When adolescents are trying to find out who they are and where they belong, they turn to television (Fisher, 1994). This is a serious time for the shaping of adolescent's morals and values. This would be an ideal time for children to be informed about safe sex, sexual predators and S.T.I.s , however the average child spends approximately twenty eight hours a week watching television, which is twice as much time as they spend …showed first 75 words of 989 total…

…showed last 75 words of 989 total…media than anywhere else ("Facts about media violence and the effect on the American family," 1998). A large part of adolescence is establishing a healthy sense of independence, therefore during this time adolescences search out sources of information other than parents (Chapin, 2000). The mass media provides an interesting and available alternative and teenagers will constantly look into it for answers. Therefore any hope for changes in teenage risk-taking sexual behaviors will begin with the mass media.