The purpose of this paper is to begin to understand how television shows convey information about romantic relationships and sexuality to adolescents. Pick a show that the adolescent you interviewed likes to watch. Record on the Sexual Content Scoring Form the number of times the selected behaviors appear on the show. You may want to record your show so that you may watch it more than once.
Your 3 to 4 page paper will include in a narrative format what you observed
on the show regarding dating and sexuality. Information derived from the Sexual Content Form will give you information regarding the amount of sexual content in the show as well some qualitative information. In addition, include your observations not reflected by the information gathered from the Sexual Content Form.
Some questions to keep in mind include: How are dating/sexuality situations portrayed? If adolescents are portrayed in the show, does the portrayal differ from that of adult sexuality? What are the implications of watching this particular show for adolescent development (e.g., identity, proper behavior, feelings about dating, sexuality etc.,)? In other words, what are the lessons learned about romantic relationships. What do you think are the messages conveyed? What is the appeal of the show for adolescents? What were the male and female responses to dating/sexual situation? What were parental responses to adolescent dating/sexual situation? What were the friends’ responses to the adolescent dating/sexual situation? Note that some of these questions may be irrelevant to your show. Be sure your paper is a critical analysis of the show and not just a summary of the program
Finally, do not forget to include the name of television program, time of showing, rating, and if viewed on regular TV or Cable.
Dominique Treboux, Ph.D. 