Boob Tube, Indeed

Nearly two years after Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl, it seems like a good time for a status report. Are the public airwaves getting any cleaner?

In a word, no. In fact, they’re getting worse. That’s the assessment not of right-wing prudes but of a new study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. According to the study, the number of scenes with sexual content has nearly doubled since 1998. And the share of programs with sexual themes jumped from 56 percent to 70 percent over that same span. Ninety-one percent of comedies had sexual content, compared with 87 percent of dramas and 73 percent of newsmagazines.

I believe these numbers. Don’t you? Nowadays I can’t even watch sports on TV with my kids without the remote in hand because of all the racy promos.

It’s not that I'm pining for a return to shows like Leave It To Beaver. At this point, I’d be happy with The Rockford Files.

The Kaiser Foundation also found that the number of messages about abstinence and so-called “safe sex” has actually fallen. So in other words, in the era of AIDS and other dangerous sexually transmitted diseases, the broadcast networks are actually urging the American people to engage in risky, and perhaps deadly, behavior.

And make no mistake. Sex on TV is not a harmless fantasy. Broadcasters use sex to sell everything from toothpaste to beer, but they’ll swear up and down that shows with sexual content have no effect on our behavior.

Au contraire. There is a clear connection between what we watch and what we do. According to a Rand Corporation study from 2004, teens who watch a lot of sexually suggestive television shows are almost twice as likely to engage in sex earlier than teens who don’t.

After the Janet Jackson debacle, the FCC announced it was cracking down. Yet not much has happened, and politicians are starting to notice. But parents still have the final responsibility for what images and values enter their kids’ minds and hearts.

Here are a couple modest proposals. First, watch whatever your kids watch, and be prepared to discuss it with them. Second, cut back. Most families have financial budgets. Perhaps it’s time for entertainment budgets, too. Instead of allowing the boob tube to hijack all our free time, we should also budget in family times for reading, talking, singing, and playing board games together—whatever allows you to actually relate with your relations.

Properly handled, television can be a good thing. But too much of a good thing, especially television, ain’t good.