September 20, 2004
"Surprise, Surprise," begins a story in the showbiz publication, Variety.
The Rand Health Policy Organization has found a connection between sexy TV shows aimed at teenagers and sexual practices by those same teens.
The study found that shows like "Sex and the City" are twice as likely to cause teenagers to begin having sex as their peers who watch very little or no sexually-charged TV shows.
Parents groups and conservative watchdog organizations have been saying this for years, but the networks and program producers always poo-poohed it.
These are the same people who claim to advertisers that their programs help sell their products, while denying their programs help sell ideas and behavior.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and is said to be the most definitive of its kind.
The answer is better monitoring of TV shows by parents, or, as is happening in more and more homes, no TV at all.
Don't look for the networks to clean up their act. Clean up yours!
I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
