Netflix and Chill: Exposure of Adolescent Learners to Sexual Content via Mass Media and their Permissiveness on Sexuality

Abstract

As adolescents age, they become aware of changes in sexuality, thus, according to Corpus, Lucas, Borabo, & Lucido (2010), they undergo a “period of exploration and adjustment” (p. 302). To realistically attend to their concerns, Swanson, Edwards, & Spencer (2010) have stated that “knowledge about the stages of normal sexual development and allowable degrees of variation is needed” (p. 344). According to Strasburger (2005; as cited in Strasburger, Wilson, & Jordan, 2009), the primary source of sex education in the United States has debatably become television and other media due to “the absence of widespread and effective sex education in homes and schools” (p. 212). The study aims to identify the relationship between the exposure of adolescent learners in St. Mary’s College, Quezon City to sexual content through different types of media and their views and permissiveness on sexuality. The study utilized a cross-sectional predictive research. The research was conducted among the students of St. Mary’s College, Quezon City. The study involved the adolescent students of St. Mary’s College starting from the Grade 7 level up to the Grade 12 level for a total of two hundred sixty-three (263) respondents. Stratified Random Sampling was used. Thirty percent (30%) of the population in each stratum (grade level) were selected as sample. Surveys were done on the respondents through self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaire consists of items regarding the demographics of the respondents, the frequency of their exposure to sexual content in mass media, and their permissiveness in sexuality. Questions related to sexual activities and reproductive health were based on the Sexual Attitude Survey (Hendrick & Hendrick, 1987) and Contraceptive Attitude Survey (Black & Pollack, 1987).The students have a moderate average permissiveness on sexual activities and reproductive health and a low average permissiveness on human genitalia and private parts and sexually suggestive jokes and remarks. They are seldom exposed to sexual content in print media and in terms of human genitalia and private parts. The students are also sometimes exposed to sexual content in broadcast media, new age media, and in terms of sexual activities, reproductive health, and sexually suggestive jokes and remarks. The study has found that there is no correlation between frequency of exposure and sexual permissiveness in terms of sexual activities, reproductive health, and sexually suggestive jokes and remarks among the adolescent learners from St. Mary’s College, Quezon City. There is, however, a weak positive correlation between frequency of exposure to human genitalia and private parts and permissiveness on human genitalia and private parts. The little to no correlations can be explained by the presence of other factors affecting sexual perceptions and behaviors such as parental involvement (Brown et al., 2006; Collins et al., 2004), being religious (Brown et al., 2006), having good mental health (Brown et al., 2006), personal desires (Collins et al., 2004), having good grades (Collins et al., 2004), and being in a religious school (Corpuz et al., 2010). The direction of the correlations is very weakly supported by the Cultivation Theory, that higher exposure is associated with the adoption of media representations.