YouTube As A Source To Avoid the "Sex Talk"

I still cringe when I hear the phrase "sex talk," because it was easily one of the most awkward conversations with my mom I've had in my lifetime, and I try to rid my memory of this experience completely. While I now fully understand the importance of "the talk," who knew there were so many educational sex videos on YouTube? To be perfectly honest, I totally would've preferred watching an online video opposed to hearing the sex talk from my mother, EW!

In an article we read entitled, Sex, Sexuality, Sexting, and SexEd: Adolescents and the Media, the effects of sexual media content are explored, and there both positive and negative aspects of  choosing to forgo the "talk" and turn to YouTube for such vital information. 

Let's start with some positives: First of all, the article brings to our attention that "the Internet provides a relatively safe space for teens to explore and define themselves as sexual beings" (Brown, Keller, & Stern 2009). Okay, so we see here in turning to YouTube as a source of sexual information, a teen would be more free to explore their own sexuality opposed to asking some very personal questions to a parent, yikes! In fact, in 2003 an astounding 44% of teens reported using the Internet to find sexual health information, that's almost half! So, we see here how something very simple, such as a YouTube video, can help teens better understand sexuality. Secondly, we all know how sex in the media is glorified as risk free and solely pleasurable without consequences, Well, in watching an educational video online, this glamorous aspect is quickly squashed by two evil words: STD's and PREGNANCY!  Even better, for a teenager watching this video, he or she would learn how to prevent these evil occurrences, and avoid the whole "16 and pregnant" stereotype.  

Let's rewind for a second and think about the stat above...44% of teens used the Internet in 2003 to learn about sexual health. In 2003, I'm pretty sure I was still learning what the Internet was, so this number has had to increase in the past decade...which means sites like YouTube are doing a great job on educating America's youth on the ever talked about topic of sex. 

There is no question that teens benefit greatly from using the Internet as a source of Sex Education, but with positives also comes some negative aspects of turning to the Internet to become more educated.

Firstly, as the reading brings up "sources can be misleading or inaccurate" (Brown, Keller, & Stern 2009). So, while this video source above does an excellent job, I'm sure there are many other videos...cough cough PORN that provide information that is quite opposite of what sex really is, scary! Secondly, a parent knows more about their child and might be able to deliver more accurate tips and advice that the Internet can't provide, painful but true. For example, the Internet can't predict your family values in terms of how parents feel about their kid having sex, and the Internet can't give you the answer to whether or not to sleep with someone, but a parent can. These are a couple negatives of choosing to learn everything from the Internet.

To choose to have "the talk" or not to...

While I dread having "the talk" with my future child, after carefully evaluating both the pros and cons of learning about sex from the Internet, I feel that it would be best for me to talk with my future child first before allowing them to seek further information online.  This way, I would be sure that my child would be receiving accurate information.  I would also encourage my kid to explore more online if he or she had any more questions because I do see the Internet as a great learning source, if used fittingly.  This is a tough issue though for me, and I'm sure it is for many parents as well because how can you encourage your child to learn more about sex on the Internet while at the same time protecting them from harmful messages, such as those porn provides? So, as you can clearly see this is a sticky situation that in my opinion, still needs to be examined in the next decade. 

What do you think? 

Reference 

Brown, J. D., Keller, S., & Stern, S. (2009). Sex, sexuality, sexting, and sexed: Adolescents and the media. Prevention Researcher, 16(4), 12-16