Someaspectsc omeprettynaturally,butmanyaspectsofsexual
behaviorareculturallydetermined.Standardsofsexualattractiveness,courtshiprituals,andexpectationsofwho
doeswhatsexuallytowhomandunderwhatcircumstancesarestipulatedbythecultureinwhichapersonlives.
Theprevailingsexualnormsandstandardsmustbelearnedbyyoungpeopleastheymature.Intraditional
societies,elders,parents,andreligionweretheprimarysexualsocializ ationagents(Katchadourian,1990).In
modernsocieties,however,media(television,movies,music,magazines,Internet,videogames),andpeershave
alsobecomeimportantpurveyorsofsexualmodelsandnorms.Themoreinterac tivemediatec hnologies,suchas
textingandsocialnetworking(e.g.,Facebook)alsoprovideeasyacc esstofriendswhomayintroduce,reinforceor
participateinsexualbehavior.
Justaquicklookatsongspopularwithteensin2011suchas“TonightI'mFu__ingYou”(EnriqueEglasias),and
“S+MSadoMasochism,”inwhic hRihannasings“sticksandstonesmaybreakmybones,butchainsandwhips
exciteme”whileBritneySpearssingsaboutaménageatroisin“3,”illustrateshowimportantsexualtopicsarein
themediathatyoungpeopleconsume.Onlinemonikerswithwhichadolescentsidentifythemselvesas
“SexKittenPrr”or“Playa1”suggestsexualself-expressionisalsoimportantinthemediayouthcreate.
Althoughanumberofsocializationagents,suchasparents,teachers,andreligiousleadersalsoplayimportant
roles,thischapterfocusesontherolemediaplayinthesexualsocializationofadolescentsandemergingadultsin
modernsocieties.Wethinkofmediaasimportantsourcesofculturalnormsthatyoungpeopleinteractwithasthey
“learnto(p.224) expressaffection,loveandintimacyinwaysconsistentwiththeirownvalues…andgeneral
socialexpec tationsandscriptsaboutadolescentsexuality”(Pinquart,2010,p.440).Becausemediaandtheability

Sexual Media Practice: How Adolescents Select, Engage with, and Are Affected by
Sexual Media
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ofyouthtobecreatorsanddistributorsofmediahavechangedsodramatic allyinthepastdecade,itisimportant
tolookcloselyatthewaysinwhichadolescentsselect,engagewith,andincorporatewhattheyseeandhearin
themediaaboutsexintotheirownsexuallives.
Inmostofthedevelopedworld,adolescence(12–18yearsold)isanimportantperiodforsexualexploration,
developmentofsexualidentitiesandorientation,formationofromanticrelationships,andestablishmentofpatterns
ofsexualbehavior.Inearlyadolescence(12–13yearsold)thefocustypicallyisonthesexuallymaturingbody
andhowtogetittoc onformtoprevailingstandardsofsexualattractiveness.Inmiddleadolesc ence(14–16years
old),romantic relationshipsareformedthatmayincludesexualtouchingandforsome,sexualintercourse.Bylate
adolescence(17–18yearsold),fromone-halftotwo-thirdsofadolescentsintheUnitedStates(andinmost
Europeancountries)havebeeninaromanticrelationshipandmanyhavehadsexualintercourse(Hubert,Bajos,&
Sanfort,1998).Inemergingadulthood(18–24yearsold),romanticandphysicalsexualexplorationand
developmentcontinue.Emergingadultstendtotryoutlong-termrelationships,andsomeenterc ommitted
relationshipsandbecomeparents.Approximately10%ofemergingadultsexperienc esomesame-sexattraction,
andapproximately3%engageinsame-sexsexualbehavior(Savin-Williams&Ream,2007).
Intheprocessofdevelopingasenseofwhotheyaresexually,youngpeopleseekinformationandguidanceabout
whatisappropriate,inappropriate,expected,andcondonedornotcondoned.Insomecountries,suchasthe
Netherlands,France,andGermany,youngpeopleareexpectedtobesexuallyresponsibleandareprovidedage-
appropriatesexeducationthroughouttheirschoolyears.Theyalsohaveaccesstohealthcareand
contraceptives,sotheirratesofsexuallytransmittedinfections(STIs),andunplannedpregnanciesaremuchlower
thanincountriessuchastheUnitedStatesthatdonotconsistentlyprovidemedicallyaccuratesexeducationin
schoolsorconfidentialhealthservices(Alford&Hauser,2011).Thus,wemightexpectthatthemediawillbemore
influentialinyoungpeople'ssexualdevelopmentwhenothersocializationagentsandinstitutionsthatmightsupport
sexuallyhealthybehaviorarereticentorabsent.
ThischapterusestheMediaPracticeModel(MPM)(Steele&Brown,1995;Steele,1999;Brown,2000)toorganize
thegrowingbodyofstudiesaddressingthemedia'seffec tsonthesexualdevelopmentofadolesc ents.TheMPM
wasintroducedinthelate1990sinanattempttomovetowardalesslinearwayofthinkingaboutmediaeffects,
especiallyforadolescents.ThemodelbuiltonthethinkingofEuropeanscholars(Hall,1980;Bourdieu,1990;
Valsiner,1993),whowereassertingthatmoreattentionshouldbepaidtothereceiverofmediamessages.This
“activeaudience”c onceptualiz ationisevenmoreappropriatenowasthemediabecomemoreunderthecontrol
ofconsumers,wheneverandwherevertheyare.
Althoughthemodelisprobablyappropriatefordescribingotherdomainsofmediause,itwasoriginallyconc eived
todescribeadolescents’sexualmediause,sowewilldisc ussitwiththatfocusinmind. Themainassumptionsof
theMPMasappliedtoadolescentsexuality(Figure13.1)are:(1)mediaconsumersareactivepartic ipantsand
sometimesevenproducersthemselves(e.g.,“sexting”—sendingrevealingpicturesofthemselvestoothers),thus
becomingwhatfuturistAlvinToffler(1980)prescientlycalled“prosumers;”(2)selectionanduseofsexualmediais
motivatedbytheadolescent'sidentityorsexualselfc oncept;(3)sexualmediaeffectsareacyclicalprocess,
suchthatsexualcontentmaybesoughtthatreinforcesexistingtendenciesthatleadstofurtheruseofrelevant
contentandfurthereffects;and(4)friendsandpeersareimportantthroughouttheprocessingenerating,sharing,
andinterpretingmedia.
Themodeldepictsthreemain“moments,”Selec tion,Engagement,andApplication,inadolescents’encounterswith
sexualmedia.Giventheubiquityandvarietyofmediachoicesavailable,mediaconsumersmustchoosewhich
mediumandcontenttowhichtheywillattend.Atleastinitially,thosechoicesdependonwhomtheconsumersare,
bothsociallyandindividually.Giventhatadolescenceisanespeciallyimportantperiodinidentitydevelopment,at
leastsomeoftheselectionofmediac ontentisprobablydrivenbyadolescents’currentandfutureconceptionsof
themselves.
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Sexual Media Practice: How Adolescents Select, Engage with, and Are Affected by
Sexual Media
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Figure13.1 SexualMediaPractic eModel.
TheMPMmodelsuggeststhatifsexandsexualityareanimportantpartofanadolescent'sidentity,thenheorshe
willbemoreinterestedinandmayevenseekoutsexualc ontentinthemedia.Onceselected,theadolescentmay
ormaynotengagewiththecontent.Anumberoffac tors,suchasidentific ationwithcharacters,perc eivedrealism
ofthe(p.225) depictedbehaviors,andtheextentofinvolvementortransportationintoanarrativewillaffectto
whatextentthatengagementoccurs.Mediauserswhoaredistracted(e.g.,multitasking)maybelessengaged
thanthosewhoarepayingfullattention; somemaybephysicallyand/oremotionallyarousedbywhattheysee.
Engagementmayshiftprebehavioralsexualoutcomes,suchasperceivedsexualnorms,attitudes,beliefs,
outcomeexpec tancies,andsexualscripts(typicalsequencesofbehavior)thatmayinturnaffectadolescents’
sexualbehaviors(e.g.,seekingsexualpartners,sexualtouching,initiationofsexualintercourse).Bec ausethe
productionanddisseminationofmediacontentiseasiertodaythaneverbefore,engagedandmotivatedmedia
consumersmayalsousetheircellphones,videocameras,andlaptopstobecomeproducersanddistributorsof
sexualmediacontent.
InthetwodecadessincetheMPMwasintroduced,evidencehascontinuedtoaccumulatethatmediaeffectson
behaviorarenotsimplyalinearprocesswiththemediaastheindependentvariableandsexualbehaviorsasthe
dependentvariables.Intheviolencedomain,Slaterandcolleagues(Slater,Henry,Swaim,&Anderson,2003;
Slater,Henry,Swaim,&Cardador,2004;Slater,2007)haveshownwithlongitudinalpanelsurveysthatexposureto
violentcontent(inac tionfilms,videogames,andwebsites)doesaffectaggressivebehavior,butprimarilyfor
adolescentswhoaresociallyisolated,victimized,orwhohaveaggressivetendencies.Slater'sanalysispainteda
pictureofa“downwardspiral”ofselec tionofviolentcontentreinforcingaggressivetendenciesorsuggestingthat
violenceisawaytosolvefrustrations.Ultimately,theadolescentswhousedmoreviolentmediac ontentbehaved
moreaggressively(Slateretal.,2003).
Asimilarcyclicalpatternhasbeensuggestedinresearchontheeffectsofthemediaonbodyimageandeating
disorders.Theevidencepointstoapatternofsomeadolescentgirlsbothlearningfromandseekingmediacontent
thatreinforc estheiridealsoffemininebeauty.Internalizationofthethinbeautyidealstheyseeinwomen's
magaz ines,ontelevisionshowsandwebsites,mayleadtobodydissatisfaction,weightconcerns,excessive
dietinganddisorderedeatingbehaviors,aswellasfurtherconsumptionofthethin-idealmediawithwhichthey
comparetheirbodies(Harrison&Hefner,2008; López-Guimerà,Levine,Sánchez-Carracedo,&Fauquet,2010).
Althoughthebodyofevidenceisnotyetasrobustforsexualoutcomes,atleasttwothree-wavelongitudinal
analysessuggestasimilarpatternforearlyadolescents—asadolescentsenterpuberty,sexualcontentinthe
mediaismorerelevant,ispaidmoreattention,maybeevensoughtout(Kim,Collins,Kanouse,Elliott,Berry,Hunter,
Miu,&Kunkel,2006;Bleakley,Hennessy,Fishbein,&Jordan,2008).Thesexualmediac ontenttheseadolescents
seeorlistentoincreasesthesaliencyofthiscontentandinfluencestheadolescents’sexualscriptsorideasabout
howsexualencountersunfold.Someofwhattheyseemayshiftperceptionsofnormssuchthatheavierusersmay
begintothinkthatearly(p.226) andunprotectedsexualintercourseistypic alforyoungpeople.Thelac kof
discussionordepictionofnegativeconsequencesinthemediacontentmayinc reasetheadolescentmediausers’
positiveperceptionsofsexualbehaviorandmaystimulateearliersexualbehaviorthanwouldhaveoc curred
otherwise(Wright,2011).
Weturnnowtolookmorecloselyateac hmomentintheMPMtoseewhatiscurrentlyknownaboutadolescents’

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sexualmediapracticeandthentodisc ussbrieflywhatsolutionshavebeenpositedtominimiz enegativemedia
effectsandenhanceadolescents’healthysexualdevelopment.Weclosewithsomeintriguingresearchquestions
andafewc ommentsaboutthechallengesofconductingresearchonsexualitywithyoungpeople.
MediaAretheAirAdolescentsBreathe
Onanaverageday,anadolescent(8–18yearsold)intheUnitedStatesspends7.5hoursofherleisuretime
attendingtovariousmedia,whic hismoretimethanshespendsinschoolorinteractingwithherparents(Rideout,
Foehr,&Roberts,2010).Manyteensusetwoormoremediasimultaneously,forexample,listeningtomusicwhile
surfingtheWeborwatchingtelevisionwhilechattingwithfriendsonline.Accountingforsuc hmediamultitasking,
anaverageadolescentspendsmorethan10hoursperdayusingmedia.Thischapterreferstotheamountand
typeofmediac ontentanadolescentconsumesasanadolescent'smediadiet.
Theamountoftimeadolescentsspendwithmediavariesbygender,ethnicity,andage.BoysintheUnitedStates
usemediaabout1hourmoreperday(11.25)thangirls(10.25).Hispanicandblac kyouthusemediaabout13
hoursperday,whereaswhiteteensaverage8.5hoursperday.Mediauseincreasesbetweenearlyandmiddle
adolescenceandthendeclinessomewhatinlateadolescence.Tweens(8–10yearsold)averagejustshyof8
hoursofmediaperday,earlyteens(11–14yearsold)nearly12hoursperday,andlateteens(15–18yearsold)
lessthan11.5hoursperday(Rideoutetal.,2010).
In2009,adolescentsintheUnitedStatesusedmediaaboutanhourmoreperdaythantheydid10yearsearlier
(Rideoutetal.,2010),toalargeextentbec ausedifferentformsofmediahavebecomemoreportable.Withthe
adventofMP3players,laptopcomputers,andcellphones,thetimeadolescentsspentlisteningtomusic increased
bynearly50minutesperday,andthetimetheyspentwatchingtelevision,usingcomputers,andplayingvideo
games,eac hincreasedbyhalfanhourperday.Adolescents’useofprintmedia(e.g.,magazines,books)
decreasedbyabout5minutesperday.
Consideringonly“new”mediadevices,adolescentsspent1½hourstextingontheircellphonesdaily,andmore
than45minuteslisteningtomusic,playinggames,andwatchingtelevisionprograms.Theyspent1½hoursusinga
computeroutsideofschool(usingsocialnetworkingwebsites,playinggames,watc hingvideos,etc.),andcloseto
anotherhourplayingvideogamesoneitheraconsoleorahand-helddevice.
SelectionofSexualMediaContent
Anumberofpersonalandcontextualfactors,inc ludingtimingofpubertaldevelopment,sexualidentities,andprior
sexualexperience,aswellasaccesstomedia,influencetheextenttowhichadolescentsseeand/orhearsexual
content.Someadolescentschooseheaviersexualmediadietsinentertainmentmediathanothers;somelookfor
sexualhealthinformation,oftenonline(Ackard&Neumark-Sztainer,2001).
Teens’exposuretosexualmediamayalsohaveabiologic albasis:Teenswhoarepredisposedtobemoresexual
thantheirpeersmaybemorelikelytoselectsexualmediacontent.Biologically,hormonelevelsareassociated
withadolescents’sexualmotivationsandbehaviors.Forexample,inastudyof12-to16-year-oldwhitemales,
fewerthanoneinfive(16%)ofthosewiththelowesttestosteronelevelshadhadsexualintercourse,whereas
morethantwo-thirds(69%)ofthosewiththehighesttestosteronelevelshad(Udry,1990).
Socialfactorscanalsoeitherdelayoraccelerateadolescents’sexualdevelopment.Inafollow-upstudy,the
adolescentboys’testosteronelevelsappearedtointerac twiththeirreligiousinvolvementinpredictingsexual
debut(Halpern,Udry,Campbell,&Suchindran,1994).Boyswithhightestosteronelevelsbutinfrequentreligious
attendancewerethemostlikelytoinitiatesexovera3-yearperiodbetweenstudywaves;thosewithlow
testosteroneandfrequentreligiousattendanceweretheleastlikelytohavesex.Adolescents’sexualdevelopment
mayalsobeaffectedbysocialstatusaspirations,theprogressionofaromantic(ornonromantic )relationship,or
otheremotionalneeds(Diamond&Savin-Williams,2009).
Suchinteractionsbetweenbiologicalpredispositions,socialization,andexperienceresultindiversesexualself-
evaluationsamongadolescents.OneAustralianstudyshowedthatadolescentsvaryinsexualself-esteem,sexual
self-efficacy,and(p.227) sexualself-image(Buz well&Rosenthal,1996).Thestudymeasuredadolescents’

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levelsofsexualinterest,arousal,confidence,anxiety,aswellassexualriskbehaviors,andcategoriz ed
individualsintofive“sexualstyles,”whichrangedfromthe“sexuallynaïve”tothe“sexuallydriven.”The
“sexuallynaïve”teenswerenotconfidentwithrespec ttotheirsexualandphysicalcharacteristic s,hadlowsexual
self-efficacy,arousal,andexploration,andreportedhighsexualanxiety,buttheabilitytosay“no”tosex.The
“sexuallydriven,”inc ontrast,werecharacterizedassexuallyarousedandcurious,confidentadolescentswho
wereuninterestedinc ommitmentandwhofounditdifficulttodeclinesexualactivity.
Wemayeasilyimagine“sexuallydriven”teensbeingmoreavidconsumersofsexualmedia,perhapsusingthese
mediatobothinformandreinforcetheirsexualidentities.The“sexuallynaïve”teens,however,mayalsoconsume
sexualmedia,lookingtobuilduptheirsexualself-efficacyandconfidencebylearningfromsexualmediarole
modelsorsituations.Suchteensmayalsoshieldthemselvesfromsexualc ontentthatmightconflictwiththeir
sexualvalues.Inanationalsurvey,forexample,USteenswhoweremorereligiousandwhohadlesspermissive
attitudesaboutpremaritalsex,reportedlikinglessmature(inc ludinglesssexual)televisionprogramsthantheir
peerswhowerenotasreligious(Bobkowski,2009).Incontrast,inanotherstudy,girlswhoenteredpubertyearlier
thantheiragematesexpressedmoreinterestinsexuallyorientedmediathangirlswhomaturedlater(Brown,
Halpern,&L'Engle,2005).
AlongitudinalstudyofaUSnationalsamplefoundthatblack,female,younger,andmorehighlyviewer-involved
teens(12–17yearsold)watchedsignificantlymoresexuallyorientedtelevisionthandidothergroups.Teenswho
hadhadmoreprecoitalsexualexperienc esandthosewhobelievedthattheirfriendsapprovedofsexalsowere
morelikelytobeviewingmoresexualcontentontelevisionayearlater.Mediaacc essalsoplaysaroleinsexual
mediadiets.Inthatsamestudy,teenswhohadatelevisionintheirbedroomandteenswhospentmore
unsupervisedtimeathomewatc hedmoresexualcontent(Kimetal.,2006).
TheInternetalsogivesyoungpeopleaccesstoawiderangeofsexualinformationthatmaybetooembarrassing
orpersonaltodiscusswithparents,teachers,healthcareproviders,orevenwithfriends(Buhi,Daley,Fuhrmann,
&Smith,2009).Three-fourthsofonlineadolescentssaytheyhaveusedtheInternettolookuphealthinformation
(Rideout,2001);sexualhealthisoneofthemostfrequentlysoughthealthtopics(Lenhart,Purcell,Smith,&
Zickuhr,2010).Teenssearchforinformationonsexualissuessuchaspuberty,menstruation,sexualabuse,
contraception,pregnancy,andSTIs(Ac kard&Neumark-Sz tainer,2001).
AspositedintheMPM,ayoungperson'sidentitymayalsoaffectwhatkindsofmediaareselectedandengaged
with.SimilartotheAustralianstudydescribedinthepreceding,aclusteranalysisofearlyadolescentsintheUnited
States(12–14yearsold)identifiedfoursexualself-conceptc lustersthatincludedbothboysandgirlsandblac ks
andwhites.Eachcluster(VirginValedictorians,CuriousConservatives,SilentSusceptibles,andSexual
Sophisticates)wasnamedtoreflec tthedifferentpatternsofsexualbehavioraswellasmediause(L'Engle,Brown,
Romoc ki,&Kenneavy,2007).
VirginValedictoriansweretheleastlikelytohavehadsexualintercourse.Theseboysandgirlswerefocusedon
doingwellinschool,booksweretheirpreferredmedium,andtheypaidtheleastattentiontoandwerethemost
criticaloftherarepopularmediatheydiduse.CuriousConservatives,incontrast,wereheavyusersofmediaand
stronglyidentifiedwiththeteensinpopularmusicandmagazines,suchasSeventeen.Adolescentsinthiscluster
hadlowintentionstohavesex,butwereinterestedinsexualcontentandwereknowledgeableaboutsexualhealth
(e.g.,knewthatcondomswereeffectiveinpreventingSTIs).
SilentSusceptibleswereinterestedinengaginginsexualbehaviorbuthadlittlesexualhealthknowledge;they
wereontheInternetfrequentlyandwerethemostavidvideogameplayers.SexualSophisticatesuseddifferent
kindsofmediafrequently.Theywerethemostlikelytoidentifywithandwishtheywerelikemediacharacters,and
werethemostlikelytohavehadsexualintercourse.Thus,itappearsthatsexualself-conceptsmayaffec twhich
kindsofmediaandwhichkindsofsexualmediacontentadolescentsprefer.
SexualMediaContent
Contentanalyseshaveshownthatallmediaandgenresarenotthesameinfrequencyorkindofsexual
portrayals,soadolescentsmaychoosemediathathavemoreorlessanddifferentkindsofsexualcontent.Sexual
behaviorismorefrequentandexplicitinmoviesthanonprimetimetelevision(Gunasekera,Chapman,&Campbell,

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2005;Pardun,L'Engle,&Brown,2005).Musicvideosandsoapoperasandsomepremiumchannels,(p.228)
notablyHBO,containthemostsexualcontentofdifferenttelevisiongenres(Fisher,Hill,Grube,&Gruber,2004).
Popularmusic,especiallyrapandhiphop,containsmoresexualreferencesthanmosttelevisiongenres(Pardun,
L'Engle,&Brown,2005).Blacksaremorelikelytolistentomusicwithsexuallydegradinglyricsthanwhites;female
adolescents,regardlessofrace,aremorelikelytolistentosexualmusicthatdoesnotcontaindegradinglyrics
thanmales(Martino,Collins,Elliott,Strac hman,Kanouse,&Berry,2006).
Oneestimatehassuggestedthatmorethanone-third(37%)ofallwebsitesarededicatedtosexuallyexplicit
contentorpornography(Optenet,2010).Givensuchvolume,itisrelativelyeasyforadolescentstostumbleon
sexuallyexplic itInternetcontent.Indeed,morethanone-fourth(28%)of10-to17-year-oldsintheUnitedStates
reportedexperiencingunwantedexposuretoonlinepornographyinthepreviousyear(Wolak,Mitchell,&
Finkelhor,2007).InastudyofadolescentsinNorthCarolina,bythetimetheywere14yearsold,two-thirdsof
malesandmorethanone-thirdoffemaleshadseenatleastoneformofsexuallyexplic itmedia(magazines,
videos,orontheInternet)inthepreviousyear(Brown&L'Engle,2009).Someadolescentslookforonline
pornography—8%to11% ofAmericanadolescentsreportedseekingoutInternetpornographyorintentionally
goingtoX-ratedwebsitesinthepreviousyear(Ybarra&Mitchell,2005;Ybarra,Mitchell,Hamburger,Diener-West,
&Leaf,2011).
InthemostcomprehensiveseriesofanalysesofarangeofUStelevisioncontent(morethan1,000television
showson10channels),Kunkeletal.foundthatmorethantwo-thirdsofallprogramsincludedtalkaboutsex,and
morethanone-thirdinc ludedsexualbehavior(Kunkel,Eyal,Finnerty,Biely,&Donnerstein,2005).About90%of
televisionprogramswithteenagecharactersincludesexualcontent(Aubrey,2004).
Comparedwithmusic,movies,magaz ines,andtheInternetthatadolescentsuse,televisionalsocontainstheleast
amountofhealthysexualcontent(Pardunetal.,2005).Fewtelevisionprogramsinc ludetalkaboutorportrayalsof
negativephysicalconsequences(e.g.,unplannedpregnancy,sexuallytransmittedinfections)ortheemotionaland
socialrisksorresponsibilitiesofsex(Cope-Farrar&Kunkel,2002; Aubrey,2004).Kunkeletal.(2005)foundthat
fewerthanoneintenoftheprogramswithsexualcontentmostwatchedbyteensdiscussedsomekindofsexual
risk;onlyaboutoneinfouroftheprogramsthattalkedaboutordepictedsexualintercourseincludedsome
mentionordepic tionofrisksandresponsibilities.
Ananalysisoffourmedia(music,movies,television,andmagazines)usedmostfrequentlybyearlyadolescents
conc ludedthatlessthan1%ofthecontentincludedanymentionofthreeCsofsexualhealth:Commitment,
Contrac eptives,orConsequences(Pardunetal.,2005).Aqualitativeanalysisoftheraresexualhealthmessages
inthesamedatasetconc ludedthatmessagesaboutresponsibilityforsexualhealthweregenderstereotypical,
suchthat“boyswillbeboysandgirlsbetterbeprepared”(Hust,Brown,&L'Engle,2008).
Socialcognitivetheory(SCT)(Bandura,2009),whicharguesthatpeoplelearnthroughobservationandimitationof
behaviorthatisrewardedand/ornotpunished,suggeststhatthelackofnegativeconsequencesinmediasexual
portrayalswillincreasethelikelihoodthatadolesc entswillthinkthey,too,willnotsufferiftheyengageinsexual
behavior.Sexualscriptingtheory(Gagnon&Simon,1973)similarlypredic tsthatifcontraceptivesarerarelyshown
asanormalpartofasexualscript,adolescentswhoarelearningaboutthetypicalstepsinasexualencounterby
watc hingtelevisionormovieswillbelesslikelytoincludetheuseofcontraceptivesintheirownsexual
relationships.
Thesocialandimmersivenatureofdigitalmediacontentalsohasimportantimplicationsforwhatadolescentsmight
learnfromsexualcontent.First,thesexualmediacontentthatyoungpeopleconsumeisoftenendorsed,and
sometimesevenproducedby,theirpeers.Toanextent,peershavealwaysactedasoneofthesourcesof
adolescents’sexualmediadiets,withinformationaboutsexymoviestowatchormagazinestoreadbeing
circulatedinpeernetworks.Digitalmediahavemadethisprocessmoreimmediate.Withaclickofabutton,an
adolescentcan“like”asexysongormovieonFacebookandinstantaneouslyinformhisorherfriendnetworkof
thispreference.Justasquic kly,theadolescentcansnapasuggestivephotoofhimselforherselfandcirculateit
amongfriends.
Socialcognitivetheoryalsosuggeststhatsexymediacontentendorsedorproducedbyaclosefriendmaybe
morecompellingthanmediacontentnotsimilarlysanctioned.Researc hhasdocumentedthatadolescentswho
identifywithmediacharactersaremorelikelytohavethesamesexualattitudesastheirmediamodelsthanthose

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adolescentswhodonotfindthecharactersascompelling(e.g.,Ward&Friedman,2006).Youthmaybemoreopen
tolearningnewsexualidentitiesorbehaviorsfrom(p.229) moreimmediatemodelssuchasclosepeersandthe
mediamodelstheyendorsethanfrommoredistantmediamodels.
Videogames,increasinglypopularamongbothyoungmenandwomen(Rideoutetal.,2010),alsoregularly
portraysexualiz edcharactersandsituations(Scharrer,2004;Ivory,2006).Forexample,aplayer'ssoleobjective
insomevideogames,suc hasRapeLayandStoc kholm:AnExplorationofTrueLove,istheperpetuationofsexual
violenceagainstwomen.Sc holarshavearguedthattheimmersiveandinterac tivequalitiesofvideogames
increasethepotentialfordetrimentaleffects(Carnagey,Anderson,&Bartholow,2008).Videogamesthatallow
playerstotakeonsexualiz edpersonasandengageinsexualiz edbehaviorsmayaffectplayers’sexualself-
perceptionsandnorms.
GettingSexuallyAttractive
Fromadevelopmentalperspective,oneoftheearliestindicatorsofayoungperson'sinterestinsexualityisa
desiretobeattractive—tohaveanappealingbodyandtheright“look.”Althoughbodystandardshaveshifted
overtime,mediatypicallypresentanarrowrangeofpossibilities—inthelasttwodecades,theidealmalehasbeen
strongandfitwithav-tapered,muscularbody(Kolbe&Albanese,1996);theidealfemaleiscurvac eouslythin
(“largebreastsonaskinnybody”)(Harrison&Hefner,2008,p.387).Althoughadolescentsandadultsinthe
developedworldareincreasinglyoverweightandobese(Popkin,2009),fatnessinmediaisrareandoftentreated
withdisdain.Ontelevision,overweightfemalec haractersaremorelikelyinsultedbymalecharactersthanthin
women(Fouts&Burggraf,2000).Onlinesitesdesignedtoreinforceeatingdisorderssuchasanorexia,promotethe
ideathatthinisbeautifulandfatisugly(Norris,Boydell,Pinhas,&Katzman,2006).
Thin-idealmediadepictionshavebeenshowntoaffectbodydissatisfac tionamongadolescentgirlsandwomen
(seemeta-analysisbyGrabe,Hyde,&Ward,2008),andmuscledissatisfactionamongolderboysandyoungmen
(seemeta-analysisbyBarlett,Vowels,&Saucier,2008).Suchpatternsapparentlyareexacerbatedwhen
adolescentsinternaliz ethesexualiz edstandardsofmediamodelsandbegintomonitortheirownbodiesasobjects
thatshouldconformtotheideals.
Self-objectification(Fredrickson&Roberts,1997),orviewingoneselffromanoutsider'sperspective,and
subsequentbodydissatisfaction,havebeenlinkedtoanumberofadversepsychologicalandphysicaloutc omes
includingdepression(Mond,vandenBerg,Boutelle,Hannan,&Neumark-Sztainer,2011),concernaboutweight
andeatingdisorders(López-Guimeràetal.,2010),aswellassexualrisk-taking.Impett,Schooler,andTolman
(2006)foundthatamongagroupofadolescentgirls,self-objectificationpredictednonuseofacondomatfirst
sexualintercourse.Sexualself-efficacy,orthebeliefthatonec anabstainfromsex,orconvinceapartnerto
engageinsafesexualprac tices(e.g.,condomuse),mediated therelationship(Rosenthal,Moore,&Flynn,1991).
Thus,itmaybethatthemedia'ssexualobjectificationofwomen(andincreasinglyofmen)affec tsadolescents’
developingsenseofwhattheirbodiesshouldlookliketobesexuallyalluring,andiftheirbodiesdonotcompare
favorably,mayreducetheirabilitytoengageinhealthysexualbehaviorbec ausetheydonotconsiderthemselves
worthyoftheattention.
AstheMPMsuggests,however,alladolescentswillnotbeaffectedsimilarlybymediacontent.Arecentexperiment
examiningreactionstobodyidealsinmediaillustratesthatbothselectiveexposureandattentioncanreduce
possiblenegativeeffects.Knobloc h-Westerwic kandRomero(2011)foundthatbody-dissatisfiedcollegestudents
whowerenotforcedtoviewasetofadvertisementspaidlessattentiontoadvertisementsthatfeaturedideal
bodiesthanthosewhoweresatisfiedwiththeirbodies.Analysesofthesexualscriptsandcounterscriptspresented
inmediaalsosuggestthatadolescentsmustdosomeworktosortthroughvariousc onceptualiz ationsofthe
meaningandsequenceofsexualbehavior,andfindscriptsandportrayalsthatfitwiththeirdevelopingsexual
identities.
SexualScriptsinMedia
Thesexualscriptsinthemediatypicallyaredifferentformalesandfemales,andarefocusedonheterosexual
romanticandsexualrelationships,enforcingwhatRich(1980)called“compulsoryheterosexuality.”Homosexual
relationships,althoughmorefrequentinUSmediathanpreviously,arerarelydepictedasovertlysexual(Fisher,
2

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Hill,Grube,&Gruber,2007)andeventhoserelationshipsarepresentedasadheringtogenderedstereotypesofa
strongdominant“male”partnerandamoresubmissive“female”partner(Ivory,Gibson,&Ivory,2009).Blacksand
otherminorityyouthmayalsohavedifficultyfindingmodelsandscriptsthatsupporttheirculturalnorms(Milbrath,
Ohlson,&Eyre,2009).
(p.230) Thetraditionalheterosexualscriptonprimetimetelevision(Kim,Sorsoli,Collins,Zylbergold,Schooler,&
Tolman,2007),realitydatingshows(Ferris,Smith,Greenberg,&Smith,2007),teendramas(Aubrey,2004;Kelly
2010),andpopularmusicandmusic videos(Dukes,Bisel,Borega,Lobato,&Owens,2003;Primack,Gold,
Schwarz,&Dalton,2008)depictsmalesasactivelyandaggressivelypursuingsexandfemalecharacterswillingly
objectifyingthemselvesandbeingjudgedbytheirsexualconduct.Teengirlmagaz ines,suchasSeventeen,have
beendescribedasteachingyoungwomenhowto“transformthemselvesfromgirlsintoproperwomen”(Carpenter,
1998,p.160).Youngmen'sor“lad”magaz ines,suchasMaximandFHM,andwomen'smagazines,suchasCleo
andCosmo,suggestthatsexformenisprimarilyforrecreationandsexualpleasureratherthanapartoflong-term
relationships,andthatmenshouldhaveavarietyofsexualpartners(Taylor,2005;Farvid&Braun,2006).
Expectationsaboutlove,romance,andmarriagemayalsobeaffectedbymediadepictionsassoapoperas,reality
datingshows,andromanticc omediesprovidescriptsaboutdesirablecharacteristicsofpartners,long-term
relationships,andwhensexshouldoccur(Segrin&Nabi,2002;Ferrisetal.,2007;Johnson&Holmes,2009).Inan
analysisofstorylinesaboutlossofvirginityinteentelevisiondramas,forexample,Kelly(2010)identifiedthree
dominantscripts:(1)Abstinence:virginityisagiftthatcanbepleasurable,andsexisdangerous;(2)
Management:virginitylossisariteofpassagetoadulthood,butshouldbedoneinanappropriateway(e.g.,after
15yearsold,inanestablishedmonogamousromanticrelationship,withcontrac eptives);and(3)Urgency:virginity
isakindofstigmathatmightevenbeliedabouttomaintaintraditionalmasculinity.Weshouldexpectthat
adolescentswithdifferentsexualself-c onceptswouldfindthevariousscriptsmoreorlesscompelling,depending
ontheirinterestinsexualbehavior,andonthesolidityandqualityoftheirownattitudesandbeliefsaboutromantic
andsexualrelationships.
Sexualandracialminorityadolescentsmaybeturningtoentirelydifferentmediafaretofindmodelsandscripts
thatspeakmoredirectlytothem.Studieshaveshown,forexample,thatblac kadolescentsaremorelikelythan
theirwhitecounterpartstowatchtelevisionshowsthatfeatureblackcharacters(Brown&Pardun,2004).Itislikely
thatsuchdifferentialpatternsofselectionarereplicatedforothermediaandontheInternet.Oneanalysisof
Internethomepagesconstructedby14-to17-year-oldblackgirlsfoundthatmanyoftheirsexualself-
representationsasVirgins,Freaks,Down-AssChicks/Bitches,andPimpettesmirroredthesexualscriptsportrayed
inhiphopmusicculturethattypic allyfeaturesblackmenandwomen.Afewofthegirlsresistedthedominant
scripts,however,creating“counter-discourses”andmoreindependentself-definitions(Stokes,2007).
AnthropologistshavefoundthatblackandMexican-Americ anyouthhavedifferentculturalmodelsofromantic
relationshipsthanEuropean-Americans(Milbrathetal.,2009),butweknowlittleabouttherolemediaplayin
supportingorchangingthoseculturallygroundedideasaboutcourtship,love,andfidelity.Moreworkontheways
inwhichmarginaliz edyoungpeopleselect,engagewith,andresistthedominantsexualscriptspresentedinthe
mediaisneeded.
EngagementwithSexualMediaContent
Oncemediacontenthasbeenselected,thewaysinwhichadolescentsengagewiththecontentwilldeterminethe
effectsofthatexposure.IntheMPMweusethetermEngagementtoencompassthepsychological,interpretative,
andphysicalinteractionsadolescentscanhavewithsexualmediac ontent.Sometypesofengagementoc cur
automaticallyandperhapsoutsideofconsciousawareness.Counterarguingagainstsexualmessagesthatdonot
matchpersonalvaluesmaybelesslikely;forexample,whenanadolesc entismultitasking(e.g.,surfingthe
Internetandwatchingtelevisionatthesametime)becausecognitiveresourcesareovertaxed.Engagementcan
alsobephysicallyactive,forinstance,whenanadolescentwantstogetpumpedupbeforeapartyandstarts
dancingandsingingalongwithasong'slyrics.Notallmediaareconsumedinthesameway,andhowan
adolescentengageswithmediacontentinthemomentofconsumptioncaninfluencetheeffectofthatcontenton
sexualattitudes,beliefs,andbehaviors.
ProcessingMediators

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Studiesofhowpeopleprocessmessageshaveidentifiedahostofpsychologicalandphysicalfactorsthatmediate
therelationshipbetweenmessageexposureandmessageengagement.Someofthe“processingmediators”that
havebeenstudiedinrelationtosexualc ontentincludeinterest,andthelevelofattentionanadolescentchooses
toor(p.231) iscapableofallotting,arousal(bothsexualandgeneralphysiologicalexcitement),character
evaluations,narrativetransportation,andresistancetopersuasion.Theseprocessingmediatorsmaysuppressor
enhancetheeffectsofexposuretosexualcontent.
Forexample,twoteenagerswatchingthesamemusicvideofeaturingmensayingsexuallydegradingthingsabout
women,onewatchingattentivelyandtheothermultitaskingbysurfingtheInternetsimultaneously,arelikelytobe
affecteddifferentlybythesexualcontent.Themultitaskermaybemorelikelytoadoptprogram-consistent
behaviors(Collins,2008)becausehehasfewerc ognitiveresourcestodevotetocounterarguingorcritical
evaluation.Inthisexampletheteenagers’attention,cognitiveload,andresistanc etopersuasionareproc essing
mediatorsthatinfluencetheeffectsofexposuretosexualcontent.Herewe'lllookatsomeofthemainprocessing
mediatorsinturn.
Attention
Attentionhaslongbeenstudiedasafactorinmessageprocessingandmessageeffects(e.g.,Chaffee&
Schleuder,1986).Somelevelofattentionisnecessarytoprocessanymessage.Researchershaveshownthatwe
haveafiniteamountofc ognitiveresourcesthatwecanallocatetotheprocessingofmessages(Lang,2000).The
sumofcognitivedemandsisthecognitiveload.Highcognitiveloadshouldresultinlesscarefulscrutinyofthe
factualandrealisticnatureofamessage(Gilbert,1991).Theimportanceofattentionasaprocessingmediator
betweensexualmediaexposureandeffectsisprobablymostrelevanttoadolescentsinthecontextof
multitasking.
Adolescentsareestimatedtomultitaskbetweenhalfandthree-fourthsofthetimetheyareengagedwithmedia
(Jeong&Fishbein,2007).AlthoughCollins(2008)foundthatwatchingtelevisionwhilesurfingtheInternetincreased
thesexualeffectsofmedia,anotherstudy(Jeong,Hwang,&Fishbein,2010)foundnosignificantrelationship
betweentelevision/Internetmultitaskingandsexualeffects.Jeongetal.(2010)found,however,thatexposureto
sexualmediahadsignificantlylesseffec tonsubsequentsexualbehaviorforheavymedia/nonmediamultitaskers
(e.g.,watchingtelevisionwhiledoinghomework,listeningtotheradiowhiledriving)comparedwithlight
media/nonmediamultitaskers.Theconflictingfindingssuggestthatmoreresearchisneededtodistinguishthe
effectsofmediaastheprimaryversussec ondarytaskandanycumulativeeffectsofmedia/mediamultitasking.
Involvement
Incontrasttomultitasking,whic hmightinhibitelaboration,ahighlyinvolvedviewer/reader/listenerwillbepaying
closeattentiontothemediaheorsheisengagedwithandbemotivatedtoprocessit(Ward&Rivadeneyra,1999;
Peter&Valkenburg,2010).Inonecorrelationalstudy,youngadultfemaletelevisionviewerswhoreportedhigh
involvementintelevisionshowswithsexualcontentheldmorerecreationalattitudestowardsexandhigher
expectationsofthesexualactivityofpeers,inkeepingwiththecontenttheywerewatc hing(Ward&Rivadeneyra,
1999).Astudyoftheeffectsofrealitydatingtelevisionshowsonviewers’attitudesaboutsexanddatingfound
thatthepositivecorrelationbetweenwatchingtheshowsandhavingsexualbeliefssimilartothoseportrayedinthe
shows(e.g.,datingisadversarial,physicalappearanceisimportantindating,menaremotivatedbysex)wasfully
mediatedthroughviewerinvolvement(Zurbriggen&Morgan,2006).Thus,theshowshadmoreeffectonviewers
whowereimmersedintheirviewing.
Itisthoughtthatgreaterinvolvementmaymakeamediaexperiencefeelmorelikearealorpersonalexperience,
whic hmaybeespec iallylikelyforadolescentswhohavelesspersonalsexualexperiencefromwhichtodraw.
PeterandValkenburg(2010),forexample,foundthatadolescentswhowatc hedsexuallyexplicitcontentonthe
Internetreportedgreaterfeelingsofsexualuncertainty(unstablesexualbeliefsandvalues)thanadolescentswho
watc hedlittleornosexuallyexplic itcontent.Thepatternwasmediatedbyinvolvementandwasstrongerfor
females,suggestingthatgirlswhoareinvolvedintheirviewingofInternetpornographymaybemoresusceptibleto
changingtheirexistingsexualbeliefsandvaluesthanthosewholookatthec ontentinamoredetac hedway.In
anotherstudy,involvementwasmorepredictiveofexpectationsaboutsexualoutcomesthanamountoftelevision
viewed,suggestingthathowtelevisionisconsumedmattersmorethanthevolumeofconsumption(Ward&

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Rivadeneyra,1999).Moreresearchisneededtoexplorethegenderdifferenc esfoundinsomestudiesandalsoto
betterunderstandwhysomeadolescentsbec omemoreinvolvedwhileengagingwithmediathanothers.
Nevertheless,thelevelofinvolvementwithwhic hanadolescentconsumessexualmediacontent(p.232)
appearstobeanimportantdeterminantofthemagnitudeofeffects.
Arousal
Physicalandemotionalarousalmayalsohelpexplaintheeffectsofexposuretosexualmediacontent.When
adolescentsengagewithsexualcontentinmediatheymaybecomearousedsexuallyorinamoregeneral
physiologic alway(e.g.,excitement,anticipation)(Hansen&Krygowski,1994).Arousalisbelievedtooperateasa
processingmediatorbybothfocusingtheindividualonthearousingcontentandstrengtheningthememoryand
retrievalfunctionsofthebrainrelatedtothecontent.PeterandValkenburg(2008)foundthattherelationship
betweenviewingsexuallyexplic itcontentonlineandsexualpreoccupancy(“astrongcognitiveengagementin
sexualissues,sometimesattheexc lusionofotherthoughts,”[p.208])wasmediatedbyarousal.Soifateenwas
arousedwhenwatchingpornographiccontentonline,thenhewasmorelikelytothinkalotaboutsexualactivities
thantheteenwhowaslessarousedwhenwatching.Arousalmayalsoserveasaprocessingmediatorforless
explicitsexualc ontentinthemedia,suchasmusicvideos,butlittleresearchhasinvestigatedthispossibility.
Perceptionsand Attachments
Perceptionsofandattachmentwithcharac tersandstoriesmayalsoserveasprocessingmediators.Perceived
similaritytoandidentificationwithmediac haracters,aswellastheperceivedrealismanddesirabilityof
characters’ac tionsc anaffecttheextenttowhichcontentwillbebelievedandincorporatedintothemedia
consumer'slife.TheMessageInterpretationProcess(MIP)modelinc orporatesanumberofcharacterandstory
elementstodescribehowadolescentsprocessmediamessages(Austin&Meili,1994;Austin&Knaus,2000;
Pinkleton,Austin,Cohen,Miller,&Fitz gerald,2007).TheMIPmodelpositsthatperceivedrealismofmedia
portrayals(theauthentic ityofthecharacterandstoryline)influencesadolescents’perceptionsofsimilaritytoand
identific ationwiththecharacters.Alternatively,adolesc entsmayfocusonthedesirabilityofthemediaportrayals
(believingthecharactersarehappyandhaveagoodlife),whichcanalsoinfluenceidentificationwiththe
characters.Theroutethroughperceivedrealismisconsideredtobeprimarilylogical,whereasthedesirability
routeismoreaffective.Identificationispredic tedtoinfluenceoutcomeexpectationsaboutthebehaviorswithinthe
storyline,andultimatelytheviewer'sowndecisionmaking.
Forexample,ateenmayfeelthatac haracteronapopulartelevisionshowissimilarinsomewayandmaythink
thatthecharacter'slifeisdesirable.Portrayalsofthatcharacterengaginginriskysexualrelations(e.g.,inebriated
sex)withpositiveoutcomes(e.g.,thecharacterisproudabouttheexperience)mayleadtheviewingteento
expectthathavingsexafteranightofexc essivedrinkingisnormalandlikelytoresultinpositiveoutcomes.Who
identifieswithwhichcharactersmaydependontheviewer'sexistingsexualselfconcept.SexualSophisticates,
forinstance,maybequickertoidentifywithsexuallyexpressivecharacters.VirginValedictorians,ontheother
hand,wouldbeexpec tedtofindlittleincommonwithsuchcharacters.
TheMIPmodeldefinesidentificationaswantingtobelikethec haractersandtohavealifelikethestoryline
(Pinkletonetal.,2007).Othertheoristshavesuggestedthatidentificationwithcharactersismoreabouttakingthe
perspectiveofacharacterbyfeelingasifyouareexperiencingthemediasituationasthecharacterwould
(Cohen,2001).Bothidentificationandinvolvementspeaktotheimportanceofhavingthemediaexperiencefeel
realinthesensethatareader/viewer/listenerexperiencesrealemotions,imaginesthattheeventsarehappening
tothem,andcreatesvividimagesofthenarrative(Green&Dill,2013).WardandFriedman(2006),forexample,
foundinacorrelationalstudythathighschoolstudentswhohadhigherlevelsofidentificationwithpopular
televisioncharactersfeaturedinshowswithsexualcontentalsoreportedmoresexualexperience(e.g.,hada
romanticrelationship,hadoralsex,hadsexualintercourse).Itmaybethatsexuallyexperienc edteensare
emotionallyattrac tedtocharacterswhovalidateorsharelifeexperiencessimilartotheirown,or,aspredictedby
theMIPmodel,thatidentificationwithsexualcharactersincreasesthelikelihoodthatteenswilladoptthebehaviors
ofthecharacters.
Experimentalevidenc eforthepowerofidentificationhasbeenmixed.Inonestudywithcollegestudents,intentions
toprac ticesafesexmeasuredimmediatelyfollowingexposuretoatelevisionshowpromotingsafesexwerenot

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associatedwithidentificationwiththeshow'scharacters(Moyer-Gusé&Nabi,2010).Along-termeffect,however,
wasfoundsuchthatidentific ationemergedasasignificantmediatingvariableina2-weekdelayedposttest.Youth
whoidentifiedmorewiththecharacterspractic ingsafesexweremorelikelytoexpressintentions(p.233) to
practicesafesexintheirownlives2weeksaftertheoriginalexposure.Thissleepereffectforidentificationmaybe
theresultofinitialdiscountingoftheshowasunrealisticorfic tionalandovertimeforgettingthelackofrealismbut
rememberingthebehavior.
Transportatio n
Muc hofthemediacontentadolescentsconsumefollowsanarrative(story)structure.Growingscholarlyattention
hasfocusedontheideathatpowerfulnarrativescan“transport”thereaderorviewerintothestoryworld(e.g.,
Green&Dill,2013).Transportationoc curswhenreadersareimmersedinanarrative,somuchsothatitfeelslike
theyareexperiencingthatnarrativeworld(theyhavebeentransportedtoit)(Green&Brock,2000).
Transportationissimilartoinvolvementbecausebothc onceptsentailbeingabsorbedinmediacontent.Unlike
involvement,however,transportationdoesnotnecessarilyleadtomoreelaborationaboutthepeopleorissuesin
themediaportrayal,butinsteadleadstoalossofthesenseoforconnectiontothenonmediaworld.Transported
readersandviewersarelesslikelytonoticeothersaroundthemortobethinkingofcontradictionsinthenarrative
(Green&Brock,2002).
Researchhasshownthatgreatertransportationleadstogreaterpersuasionorstory-consistentbeliefs(Green&
Brock,2000).Therearethreeprimarywaysthattransportationisthoughttoleadtogreaterpersuasion: (1)making
thenarrativefeellikearealexperience,(2)suppressingc ounterarguing,and(3)promotingattachmenttothe
characterswithinanarrative(Green,Garst,&Brock,2004).
Thusfar,littleresearchhasexaminedtransportationinthecontextofsexualmediacontent.Inonestudy,
however,participantsreadastoryaboutagaymanwitnessinghomophobicbehaviorsduringhiscollegereunion
andthemoretransportedreadersheldmorestory-consistentbeliefsabouthomosexualityafterreadingthestory
(Green,2004).Thequalityofthestoryisbelievedtobecrucialastowhetherviewers/readerswillbetransported
(Slater&Rouner,2002);thus,weshouldexpectthatmoreengagingsexualstorieswillhavemoreeffectonsexual
beliefsandbehaviors.
Transportationmayalsopromoteinterpersonalcommunicationandhealthinformationseeking.Inathree-wave
surveystudyaboutacancersubplotinthetelevisionshowDesperateHousewives,viewerswhoreportedbeing
moretransportedoverthecourseoftheseriesweremorelikelytotalktootherpeopleaboutlymphomaandto
seekoutinformationaboutlymphomacomparedwithviewerswhowerelesstransported(Murphy,Frank,Moran,&
Woodley,2011).Thus,theextentoftransportationintoamediastorymaybeanimportantpredictorofwhen
exposuretosexualmediawillstimulateadolescentstoseeksupplementalinformationontheirownorbytalking
withothers.Byteachingtheaudienceandcuinginformationseeking,mediaprogramsmayactashealth
educators.
ResistancetoPersuasion
Resistancetopersuasionisareac tion,eitherautomaticorconscious,againstamessageinresponsetosome
perceivedpressureforchangeinbelief,attitude,orbehavior(Knowles&Linn,2004).Resistancetopersuasion
hasrarelybeenexaminedasaprocessingmediatorinsexualmediaeffectsresearch,perhapsbecausesexual
contentinmedia(e.g.,aromanticdatesc eneonateentelevisionshoworexplicitlyricsinapopularteensong)is
rarelyseenasdesignedtobepersuasive.
Classicformsofresistanc etopersuasionincludereactanceandcounterarguing.Amediaconsumerissaidto
experiencereactanceandispredic tedtorejectthemessagewhenshefeelsamessagethreatensoneofher
freedoms(i.e.,freedomofc hoice)(Brehm&Brehm,1981).Reactanceistriggeredbyanawarenessofpersuasive
intent(Dillard&Shen,2005;Moyer-Gusé,2008).Inthec ontextofsexualmediaeffects,reactancecouldoc cur,for
example,whenanadolescentpostsasexuallydegradingsongonafriend'sFacebookpage,suggestingthatthe
song'slyric swillhelphimdealwithhisgirlfriend's“drama.”Therecipientofthesongmayreactnegatively,feeling
likehisfriendistryingtolimithisfreedom.Hisgirlfriendmayseethepostandreactagainstitaswell.Reactanc e
couldalsoocc urwhenstorylinesontelevisionbecomeovertlypersuasiveorareseenas“educational”rather
thansimplyentertaining.

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Counterarguingoccurswhenapersongeneratesthoughtsthatrebutorrefuteapersuasivestatementorposition
withinthenarrative(Busselle,Bilandzic,&Zhou,2009;Moyer-Gusé&Nabi,2010).Cacioppo(1979)
operationalizedcounterargumentsas“statementsdirectedagainsttheadvocatedpositionthatmentionedspecific
unfavorablec onsequences,statementsofalternativemethods,challengestothevalidityofargumentsinthe
message,andstatementsofaffectopposingtheadvoc atedposition”(p.494).Counterarguingmayoccurifateen
noticessomethingthatseemsunrealistic(p.234) orcountertohisorherexperiences.Forinstance,acharacter
inatelevisionshowmaysaysomethinglike,“MymomwouldbehappyifIwereateenparent.”Thisstatementis
likelycountertotheexistingbeliefsofmanyteensandmayelicitacounterargumentinwhichtheviewersays
aloudortohimselforherself,“That'snotthewaymymomwouldreact.Thisshowisdumb.”
Moyer-GuséandNabi(2010)foundthatafterviewingatelevisionsceneinwhichthecharac terspositively
discussedusingcondoms,participantswhoreportedstrongerreactanceagainstthesafesexportrayalwerethe
leastlikelytoreportintentionstopractic esafesexthemselves.Unexpectedly,however,counterarguingdidnot
haveasignificanteffectonsafesexintentions.Clearlymoreresearchisneededtosortoutthesedifferentformsof
reactiontomessagesyouthmayseeastryingtopersuadethemtoengageinhealthyorunhealthysexual
behavior.
Interpretation
Mostoftheprocessingmediatorsdiscussedthusfarareautomaticorevennonconscious,butmediac analso
evokeconsciousprocessingandinterpretationofthemessagesandvaluesdepictedinthecontent.Interpretation
isthemeaning-makingproc essthroughwhichadolescentconsumersformattitudes,beliefs,norms,sc ripts,and
intentionsrelatedtosexualbehavior.Themostlyqualitativeresearchthathasfocusedonthewaysinwhichyouth
understandsexualmessagesinthemediahasshownthatinterpretationsareoftenquitevaried.Typically
interpretationsfallintothreemaincategoriesidentifiedoriginallybyBritishculturalstudiesscholars(e.g.,Hall,
1980)as“preferred,”“oppositional,”or“negotiated”fromthepointofviewoftheintentionsofthemediaproducer.
Somemediatextsandgenresaremoreopentointerpretationthanothers,andsometimesitisnotclearwhatthe
producerintended.AstudyofpopstarMadonna'searlymusicvideo“PapaDon'tPreach”illustratesbothpoints.In
thatsong,Madonnasings,“Papadon'tpreach,I'mintroubledeep,I'mgoingtokeepmybaby.”Whereaswhite
femalecollegestudentsinterpretedthelyric sandimagestomeantheteengirlinthevideowaspregnantand
intendedtokeepthechild,blackmalesthoughtthe“baby”shewassingingaboutwasherboyfriend.Inthiscase,
andasoftenisthecasewithmediaproducedprimarilyforentertainment,Madonnarefusedtosaywhather
intendedmeaningwaswhenhealthadvocatescriticizedthevideoasa“commercialforteenpregnancy”(Brown&
Schulze,1990).Clearly,however,thedifferentinterpretationswouldberelatedtodifferentkindsofeffects—young
femaleviewersfocusedonthepregnancymightbepersuadedthatkeepingthec hildwouldbethebestoption,
whereasyoungmaleviewersmightnotbethinkingaboutpregnancyatall,butratherabouthowtonavigate
romanticrelationships.
Toofewstudieshavetakenintoaccountthevariedinterpretationspossibleasteensc ometocontentfromdifferent
backgrounds,withdifferentmotivations,beliefs,andexpectations.AstheMPMposits,suchvariationsarelikelyand
willaffectsubsequentoutcomes,bothbehavioralandprebehavioral.
PrebehavioralOutcomes
Anumberoftheorieshavebeenusedtoexplainsexualmediaeffects,suchasSocialCognitiveTheory,Cultivation
Theory,UsesandGratifications,andPriming.Thesetheoriessupporttheideathatprebehavioraloutcomessuchas
attitudes,socialnorms,outcomeexpectations(orscripts),self-efficac y,beliefs,andintentionsmaybeaffectedby
mediaexposureandultimatelycontributetosexualbehavior.
Socialcognitivetheoryhelpsexplainhowadolescentsinterpretthesexualcontentinmediamessageandmay
cometoimitatethatbehavior(Bandura,1986).AccordingtotheSCT,charactersinthemediaactasmodelsthat
helpadolesc entspredictlikelyconsequencesofsexualbeliefs,attitudes,andbehaviors.Whenamediacharacter
isrewardedforhisorherbehavior,anadolesc entviewermaybemotivatedtoimitatethatbehavior; the
adolescent'sdesiretoimitatewillbesuppressedifthemodeledbehaviorispunishedornotrewarded.Perc eived
similarityofthecharacterswillmoderatetherelationshipbetweenexposureandeffec ts,suchthatsimilar

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charactersshouldhavestrongereffec ts.
Acc ordingtoBandura(2004),mediainfluencebehaviordirectlyandthroughsocialmediation.Inthedirect
pathway,mediacontentaffectsbehaviorbyinforming,modeling,motivating,andguidingimitation.Inthesocially
mediatedpathway,mediaservetolinkindividualstosoc ialnetworks(e.g.,Facebook,YouTube)andcommunity
settings,whichprovidetheguidanc e,incentives,andsocialsupportsthatreinforcebehavior.Socialcognitive
theorysuggeststhatoutcomeexpectationsassoc iatedwithasexualbehaviorarelikelytobeacrucialmechanism
thathelpsexplainhowexposuretosexualcontentinthemediaresultsinbehavioraleffects.Self-efficacy,an
individual'sbeliefthatshecandotheactiontoproducethedesiredresult,(p.235) isalsoanimportantmotivator
inSCT(Bandura,1997).Intheirthree-wavesurveyofadolescents,Bleakley,Hennessy,Fishbein,andJordan
(2009)foundthatself-efficacyforhavingsexwasgreateramongyouthwhousedfriendsandmediaassexual
informationsources.
ThebasicideaofCultivationTheoryisthatovertimeandrepeatedexposuretosimilartelevisioncontent,viewers
willbegintoadoptviewsoftherealworldconsistentwiththoseportrayedontelevision(Gerbner&Gross,1976).
Mostresearchoncultivationhasfocusedontheextenttowhichtelevisionpresentsadistortedportraitoflife.The
cultivationeffectmayocc urassomeideas(e.g.,boysarepreocc upiedwithsex)arefrequentlyportrayed,and
thusbecomesalientandaccessible(Shrum,1996).Adolescentsmayformbeliefsaboutexpectedsexualbehavior
andnormsbasedonthedistortedviewofrealitypresentedwithinthetelevisionshowstheyattendtomost
frequently.Moreresearchisneededtounderstandwhat,ifany,relevancethistheorymayhaveforexposureto
socialmediaandotherplatformsincreasinglypopularwithadolescents.
UsesandGratificationTheorypositsthatthemotivationswithwhichconsumerscometothemediawillaffec twhat
theytakeaway(Rubin,1984).Inonestudy,forexample,collegemaleswhosaidtheyusedsexualtelevisionto
learnhadstrongerexpectationsaboutthevarietyofsexualbehaviorsthatshouldoc curwithinaromantic
relationshipthantheircounterpartswhowerenotwatchingtolearnanything(Aubrey,Harrison,Kramer,&Yellin,
2003).Ward(2002)similarlyfoundthatwomenwhousedtelevisionasalearningtoolandforentertainmentwere
morelikelythanthosewithdifferentmotivestobelieveintraditionalgenderrolesandhavestereotypicalattitudes
aboutsexanddating.
PrimingTheory,inthecontextofsexualmediaeffects,involvestheac tivationofsexualscriptsbyrelevantmedia
content(Huesmann,1988).Toillustratehowthismightwork,inonestudy,collegestudentseitherlistenedto
sexuallyprovocativelyricsorinnocuousmusic immediatelybeforeviewingandevaluatingonlinedatingprofilesof
potentialpartners.Thosewhohadbeenprimedbythesexuallyricsweremorelikelytofocusonthesexual
characteristic softhepotentialpartnerthanthosewholistenedtothelessprovocativemusic(Dillman-Carpentier,
Knobloc h-Westerwic k,&Blumhoff,2007).Althoughprimingeffectsarebelievedtolastforonlyminutes,research
suggeststhatsomescriptsareactivatedthroughprimessofrequentlythattheybec omemoreaccessible(Roskos-
Ewoldsen,Roskos-Ewoldsen,&Dillman-Carpentier,2009).Bec ausemuchofthemediadrawondominantsexual
scripts,thesefrequentlyprimedscriptsmayhaveagreaterinfluenceonbeliefsandbehaviorovertimethan
scriptsthatappearlessfrequently.SuchapatternwouldhelpexplaintheeffecthypothesizedintheCultivation
Theory.
Attitudes
Inacomprehensivereviewoftheresearchontelevision'seffectsonsexualbehavior,Ward(2003)conc ludedthat
attitudesformedbytelevisionviewingwereanimportantprecursortosexualbehavior.Somestudieshavefound,
forexample,thatteenswhowatc hmoreprimetimetelevisionshowswithsexualcontentaremorelikelythanteens
whoviewlessfrequentlytothinksexisprimarilyrecreationalratherthanpartofarelationshiporforprocreation
(Ward&Friedman,2006).Wewouldreasonablythinkthatsuchattitudeswouldberelatedtosubsequentlydifferent
patternsofsexualbehavior.
Anumberofstudieshavefoundthatexposuretosomekindsofsexualcontentcanaffectsexualattitudes.
GreesonandWilliams(1986),forexample,foundthatwatchingsexymusic videosresultedinmorepositive
attitudesaboutpremaritalsex.MacKayandCovell(1997)conductedanexperimentinwhic hemergingadults
eitherviewedadvertisementswithsexualthemesoradvertisementsthatdepictedfemalesinprogressiveroles.
Participantswhosawthesexualadvertisementsreportedmoresexuallyaggressiveattitudes(e.g.,rapemyth
acc eptanceandadversarialsexualbeliefs)andlesssupportiveattitudestowardfeminism.

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Norms
Oneconcernaboutthefrequenc ywithwhichyoungmediacharactersengageinsexualbehavioristhat
adolescentviewerswillthinkthatmostadolescentsarehavingsexandmaybetheyshouldbetoo.Inanearly
correlationalstudy,DavisandMares(1998)foundthatfrequenttelevisionviewersoverestimatedhowmanyyouth
weresexuallyactiveand/orpregnant.Onelongitudinalstudyhasfoundthatfeelingsofpressuretohavesexare
strongerforteenswithheaviersexualmediadiets(Bleakleyetal.,2008).Anotherlongitudinalstudy(Martino,
Collins,Kanouse,Elliott,&Berry,2005)alsofoundthatheaviersexualmediadietsweremarginallypredic tive(p
〉.05and〈.10)oflesshealthynormativebeliefsaboutsex(e.g.,thosewithheaviersexualmediadietsbelieved
moreoftheirfriends(p.236) werehavingsex),whichinturnpredictedsexualinitiation.
Twocorrelationalstudiesofcollegemalessuggestthatmediaportrayalscaninfluenceperceptionsofpeers’
sexualactivityandthatthosenormativeperceptionsinfluencec asualsexualbehavior(Chia&Gunther,2006).
Ward,Epstein,Caruthers,andMerriwether(2011)foundthatreadingmen'smagazines(e.g.,Maxim)andwatching
movieswaspositivelyassociatedwithhigherestimatesofpeers’sexualrisktakingandmorepermissiveattitudes
aboutsexualbehavior.Bothattitudesandperceptionsofpeers’behaviorwerepositivelyassociatedwithearlier
sexualdebut.
Outcom eExpectations
Agreatdealofsurveyandexperimentalresearchhasdocumentedanassociationbetweensexualmedia
exposureandsexualoutc omeexpectationsandscripts.Aubreyetal.(2003),forexample,foundthatfemaleswho
watc hedtelevisionfrequentlyexpectedthatsexwouldoccurearlierinaromanticrelationshipthanfemaleswho
watc hedlesstelevision.Inanexperimentaltestoftheeffectsofrewardversuspunishmentinportrayalsofsexual
intercourse,EyalandKunkel(2008)foundthatoutc omeexpectationsalignedwiththemediaportrayals
participantsviewed.
Twolongitudinalstudieshavefoundsupportforoutc omeexpectationsasanunderlyingmechanismbetween
exposuretosexualiz edmediacontentandbehavior(Martinoetal.,2005;Fisher,Hill,Grube,Bersamin,Walker,&
Gruber,2009).IntheFisheretal.study,teenswithheavysexualmediadietsweremorelikelytobelievethatsex
wouldleadtopositiveoutc omessuchasfeelingmoregrownupandpreventingarelationshipfromending.Martino
etal.foundthatteenswithheavysexualtelevisionmediadietswerealsolesslikelythanteenswithlightersexual
mediadietstohavenegativeoutcomeexpectancies—suchasthatsexwillresultinabadreputationorpregnancy.
Lowernegativeoutcomeexpectanciesweremarginallysignificantpredictorsforsexualinitiation.
Self-Efficacy
Inasurvey,adolescentswhoreportedmovies,Internet,ormagaz inesastheirprimarysourceofinformationabout
sexweremorelikelytohavegreaterself-effic acythattheyc ouldhavesexeveniftheyencounteredobstacles
suchasupsetparentsorintoxication,thanadolescentswhodidnotreportanyformofmediaasaprimarysexual
informationsource(Bleakleyetal.,2009).Giventherarityofportrayalsaboutprac tic ingsafesex,alongitudinal
studysurprisinglyfoundthattheteenswithheavysexualmediadietshadgreaterself-efficacyforpracticingsafe
sexthanteenswithlightersexualtelevisionmediadiets.Furtheranalysisrevealedthatteenswithgreatersafesex
self-efficacyweremorelikelythanteenswithlowerself-efficacytopracticesafesex(Martinoetal.,2005).
Insum,existingresearchsupportsthenotionthatexposuretosexualmediacontentwillnotresultinuniform
effectsacrosstheadolescentpopulation.Howyouthengagewithsexualmediaatthemomentofexposureislikely
toinfluencetheeffectsofthatexposure.Theextentofattention,involvement,arousal,perc eptionsofand
attachmentwithcharacters,transportation,andresistancetopersuasioncanmediatetherelationshipbetween
exposureandeffect,creatingdifferentialeffects.Wehavealsodiscussedthatadolescentsmustalsomakesense
ofwhattheyareseeingandhearingastheysortthroughthemultiple,andsometimesmixed,messagesabout
sexualityavailableinmedia.
Themediaprovidesexualinformationandmodelsthatadolescentsusetoformandrefinetheirsexualattitudes,
norms,outcomeexpectations(orscripts),andsenseofsexualself-efficacy.Anumberofstudies,correlational,
longitudinal,andexperimental,provideempiricalevidenc ethatsuchprebehavioralsexualoutcomesareaffected

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bysexualcontentinthemedia.Someoutc omesandproc essingmediators,suchassexualattitudesand
involvement,havebeenstudiedmorethoroughlythanothers.Othermediatorsandoutcomessuc has
transportationandresistancetopersuasiondeservemoreattention.Asyouthbecomecreatorsanddistributorsof
media(e.g.,YouTube,sexting),moreresearchisneededtobetterunderstandtheroleofengagementand
interpretationinthenewmedialandscape.Howadolescentsengagewithandinterpretmediamessagestoform
sexualattitudes,beliefs,norms,sc ripts,andbehavioralintentionslikelymediatetherelationshipbetweensexual
mediaexposureandsexualbehavior,thusresultinginvarioussexualmediaeffec ts.Althoughthefoc usofthis
chapterisonmediaeffects,itisimportanttonotethatmanyotherfac tors,suchasopportunitytoactandparental
monitoring,arelikelytoinfluenceadolescentsexualbehaviors.
Application
Theprocessofadolescentsmovingfromengagementwithsexualiz edmediatoincorporationofthesemessagesin
theirlivesiscalledapplicationin(p.237) theMPM.Itisintheapplicationstagethatadolescentswilltryout
variousbehaviorstoseewhattheyfeellike,ifoutcomesalignwiththeirexpectations,andhowtheirpeersreact.
Wedefinesexualbehaviorbroadlytoincludenotonlysexualintercourse,butalsootherprecoitalbehaviorssuch
astreatmentofromantic partners,sexualtalk,sexualtouching,anduse(ornot)ofcontraception.
Twoexcellentscholarlyreviewsgenerallysupporttheassertionthatexposuretosexualc ontentinmediaaffects
adolescents’sexualbehavior(AmericanAc ademyofPediatrics,2010;Wright,2011).Wright(p.360),forexample,
conc ludedthat“allfivelongitudinalstudiesandallthreenationalstudiesfoundamainormoderatedeffect”
betweensexualmediaexposureandvirginitystatus.Exposuretosexualmediacontenthasalsoconsistentlybeen
linkedtoearlierinitiationofsexualintercourse,evenafterc ontrollingfordozensoflikelycovariates.
TheTeenMediaproject,forexample,atwo-yearlongitudinalstudy,foundthat12-to14-year-oldwhite
adolescentswhohadheaviersexualmediadiets(television,music,movies,andmagazines)were2.2timesmore
likelytohavehadsexualintercoursebythetimetheywere16yearsold,thanwhiteteenswithlightersexualmedia
diets(Brown,L'Engle,Pardun,Guo,Kenneavy,&Jackson,2006).Inanationallongitudinalstudythatassessed
exposuretosexualcontentonlyontelevision,Collins,Elliott,Berry,Kanouse,Kunkel,Hunter,andMiu(2004)
similarlyfoundthatadolescentswhowereexposedtohighlevelsofsexualcontent(90thpercentileofexposure)
weretwiceaslikelyasadolescentswhowatchedlittlesexualcontentontelevision(10thpercentile)toinitiatesex
withinayearofthebaselinesurvey.
Fourstudiesalsohaveexaminedtheinfluenceofsexualmediadietonprecoitalbehaviors(e.g.,touching,oral
sex)andfoundsupportfortheeffectofmediaonthesebehaviors,aswell(Wright,2011).Atleastfourstudies
havealsoexaminedwhethersexualmediadiethasaneffectonthenumberofsexualpartners.Wright(2011)
conc ludedthattherewas“suggestiveevidence”butnotedthattheevidencewasnotascompellingasthe
researchonprecoitalandcoitalsexualinitiation(p.366).
Useofbirthcontrol,pregnancy,andSTIsaswellasothersexualbehaviorshavealsobeenstudiedaspossible
sexualmediaeffects.Withanationalsampleofteens,athree-wavelongitudinalstudyfoundthatteensinthe90th
percentileofsexualtelevisionexposureweretwiceaslikelytohaveexperiencedateenpregnancythanteensin
the10thpercentileofexposure(Chandra,Martino,Collins,Elliot,Berry,Kanouse,&Miu,2008).Otherstudieshave
foundassociationsbetweenwatchingprofessionalwrestlingandlowerratesofbirthcontroluse(DuRant,Neiberg,
Champion,Rhodes,&Wolfson,2008),andexposuretorapmusicamongblackteengirlsandtestingpositiveforan
STI(Wingood,DiClemente,Bernhardt,Harrington,Davies,Robillard,&Hook,2003).Longitudinalstudiesof
adolescentsalsohavefoundthatexposuretomoresexuallyexplicitcontentpredictedperpetrationofsexual
harassmentamongmalesandearlieroralsexandsexualintercourseamongmaleandfemaleadolescents(Brown
&L'Engle,2009),unc ommittedsexualexploration(i.e.,one-nightstands,hookingup)(Peter&Valkenburg,2010),
aswellassexualviolenc e(Ybarraetal.,2011).
Afewlongitudinalstudiessuggestthattherelationshipbetweenexposuretosexualizedmediaandsexualbehavior
maybestbecharacteriz edasoneofreciprocalcausation.Onethree-wavestudyofadolescentsfoundthatthose
adolescentswhoweresexuallyac tive(pre-c oitalorcoital)atbaselineweremorelikelytohaveheaviersexual
mediadiets(television,music ,magaz ines,andvideogames)insubsequentwavesofthesurvey.Such
consumptionofsexualiz edmediasubsequentlyincreasedtheprobabilitythatadolescentsprogressedintheirlevel

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ofsexualactivitywithinthefollowingyear(Bleakleyetal.,2008).
Distribution/CreationasaSexualBehavior
Inthe20thcenturywewereprimarilyconcernedaboutyoungaudiences’interactionwithsexualcontentin
professionallyproducedmassmedia:music,televisionprograms,films,andmagazines.Today,theseyoung
audiencesalsoplayanactiveroleinproducingandcirculatingsexualcontent.Thishasbeenfacilitatedby
increasinglyeasyaccesstoinexpensiveproductionhardware(e.g.,digitalcameras,smartphones),editing
software,anddisseminationplatforms(e.g.,socialmedia).Youngpeopletodayare“prosumers”(Toffler,1980),
bothproducersandconsumers,ofsexualmediacontent.
Weunderstandyouth-producedsexualmediabroadly,asanysexualcontentthatyouthtransmittoaudiencesvia
communicationtechnologies.Thismayincludeaself-descriptioninaFac ebookprofilethatcharacterizesthe
profileownerasa“boobgirl”;aFacebookphotographthatdepic tstheprofileownersuggestivelylickingalollipop;
atextmessagewithanudephotographofthesender;alinktoasexualmusicvideopostedonFacebookor(p.
238) Twitter;oravideoc reatedfromphotosofsc antilycladcelebritiespostedonYouTube.
Theproductionanddisseminationofsuchsexualcontentfitsbestonthe“Application”archoftheMPM.Theseacts
mayalsobecharacteriz edassexualself-presentationsorsexualself-disclosures.Wethusaddresstwobroad
issues:Whoaretheyoungpeoplewhoengageinmediatedsexualself-disclosure?andWhataretheimplications
ofsexualself-disclosurefortheseyouth?
WhoPro ducesSexualMediaCo ntent?
Thewayindividualspresentthemselvesandwhattheydiscloseaboutthemselvesisshapedthroughaninterplay
oftheirpersonalattributes,thecharacteristic softheiraudience,andthecontextoftheirdisclosure(Leary,1995;
Schlenker,2005).Amongpersonalcharacteristics,anadolescent'ssexualself-conceptmaybeoneofthemost
salientpredictorsofsexualself-disclosure.Thoseitemsthataremorevital,morecentrallylocatedwithintheself-
conc ept,haveagreaterlikelihoodofbeingreadilydisplayed(Schlenker,2005).Youthforwhomsexualidentityisa
moresalientc omponentoftheself-conceptlikelyengageinmoresexualself-disclosures,whereasyouthforwhom
sexualityisnotanimportantcharacteristicaremorelikelytorefrainfromdisclosingsexually.
Researchhassupportedthisassociation.Sexuallyactiveemergingadultsandthosewithahistoryofcasualsex
presentedmoresexualself-disclosuresintheirMySpaceprofilesthantheirpeerswhohavenothadsexorwho
engagedinlessriskysex(Bobkowski,Brown,&Neffa,2010).Inanexperiment,girlswhohadsufferedsexual
abuseaschildrenweremorelikelytoselectsexiercharacters(i.e.,avatars)torepresenttheminanonlinegame
thanmatchedgirlswithoutahistoryofabuse(Noll,Shenk,Barnes,&Putnam,2009).Thus,youthforwhomsex
figuresmoreprominentlyasacomponentoftheiridentities,asmeasuredbyahistoryofsexualbehavior,aremore
likelytobesexualcontentproducers.
Certainpersonaldispositionsmayc urbsexualself-disclosureamongsomeyoungpeopleandpromoteitamong
others.Self-monitoring(Fuglestad&Snyder,2009)isoneindividualc haracteristiccloselyassociatedwithself-
disclosure.Self-monitorstendtobeconcernedaboutsituationallyappropriateself-presentationsmorethanself-
presentationsthataccuratelyreflecttheirself-attributes.Bloggerswhoarehighself-monitors,forinstance,updated
theirblogsmorefrequentlyandweremoreconcernedaboutmanagingwhattheysharewiththeiraudienc esand
whattheykeepprivatethanbloggerswhoarelowself-monitors(Child&Agyeman-Budu,2010).
Youthwhoarehighself-monitorsmaybelesslikelytoself-disclosesexuallyiftheyperceivethatsomeintheir
audiencemayconsidersuchdisclosureasinappropriate.Otherattributessuchasself-consciousness,social
anxiety,andinhibition,havebeenassociatedwithoverallloweronlineself-disclosureamongadolescents
(Schouten,Valkenburg,&Peter,2008).
Youngpeoplewithgoodofflinesocialskills,meanwhile,havebeenshowntousetheInternettoenhancetheir
offlinerelationships(Peter,Valkenburg,&Schouten,2005;Schoutenetal.,2008; Valkenburg&Peter,2009).
Ingeneral,researchsuggeststhatonlinesexualc ontentmaybeproducedbythoseyouthwhoarealsomorelikely
toengageinsexualself-disclosureinofflinecontexts.Moreresearchisneededtounderstandtheextenttowhich

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onlineplatformsmightpromotesexualself-disc losureamongyouthwhoarenotpredisposedtothisbehavior
offline.
Itisalsoimportanttoc onsidertheaudience-relatedgoalsthatmotivateayoungpersontoportrayherselfsexually
inadigitallymediatedcontext.Theprimaryaudienc esfordisclosuresmadeinsocialnetworkingwebsites,for
instance,arefriendsandotherindividualswhomauserknowsoffline(Manago,Graham,Greenfield,&Salimkhan,
2008;Subrahmanyam,Reich,Waec hter,&Espinoza,2008).Thewayayouthrelatestotheseofflinefriendsand
hisorhergoalsfortheserelationshipswillthusdeterminehowtheadolescentpresentshimselforherselfonline,
andwhetheritisdoneinasexualway.Friendshipgroupnormsalsoinformthewaythatayoungpeopledigitally
presentthemselves.Inwhatanadolescentcommunic atesabouthisorhersexualself,ayouthislikelytoconform
towhathisorherfriendsfindappropriateandthewaytheypresentthemselvesonline(Liu,2007).Ananalysisof
onlinereligiousself-disclosureshowedthat,holdingtheirreligiositiesconstant,MySpaceuserswhosefriendswere
religiouswerethreetimesaslikelytoidentifyreligiouslyintheirprofilesasuserswhohadnoreligiousfriends
(Bobkowski&Pearc e,2011).Aswithotherbehaviors,bothproblematicandprosocial,friendsinfluencehowyoung
peoplepresentthemselvesinnewmedia.
Becauseonlinecommunicationoftentakesplaceasynchronously,individualshavemoretimeonlinethantheydo
infac e-to-faceinteractionstoconstructtheirself-presentations.Onlineusersalsohavefewer(p.239) identity
cuestocontrolthanindividualscommunic atinginperson.Internetusersthusharnesstheseuniquecharacteristics
ofonlinecommunicationtoselectivelyandfavorablypresentthemselvestotheiraudienc es(Walther,1996,2007).
Youngpeople'sdigitalsexualself-disclosuresmaydeviatefromthewaysinwhichtheypresentthemselvesoffline.
TheTheoryofSymbolicSelf-Completion(Wicklund&Gollwitzer,1982),forinstance,suggeststhatindividualswho
arecommittedtoaspec ificidentitybutfeelthattheyhavenotfullylivedoutthisself-definition,willusesymbolsto
approximatetheirdesiredself.Thus,inonestudy,undergraduateMySpaceuserssaidthatonlineprofilesallow
themandtheirpeerstopresentnotonlytheiractualselves,butalsotheselvestheyaspiretobecome(Managoet
al.,2008).Youthwhoperceivethemselvesassexyorwhowanttobeseenassuch,mayuseonlinesexualself-
disclosurestosymbolicallycommunic ateasexualidentitytotheiraudiencesandthemselves.Conversely,
however,someyouthmayuseonlinetechnologiestotonedowntheirofflinesexualportrayalsorreputation.
Becauseofflinefriendsaretheprimaryaudiencesonsoc ialnetworkingsites,theextenttowhic hyoungpeopleare
abletoembellishtheirofflineidentitiesinonlinespacesmaybelimited.Ininstancesinwhichindividualswhodonot
knoweachotherofflineconnectonline,thenewvisitortoaprofilemaylookfordifficult-to-changedatasuchas
friends’postsandphotostocorroboratetheacc uracyofonlineself-c laims(Walther,VanDerHeide,Hamel,&
Shulman,2009;Gibbs,Ellison,&Lai,2011).Onlineusers’preferenceforconfirmatoryinformationthatcannotbe
manipulatedbythepresenterisknownasthewarrantingprinciple(Walther&Parks,2002).Ayouthwhousesthe
Internettomeetapotentialfriendormatewillask,“Iswhatsheissayingaboutherselfonlinewarrantedbywhat
herfriendsaresayingaboutherandbywhatshelookslikeinpictures?”
WhatAretheEffectsofProd ucingSexualMediaContent?
Understandingthecharacteristicsofyouthwhoproduceanddistributesexualmediacontentisimportantinlightof
thepotentialeffectsofsuchproduction.Sexualself-disclosureonlineputsyouthatgreaterriskforofflinesexual
encounters.Youngpeoplewhocommunic atewithstrangersviatheInternetaboutsexaremorelikelytoreceive
aggressivesexualsolicitationsthanyoungpeoplewhodonotengageinsuchbehaviors(Wolak,Finkelhor,
Mitchell,&Ybarra,2008).Inanexperiment,girlswhochosesexualiz edavatarsinavirtualenvironmentweremore
likelytobeapproac hedinsexualwaysbyothercharacters,andwerealsomorelikelytohavemetsomeoneoffline
(Nolletal.,2009).
Beyondthisincreasedriskofvictimiz ation,ayoungperson'sdigital,sexualself-disclosuremayreinforcethe
centralityorsalienceofsexualself-conceptswithinhisorherbroaderidentity.Studieshaveshownthataffirminga
particularpositionorenactingabehaviorresultsintheinternaliz ationofthatpositionorbehaviorwithinone'sself-
conc ept,especiallywhenthepositionorbehaviorisperformedpubliclyforanaudience(e.g.,Fazio,Effrein,&
Falender,1981;Kelly&Rodriguez ,2006).This“identityshift”dynamichasbeenshowntooperateinonline
environments.Forinstance,participantswhoseinterviewresponseswerepublishedinapublicblogandwho
answeredtheinterviewquestionsasextrovertsscoredhigheronasubsequentextroversionscalethanthosewho
answeredthequestionsasintroverts(Gonzales&Hancock,2008).Participantsintheintrovertedandextroverted

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conditionswhoansweredquestionsinatextdocumentthatwasnotgoingtobec omepublicdidnotdifferintheir
extroversionscores.Researchconductedinvirtualenvironmentshasalsoshownthatparticipantstakeon
attributesofthevirtualcharacters(i.e.,avatars)towhomtheyareassigned.Thus,participantsassignedto“be”
moreattractiveavatarsweremoreextrovertedthanparticipantsassignedtoberepresentedbylessattractive
avatars,andthoseassignedtotalleravatarsactedmoreaggressivelythanthosewithshorteravatars(Yee&
Bailenson,2007).
Researchershavesuggestedtwomechanismsthatmayaccountforthisinternaliz ationofoutwardcharacteristics.
DrawingonSelf-Perc eptionTheory(Bem,1972),somehavearguedthatindividualslooktotheirself-presentations
andself-disclosurestoinformtheirself-c oncepts(e.g.,Yee,Bailenson,&Duchenaut,2009).Othershaveargued
thatthepublicnatureofaself-presentationcommitsthepresentertobeandactconsistentlywithwhatispublicly
disclosed(Kelly&Rodriguez,2006;Gonzales&Hanc ock,2008).Accordingtothe“publiccommitment”
perspective,individualsthusstrivefortheirself-conceptstomatchtheirself-presentations.
Theexactmeansbywhichinternaliz ationoccursdeservesfurtherattentionandthetwomechanismsmentioned
heremaynotbemutuallyexclusive.Theliteraturedoessuggestthatwhenyoungpeople(p.240) portray
themselvessexuallyinsocialmediaorsendsexualtextmessages,theypositiontheirsexualattributesmore
centrallywithintheirself-concepts.Whenrepeated,suchsexualself-presentationsmayleadtoaningrainingofthe
sexualattributes,areorderingofself-understandingstoprioritizethesexualaspectsoftheselfoverother
characteristic s.Althoughresearchhastestedonlytheshort-termeffectsofinternalizingonlinedisc losures(e.g.,
Gonzales&Hancock,2008),studiesonvirtualenvironmentshavesuggestedthattheseeffec tsmaylingerbeyond
thedurationofanexperimentalmanipulation.Inonestudy,participantsplayingacardgameagainstavatarswho
appearedshorterthanthemselvesplayedmoreaggressivelyevenaftertheyweretakenoutofthevirtual
environmentthanthoseplayingagainstavatarswhoappearedtaller(Yeeetal.,2009).Inanotherexperiment,
participantswhoobservedavatarswholookedlikethemandwhoexercisedonatreadmill,reportedengagingin
moreexerciseinthe24hoursfollowingtheexperimentthanparticipantswhoobservedavatarswholookedlike
thembutwhodidnotexercise(Fox&Bailenson,2009).Suchempiric alevidencesupportsthenotionthatengaging
inpublicsexualself-disclosuresmayleadtoasexualiz ationoftheself-conc ept.
Audiencefeedbackisanessentialcomponentoftheinterac tivedigitalmediaworld.Eachsexyphotothatayouth
postsonFacebook,forinstance,islikelytogeneratecommentsfromherFacebookfriends.Researchhasshown
thattheidentityshiftismagnifiedwhenanonlineself-presentationisfollowedbyafeedbackmessageaffirmingthe
presentedself-attributes(Walther,Liang,DeAndrea,Tong,Carr,Spottswood,etal.,2011).Forexample,study
participantswhoansweredinterviewquestionsasextrovertsandwhoreceivedamessageaffirmingtheir
extroversion,scoredhigheronasubsequentextroversionscalethanthosewhodidnotreceiveafeedback
message.Participantsintheintrovertedconditionwhoreceivedamessageaffirmingtheirintroversionscoredlower
ontheextroversionscalethanthosewhodidnotgetfeedback.
Fromtheperspectiveofpublic commitment,feedbackmaycommunic atetothepresenterthelevelofcommitment
towhichheorshehasobligatedhimselforherselfthroughtheself-presentation.Althoughresearchhasthusfar
examinedonlytheeffectofpositivefeedback,itispossiblethatayoungpersonwhoreceiveslittlefeedbackor
whosefriends’commentsaretepidornegativewillnotinternalizethesexualelementsdiscloseddigitallytothe
extentthatayouthwhorec eivespositive,lavish,andenthusiastic friends’commentswill.Negativefeedback,
however,mayalsohavenegativeconsequences,especiallyforyouthwhoalreadyhavelessself-esteemthan
theirpeers(e.g.,Brockner,Derr,&Laing,1987).Insomecases,negativefeedbackmayevenrisetothelevelof
cyberbullying,particularlywhenitisrepeated,hostile,andmeanttoinflictharmordiscomfort(Tokunaga,2010).
Feedbacktosexualself-disclosuresmayalsotaketheformofunwantedsexualsolicitation,whichismorelikely
whenyouthcommunicatewithstrangersaboutsex(Wolaketal.,2008).Whethernegativeorpositive,feedbackis
akeycharacteristic ofnewmediaenvironmentsandmustbeconsideredwhenexaminingthewaysinwhichyoung
peopleperc eiveandcommunicatetheirsexualselves.
Researchershaveonlybeguntoexaminethefunctionofsexualself-disclosurewithinthedigitalmedia
environmentandmuchworkremainstobedone.Forone,theeffectsofthemediatedself-disclosurethatwehave
discussedhere(e.g.,internalization,feedbac k)havenotbeentestedwithinthec ontextofsexualself-disclosure.
Thehypothesespresentedhereneedcarefulscrutinyusinginnovative,ethic allyconductedstudydesigns.
Second,althoughinthisdiscussionwehavenotdistinguishedbetweendifferenttypesofsexualself-disclosure,all

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sexualself-disclosuresarenotthesameandtheireffectsarealsolikelytobedisparate.Evenwithinthesame
communicationvenuesuchasFacebook,contentdisc losedviadifferentcommunicationmodeswilllikelygenerate
uniqueeffects.Postingone'ssexyphotosinaFacebookphotoalbumisdifferentfromsendingaprivatemessage
withasexyphotoattached,anddifferentstillfrompostingaFac ebookstatusupdateaboutthesexualappealofa
celebrity.Theintensityofthecontent,theintendedgoalsofthedisclosure,andtheaudienceresponsetothe
disclosureallc ontributetothedifferentialeffectsthateachofthesedisclosuresmaystimulate.
Finally,wehaveemphasizedthepotentiallynegativeeffectsofsexualself-disclosureratherthanthepotentially
constructivewaysinwhichnewmediamayfacilitatecomposingandc ommunic atingthesexualself.TheInternet
offersunprec edentedopportunitiesforc onnectingwithremotelike-mindedindividualsandforexploringand
affirmingidentities,espec iallyforthosewhoareotherwisestigmatiz ed(Mc Kenna&Bargh,1998).Gayandlesbian
youth,forinstance,mayfindpositivepeersandmentorsinonlinecommunities,andtheserelationshipsmay
facilitatetherehearsalofdisclosingtheirsexualorientations,same-sexfriendships,attractions,and(p.241)
sexualexpressions(Hillier&Harrison,2007).Moreresearchisneededtounderstandthewaysinwhic hdigital
mediahelpyoungpeopleengageinpositivesexualdevelopment.Theseandotherpotentiallyc onstruc tive
outcomesofsexualdisclosurevianewmediaundersc oretheneedfornewmedialiteracyinitiativesthateducate
youthaboutboththerisksandopportunitiesofsexualself-disc losureinonlinecontexts.
Co nclusion
“Protecting”YouthfromHarmfulEffects
Asevidencehasac cumulatedthatmediaplayanimportantroleinadolescents’sexualsocializ ation,different
strategieshavebeenproposedtoaddresspotentiallyharmfuleffectsandinc reasethepossibilityofsexually
healthyoutcomes.Healthorganiz ations,suchastheAmericanAcademyofPediatricsandtheAmericanMedical
Assoc iation,haveissuedpolic ystatementscallingonparents,medicalprofessionals,andtheentertainmentmedia
tolimitchildren'sexposuretounhealthymediamessagesaboutsex,andincreaseac cesstoinformationabout
contraceptivesandhealthysexuality(AmericanAcademyofPediatrics,2010).Thecourtshaveforbiddensexually
explicitcontentthatfeatureschildren(childpornography),buthavebeenreluc tanttorestrictthedistributionof
otherkindsofsexuallyexplicitmaterialbec ausesuchregulationscouldinfringeonadults’freespeechrights
(Iannotta,2008).Ratingssystemsformovies,television,andvideogamesthatspecifytheamountandsometimes
kindofsexualcontenthavebeendevelopedbutoftenareinconsistentlyapplied,notunderstoodorusedby
parents,andmayactuallystimulatesomeadolescentstotastetheforbiddenfruit(Gentile,2008).
Medialiteracyeducation(MLE)isanotherstrategythatholdssomepromiseandspeaksmoretotheideaofyoung
peopleasactivemediac onsumersandproducers.Medialiterac yeducationprogramshavebeendesignedto
teachyoungpeopleabouttheproductionproc essofmediaandcriticallyevaluatemediacontent;manyinc lude
mediaproductionskillstraining,aswell(Chakroff&Nathanson,2008).AlthoughfewsystematicfieldtestsofMLE
curriculumhavebeenconduc ted,afewhavebeenshowntobeeffectiveinc hangingattitudesaboutsubstanc e
useinearlyadolescence(Austin&Johnson,1997;Pinkletonetal.,2007;Kupersmidt,Sc ull,&Austin,2010)and
bodyimageissuesandeatingdisordersinlateadolescenc e(Irving&Berel,2001;Watson&Vaughn,2006).A
meta-analysisof27largerandomiz edcontroltrialsofuniversity-basedhealthpromotionprogramsfoundthatthe
MLEprogramsweremoresuccessfulatchangingbodyimageoutcomesthanknowledge-basedandcognitive
behavioralinterventions(Yager&O'Dea,2008).
Althoughmoreresearchandtheorizingabouthowmedialiteracyeducationworksisneeded(Chakroff&
Nathanson,2008),successfulMLEinterventionsapparentlyaltermedia-relatedcognitions,suchasreducingthe
perceivedrealismofandsimilaritytomediaportrayalsbyengagingyouthinmessagedeconstructionexercises.
Suchskilldevelopmentisexpectedtochangeadolescents’cognitionsandattitudesabouttheunhealthybehavior
andbeliefsaboutthenormativenessofthebehavior(Pinkleton,Austin,Cohen,Chen,&Fitzgerald,2008).
Productionexerciseshelpyoungpeopleseethatmaterialhastobecutandconstructed,andlearnfirst-hand
persuasiontechniques.Medialiteracyeducationtypicallyincludestraininginthepersuasivetechniquesusedby
mediacreators,whichcanenhanceskepticisminmediamessagesandalsohelpmakeadolescentsawareof
persuasiveintentions,whichinturnmaypromotegreaterresistancetopersuasion.Changesinattitudesand
beliefs,inturn,arepredic tedtoresultindecreasedintentionstoenacttheunhealthybehaviors.

Sexual Media Practice: How Adolescents Select, Engage with, and Are Affected by
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Onlyafewc urric ulahaveappliedMLEtosexualhealth.One,“TakeitSeriously:AbstinenceandtheMedia,”
developedandevaluatedinWashingtonstate,isafive-lessonpeer-ledMLEprogramaimedatearlyadolescents.
Theevaluationfieldexperimentshowedthatstudentswhoparticipatedinthelessonshadmoreacc uratenormative
beliefsregardingteensexualactivity,perceivedsexualportrayalsinthemediaaslessrealistic,weremorelikelyto
believethatmediamessagesinfluenceadolescents’sexualbehaviors,hadlowerpositiveexpec tationsaboutwhat
wouldhappeniftheyhadsex,andmorepositiveattitudesaboutabstainingfromsex(Pinkletonetal.,2008).
Othersuchcurriculaareneededforolderadolescentsthatfocusnotonlyonabstinence,butalsoon
contraceptionandotheraspectsofsexualrelationships.Youngpeoplealsoneedguidanceonhowtousethe
Internetandinteractivemediainsexuallyhealthyways.Buhietal.(2009)concludedfromtheirstudyofcollege
students’useoftheInternetforsexualhealthinformationthatevenolderadolescentsandyoungadultsneed
traininginhowtofindanddistinguishaccurateinformationonline.
(p.242) UsingMediaforSexualHealth
Mediahavealsobeenusedtopromotehealthiersexualbehavior.Effectivemassandnewmediac ampaigns
promotingabstinence,teenpregnancyprevention,condomuse,andHIVtestinghavebeenrunincountries
aroundtheworld,aswellasintheUnitedStates.Somehavetakenasocialmarketingapproach,includingpublic
serviceannouncementsaswellasothermediastrategies.Somehaveincludedentertainment-education,inwhich
educationalmessagesareembeddedinentertainingcontent.Otherinterventionsaremakinguseofnewermedia,
suchasinteractivewebsitesandcellphonestoattrac tandengageyouthinhealthysexualpractic es(forreviews,
seeBrown,2008;Collins,Martino,&Shaw,2011).
SexualHealthMassCommunicationCam paigns
Masscommunic ationcampaignsaredefinedasorganizedsetsofcommunic ationac tivities,intendedtogenerate
specificeffectsinarelativelylargenumberofindividuals,andusuallywithinaspecifiedperiodoftime(Rogers&
Storey,1987).TheTwo-CitySaferSexcampaignruninKentuckyin2003isoneofthebestexamplesofthe
succ essfuluseofmassmediaforsexualhealthintheUnitedStates.Designedtopromotecondomuseamong
olderadolesc entsandyoungadults(18–23yearsold),messagesweretailoredtoappealtohighsensationseekers
andimpulsivedecisionmakerswhoweremostlikelytoengageinsexualrisktaking.TensafersexPSAswereaired
for4monthsduringprogramsknowntobepopularwiththetargetaudience.A21-monthcontrolledtime-series
evaluationbeginningbeforethecampaignandcontinuingfor10monthsafterwarddocumentedhighexposureto
theads,andincreasedcondomuseself-efficacyandusefor3monthsafterthec ampaign(Zimmerman,
Palmgreen,Noar,Lustria,Hung-Yi,&Horosewski,2007).
Meta-analysesoftheeffectivenessofmediacampaignshavefoundthatsuc hcampaignscanbeeffective(Snyder
&Hamilton,2002).Mediacampaignsareanattractivestrategyeventhoughtheproportionofpeoplewhochange
theirbehaviortypic allyismodestbecauseacampaigncanreachmuchlargersegmentsofthepopulationthan
individualorgroup-basedinterventions.AreviewofinternationalandUScampaignsdesignedtoimprovesexual
healthamongadolescentsanda10-year(1998–2007)systematic reviewofHIV/AIDSmasscommunication
campaignsfocusedonsexualbehavior,HIVtesting,orbothconcludedthatsuccessfulc ampaignsdrawfrom
behavior-changetheories,havec leartargetaudiences,usemultiplemediachannels,andstriveforlong-term
exposureandsustainability(Brown,2008;Noar,Palmgreen,Chabot,Dobransky,&Zimmerman,2009).Media
campaignsc onductedaspartofcommunity-basedprogramssupportedbybehaviorchangepolic iesandavailable
services,suchasschool-basedhealthclinic sandcomprehensivesexeducation,aremostlikelytobeeffective
(Wakefield,Loken,&Hornik,2010).
Entertainment-Education
Entertainment-Education(E-E)istheintentionalplacementofeducationcontentinentertainmentmessages
(Singhal&Rogers,2002).Entertainment-Educationisaversatileapproachbecausemediacharactersindifferent
kindsofmediaandgenrescanbeusedtomodelbehavior,teachskills,providebehavioralc ues,andsimulate
consequencesofbehaviorsovertimeinacompellingway(Green,Strange,&Brock,2002).Usedeffec tivelyfor
manyyearsaroundtheworldtopromotesexualhealthprac tic essuchascondomuseandHIVtesting,E-Ealso
hasbeenusedintheUnitedStatesbyorganizationssuchastheCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,and

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theNationalCampaigntoPreventTeenandUnplannedPregnancy.
TheNationalCampaign,forexample,c onsultedwithMTVproduc ersastheydevelopedthe16andPregnantreality
televisionseriesthatfeatured16-year-oldgirlsdealingwiththec hallengesofteenpregnancy.TheCampaign
developeddiscussionguidesforeachshowthatMTVthendistributedwithaDVDofthefirstseason'ssixepisodes
tothemorethan4,000Boys&GirlsClubsofAmerica.Evaluationsshowedthatclubteenswhosawanddiscussed
theshowsweremorelikelythanthosewhodidnotseeordisc usstheshowstotalkwithaparentorfriendabout
teenpregnancy(TheNationalCampaigntoPreventTeenandUnplannedPregnancy,2010).
Previously,theKaiserFamilyFoundation(2004)hadpartneredwithMTV'sparentcompanyViacomtosponsorthe
KNOWHIV/AIDScampaignthatincludedPSAsandprintandoutdooradvertisingworthmorethan$120million.
Viacomalsodirectedtheproduc ersofitstelevisionprogramstoincludestorylinesthatwouldraiseawareness
aboutAIDSandencourageprevention,counseling,andtesting.Surveysshowedthatthecampaignwasespecially
effectiveinincreasingawarenessandintentionstopracticesafesexamongadolescentblackswhohadseen
Blac kEntertainmentTelevision(BET)'scampaigncomponentcalled“RapItUp.”
(p.243) Inothercountries,wholeprogramsandlongstorylineshavefocusedoncharacterswhoserveas
positiveornegativemodelsofsexualbehaviorforviewers.SoulCity,along-runningE-EcampaigninSouthAfrica,
wasaprime-timetelevisiondramaseriesthataddressedvarioushealth-relatedtopic seachyear,inc ludingHIV
preventionandcontrol.Usingpre-andposttestpanelsurveys,evaluationsshowedthatthebroadcastwas
associatedwithincreasesinknowledgeofHIVtransmissionandprevention,positiveattitudestowardcondomuse,
andincreasesinpreventionbehaviors(Singhal&Rogers,2001).
Systematic evaluationsofE-EmessagesonattitudestowardsafersexarerareintheUnitedStates,butgenerally
positive.Inonestudy,femaleparticipantswhoreadanexcerptfromaromancenovelthatmentionedcondomuse
reportedmorepositiveattitudesandstrongerintentionstousecondomsthanparticipantswhoreadasimilar
excerptthatdidnotmentioncondomuse(Diekman,McDonald,&Gardner,2000).Inanotherexperiment(Farrar,
2006),collegestudentswhowatchedaprimetimedramaticprogramfeaturingsexualintercourseandasafesex
messagehadmorepositiveattitudestowardcondomsthanstudentswhosawsimilardepictionswithoutmentionof
condoms.
Althoughmoretheoreticalworktounderstandthemec hanismsbywhichnarrativepersuasionworksisneeded
(Moyer-Gusé&Nabi,2010),preliminarytheorizingsuggeststhatbecausethenarrative'smessageisdirectedat
thecharacter,thereader/viewermaynotseethemessageasmanipulative,andpersuasivedefensessuchas
selectiveexposureandattentionarecircumvented.Sometheoristsalsosuggestthathighlyengaged(transported)
viewersaredevotingalloftheircognitiveenergytoconstruc tingamentalmodelofthestory,makingcritical
thinkinglesslikelyandemotionalattachmentsmorelikely(Busselleetal.,2009).
DigitalMediaInterventio nsforSexualHealth
Novelinterventionsusinginteractiveandportablemediasuchaswebsitesandtextmessagingserviceshavebeen
developedtocommunicatewithyouthaboutsexualhealth.Suchinterventionsmaybeespeciallyeffectiveamong
youthbecausethesearethemediatheyusefrequently,andthebenefitsofinterpersonalcommunic ationcanbe
combinedwiththeadvantagesofmasscommunicationbytailoringmessagesbasedonfeedbac kwhilereaching
morepeoplethanone-on-oneorgroupcounseling.
Interventionsusingdigitalmediahaveincludedtextmessagingservicesforinformationaboutsex(e.g.,“Whatif
thecondombreaks?”)(Levine,Mc Cright,Dobkin,Woodruff,&Klausner,2008)andtogetSTItestresultsand
counselingreferrals.Asoapoperadepictingsafersexscriptsthatcouldbeplayedonahand-heldcomputerwas
succ essfulinpersuadingyoungblac kwomentobemoreassertiveinusingcondoms(Jones,2008).The
pediatrician“Dr.Meg,”suc cessfullyencouragedyoungMySpaceuserstoreducetheirriskysexualdisc losureson
theirpersonalprofilesandtoimplementprivacyc ontrols(Moreno,VanderStoep,Parks,Zimmerman,Kurth,&
Christakis,2009).Multiple-lessoncurriculatodelaysexualbehavioramongmiddleschoolstudents,andinc rease
HIVpreventionbehaviorsamonghighschoolstudentshavebeendeliveredeffectivelyoncomputers(Lightfoot,
Comulada,&Stover,2007;Tortolero,Markham,&Peskin,etal.,2010).(Foracomprehensivereviewofevaluated
digitalmediainterventionsforadolescents’sexualhealth,seeCollins,Martino,&Shaw,2011.)

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Ameta-analysisof20computer-mediatedinterventionsforsafersexpractic esforyouthandadultsfoundthat
interventionssignificantlyimprovedHIV/AIDSknowledge,perceivedsusceptibility,sexual/c ondomattitudes,and
communicationaboutcondomsaswellasself-effic acyandintentionstousecondoms(Noar,Pierce,&Black,
2010).Theanalysissuggestedthatprogramswereespec iallyappealingtoyouth,andweremoresuccessfulifthey
weretailoredforindividualparticipantsandincludedmoresessions.
Asmoresuchprogramsusingvarietiesandcombinationsofdigitalmediaaredevelopedforsexualhealth,itwillbe
importanttoconsiderquestionsofconfidentialityandinformedconsent,especiallywhentargetingyouthontheir
cellphones.Althoughsocialnetworkingsitesseemlikeanidealvenueforsuchinterventions,privac ysettingsmay
limittheextenttowhichresearcherscangainac cessand/orevaluateimpact.Onlinecurric ulaandinteractive
sexualheathwebsitesarealsodiffic ulttoevaluatebecauseusersmayskipmodulessoitwillbehardtoknow
whic hpartsaremosteffective.Despitetheseconcerns,thepossibilityofusingdigitalmediatoreachteenswhere
theyare,whentheyhavequestions,isexcitingandworthyofmuchmoreattention.
FutureDirections
WehaveusedtheMPMtoorganiz eourdiscussionoftheroleofthemediainsexualsocializationbecauseitis
clearfromexistingresearchthat(p.244) adolescentsandemergingadultsdolearnfromthemediaandthatwho
theyare,whattheyarelookingfor,andhowtheyprocessandreacttowhattheysee,read,andhearmatters.The
researchshowsthatyoungpeopledocometomediatolearnmoreabouttheirsexualfeelingsandinterestsand
thatalthoughaheterosexualscriptoflove,sex,andrelationshipsprevails,whatmediaprovideisoftenopento
interpretation,dependingonwhattheadolescentalreadyknowsandbelieves.Ahostofprocessingmediators,or
factorsthatinfluencehowthecontentwillbeattendedtoandretained,alsoaffec twhethermediascriptsand
messageswillbeincorporatedintotheadolescent'ssexualself-conceptandwillaffectsubsequentsexualbeliefs
andbehavior.Throughouttheprocess,thedigitalmediaprovidethemeansforfriendstoplayabiggerrolethan
everbeforeinsupportingorrefutingwhatthecommercialmediaprovide.Wehavealsoseenthatthemediacanbe
positiveplayersinhelpingyoungpeopledevelophealthiersexuallives,asc ampaignshaveeffectivelytaught
adolescentsaboutsafersexpracticesincompellingways.
Thisoverviewofwhatwecurrentlyknowaboutmediaandadolescentsexualsocializationalsopointstoanumber
oftopicsthatstillshouldbeaddressed.First,wemustfindwaystolookatthearrayofmediaadolescentsareusing
ratherthanonlyonemediumatatime.Althoughadolescentsstilldospendmoretimewithtelevisionthananyother
medium,eventelevisionisnowbeingwatchedinverydifferentways—onlaptopcomputers,tablets,andcell
phones.Wecurrentlyknowverylittleaboutwhetherthesedifferentwaysofviewingaffectwhatislearned.These
newwaysofviewingalsomakeitmucheasiertopassonfavoritebits,commentonshowswhiletheyarebeing
watc hed,andgotootherkindsofmedia,suchasonlinemagaz ines,songs,musicvideos,andeveninterviewswith
theactorsthatarestimulatedbytheviewing.Thatkindofinvolvementcouldleadtoverydifferentoutcomes.
Measurementofthosekindsofpatternswillbedifficultinpopulationstudies,butoneapproac hmaybetoconstruct
measuresthatfoc usontheoutcomeofinterest,suchasWardetal.(2011)didintheirstudyofmasculinityamong
collegemen.Themeasureofmediaexposurecombinedself-reportsofuseoffourmedia,men'smagazines,music
videos,movies,andprimetimetelevisionprogramsthatareknownfrompreviouscontentanalysestocontainhigh
proportionsofcontentaboutmalegenderroles.Moreinnovativemeasurementtechniques,suchasexperience
sampling(Hektner,Schmidt,&Csiksz entmihalyi,2007)thatwouldallowsimultaneousassessmentofcontent,
context,andlevelofinvolvementcouldbevaluable.
Theresultsofthesmallbodyofworkontheeffec tsofadolescents’useofonlinepornographyaretroublingand
worthyoffurtherstudy.TheprogramofresearchintheNetherlands(e.g.,Peter&Valkenburg,2010)andthefew
studieselsewheresuggestapatterninwhichinitialcuriositymayleadtomorenegativeoutcomes,including
preoccupationwithsex,feelingsofsexualinadequacy,andevensexualviolence(Ybarraetal.,2011).Given
youths’unprecedentedaccesstosexuallyexplicitcontent,muchmoreworkisneededtoanswerthequestion,
Howdoesearlyexposuretothebodiesandscriptsofpornographyaffectadolescents’developingsenseoftheir
ownsexuality?
Giventhatcurrentandfuturegenerationsofadolescentswillbegrowingupina24–7mediaworldinwhichthey
canbeproducersaswellasconsumers,wemustlearnmoreabouttheeffectsofaudience-generatedand

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distributedcontentsuchassextingandviralsexuallyexplicitvideos.Adevelopmentalapproachwillbeespecially
relevantinthisdomainbecauseresearchsuggeststhatpeersaremostinfluentialattransitionalmomentsinan
adolescent'slife.Theneedforidentityvalidationandsupportfrompopularteensismostneededasadolescents
movefrommiddlesc hooltohighschoolandthentocollege(IOM&NRC,2011),sofocusonthosemomentsin
adolescents’livesmaybemostfruitful.
Morelongitudinalandexperimentalstudiesthatwillprovidebetterevidenceofthesequenceofcausalityare
needed.Onlyafewstudieshaveincludedbothgoodmeasuresofmediaexposureandsexualoutcomesatmore
thanonetime.Cross-sectionalsurveyscanestablishthatarelationshipbetweenexposureandsexualbeliefsand
behaviorsexist,buttheycannotbesureabouttime-order.Thefewsurveysthathaveincludedmorethantwo
wavesofdatasupporttheMPM'sassumptionthat,infact,theprocessisreciprocal—earlyadolescentsdoseek
sexualcontentinthemediaandthatexposurethenisrelatedtotheirsexualbehavior.Thosestudieshavenot
foundconsistentresultsacrossracialgroups,however,andmayhavebeguntoolatetodetectthepatternsof
mediauseforadolescentswhoarecomingtosexualmaturationearlierorforthosewhoareusingsexualcontent
inlatechildhood.
Theinterplayofgender,race,andclassascontextsinwhichyoungpeoplecometothemediawithdifferent
expectationsandlifepossibilitieshasalsonot(p.245) beentakenintoconsiderationsufficiently.Similarly,we
knowverylittleabouthownon-heterosexualyouthfindrelevantandsupportivemediafareorhowtheycopewith
dominantscriptsinmainstreammedia.Qualitativeresearchmaybeparticularlyimportanttostudyhowindividuals
incorporatesexualmediaintheirlivesbyhelpingustobetterunderstandthemeaning-makingproc esses
adolescentsengageinwhenexperiencingsexualmedia(Polkinghorne,2013).
Broaderdefinitionsofwhatwemeanbysexandsexualitywillalsobehelpful.Furtherstudiesoftheextenttowhich
adolescentslearnstandardsofsexualattractiveness,masc ulinity/femininity,romanticrelationshipandbreakup
scripts,normsoffidelity,andexpectationsaboutpregnancy,motherhood,andfatherhood,fromthemediaare
needed.
Awordhereaboutthechallengesofenrollingpreteensandteensinresearchaboutsexualitymaybeworthwhile.
EspeciallyintheUnitedStates,butalsoinothercountriesinwhichsexualtopicsarerarelydiscussedopenly,itis
oftendifficulttoobtainpermissiontotalkwithyoungpeopleaboutsex.Giventhatsexualmediacontentis
increasinglyavailabletochildrenandpreteens,itisimportantthatwefindwaystostartearlierwithgood
longitudinalstudies.Onepossibilityistorecruitsamplesfromschoolsforthemedia-relatedquestionsand
administerthemoresensitivesexualbehavior–relatedquestionsinthechild'shomesoparentsmayseewhatis
beingasked.Thiswasthestrategyusedsuc cessfullyintheTeenMedialongitudinalstudyconductedinNorth
Carolinawithmiddle-schoolstudents(L'Engle,Pardun,&Brown,2004).Institutionalreviewboardsalsoneedtobe
educatedabouttheimportanceofbeingabletoenrollchildrenandpreteensinage-appropriatestudiesoftherole
ofthemediainsexualsocialization.
Finally,themediacanbehelpfulinguidingyoungpeopletolifelonghealthysexuality(Halpern,2010).Media
literacyeducationmayhelpyoungpeoplemakehealthierchoicesaboutwhichmediatouseandtoapproach
contentwithamorecriticaleye.Campaignstopromotesafersexpractic esmayhelpfillinthegapinthecurrent
mediascriptthatrarelyinc ludespatienceorprotection.Thepotentialofdigitalmediatoreac hteenswherethey
are,whentheyarereceptivetomessagesaboutsexualhealthisexciting.AsRobinson,Patrick,Eng,and
Gustafson(1998)havesuggested,wewilllearnmoreaboutmediaeffec tsasweevaluateinterventions.Weshould
proceedonbothfrontswiththeultimategoalofhelpingyoungpeopledevelophealthysexuallives.
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