medialifemagazine.com
A good word for steamy teen dramas
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jul 25, 2008 - 1:10:39 AM
The steamy sex scenes in shows like “Gossip Girl” and “The O.C.” before it are hardly considered family viewing.
Perhaps they should be.
That’s the suggestion of a new report from a leading social service agency in Britain.
The study finds that parents of kids ages 11 and up aren’t talking to their children enough about sex, and that's leading to higher teen pregnancy rates and misunderstandings about contraception.
The reports says parents need to get the conversation going with their kids, and it suggests the best way may be for them to watch sex-laced soaps and dramas together.
"This provides a springboard for parents to communicate their own values as well as helping teens to think through and challenge their own existing beliefs about sex, sexual health, relationships and the opposite sex," writes Anita Naik, the author of the report, issued by Britain’s Department for Children, Schools and Families.
The study was commissioned because of concerns about tweens and teens’ sexual naiveté and their consequences.
In surveying parents, it found that 55 percent admitted not initiating sex-focused conversations with their kids, beyond the basic birds and bees, because they were embarrassed.
There are certainly lots of conversation-starters on both British and American television right now.
On “EastEnders,” for example, young Lucy recently decided to have sex with her boyfriend. The “Gossip” kids have entire episodes focused on doing it or not doing it, as did “The O.C.” a few years earlier.
And ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of an American Teenager” shows the consequences those actions can have, as a high school girl struggles with pregnancy.
While the Parents Television Council and a similar British group, Family Education Trust, have denounced such shows for corrupting kids’ moral values, the fact is that many teens watch the programs.
The report does not indict the shows, but it does conclude that teen pregnancy rates may be rising because teens become more vulnerable to media influence when they don’t discuss sex with their parents.
The report urges parents to begin initiating such talks when their kids are between ages 11 and 14.
***
Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending July 20:
Among teens 12-17, Fox led with a 1.5 rating and 6 share, followed by NBC and Univision at 0.9/4, ABC and CW at 0.7/3, CBS at 0.6/2, Telemundo at 0.2/1,Telefutura at 0.1/1 and Azteca at 0.0/0.
Among kids 2-11, Univision was first with a 1.1/6, followed by Fox at 1.0/4, ABC at 0.8/4, NBC at 0.6/3, the CW and CBS at 0.5/2, Telemundo at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.1/1 and Azteca at 0.0/0.
The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Monday 11 a.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Monday 11:30 a.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Monday 10:30 a.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Tuesday 11 a.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Friday noon);
The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: Sozins Comet” (Saturday 8 p.m.); 2. Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” (Sunday 8:30 p.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “Avatar” (Thursday 8 p.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: Boiling Rock” (Wednesday 8 p.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “Avatar” (Friday 8 p.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: Sozins Comet” (Saturday 8 p.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “Avatar” (Friday 8 p.m.); 3. Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” (Sunday 8:30 p.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “Avatar” (Thursday 8 p.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: Boiling Rock” (Wednesday 8 p.m.)
|
TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 2-5
Week Ended July 20 |
|
|
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
SPONGEBOB-07/14/2008
|
NICK
|
6.7
|
1077
|
|
2
|
SPONGEBOB-07/14/2008
|
NICK
|
6.3
|
1008
|
|
3
|
SPONGEBOB-07/14/2008
|
NICK
|
6.2
|
997
|
|
4
|
SPONGEBOB-07/15/2008
|
NICK
|
5.8
|
922
|
|
5
|
SPONGEBOB-07/18/2008
|
NICK
|
5.7
|
919
|
|
6
|
SPONGEBOB-07/19/2008
|
NICK
|
5.7
|
918
|
|
7
|
SPONGEBOB-07/14/2008
|
NICK
|
5.6
|
902
|
|
8
|
SPONGEBOB-07/19/2008
|
NICK
|
5.6
|
896
|
|
9
|
DORA THE EXPLORER-07/15/2008
|
NICK
|
5.6
|
892
|
|
10
|
SPONGEBOB-07/15/2008
|
NICK
|
5.5
|
888
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
|
|
TOP 10 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST & CABLE
Kids 6-11
Week Ended July 20 |
|
|
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
AVATAR: SOZINS COMET-07/19/2008
|
NICK
|
7.7
|
1870
|
|
2
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-07/20/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.4
|
1543
|
|
3
|
AVATAR-07/17/2008
|
NICK
|
6
|
1459
|
|
4
|
AVATAR: BOILING ROCK-07/16/2008
|
NICK
|
6
|
1447
|
|
5
|
AVATAR-07/18/2008
|
NICK
|
5.8
|
1402
|
|
6
|
HANNAH MONTANA-07/20/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.7
|
1391
|
|
7
|
CONFESSIONS/TEENAGE DRAMA-07/20/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.3
|
1297
|
|
8
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-07/16/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.2
|
1274
|
|
9
|
SPY KIDS 3: GAME OVER-07/19/2008
|
DSNY
|
5.1
|
1241
|
|
10
|
ICARLY-07/15/2008
|
NICK
|
5.1
|
1238
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
|
|
TOP 10 PROGRAMS – CABLE
Kids 9-14
Week Ended July 20 |
|
Rank |
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
AVATAR: SOZINS COMET-07/19/2008
|
NICK
|
8.2
|
1991
|
|
2
|
AVATAR-07/18/2008
|
NICK
|
6.8
|
1661
|
|
3
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-07/20/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.6
|
1613
|
|
4
|
AVATAR-07/17/2008
|
NICK
|
6.4
|
1574
|
|
5
|
AVATAR: BOILING ROCK-07/16/2008
|
NICK
|
6.2
|
1525
|
|
6
|
HANNAH MONTANA-07/20/2008
|
DSNY
|
6.1
|
1490
|
|
7
|
CONFESSIONS/TEENAGE DRAMA-07/20/2008
|
DSNY
|
5
|
1211
|
|
8
|
AVATAR-07/15/2008
|
NICK
|
4.9
|
1187
|
|
9
|
AVATAR-07/18/2008
|
NICK
|
4.8
|
1164
|
|
10
|
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE-07/14/2008
|
DSNY
|
4.4
|
1066
|
|
Source: Disney-ABC Television Group, based on data from Nielsen Media Research
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