Television: A Cause of Teen Pregnancy?

Gossip Girl, 90210 and One Tree Hill are only few among today’s popular television shows on prime time television that have influenced teens across America with infectious messages of glamorous drugs, binge drinking and unprotected sex in almost every episode telling teens that its ok to be promiscuous.

Teenagers who watch a lot of television programs that are rich in sexual content are twice as likely to become pregnant according to a November 2008 study by the journal Pediatrics. The journal Pediatrics was reportedly the first study to come out with a real correlation between television and teen pregnancy.

From 2001 to 2004, about 2,000 adolescents from age 12 to 17 were surveyed across the nation by the RAND Corporation, nonprofit research cooperation about their television habits and their sex lives. The survey focused on 23 television programs popular among teenagers such as dramas, comedies, reality programs and animated shows having sexual content such as discussion or depiction. After three years, the teens were surveyed once again and 700 out of the 2,000 admitted to engaging in sexual intercourse by the third survey. According to the study, about 1 million adolescents become pregnant each year in the United States.

The study found that the 90^th percentile of teens was the ones who watch the most television on a daily basis and were twice as likely to have unprotected sex and become pregnant. The teens who watched the least amount of television, the 10^th percentile, were half as less likely to engage in sexual behavior at all let alone unprotected sex. The study also found that teenagers living in a proper parenting home with structured lives and rules had a lower chance of becoming pregnant as a teen.

Teens are being brainwashed by media that sex is ok at any age really, at least that is what Serena and Blair are telling young girls who watch Gossip Girl every Monday night after they finish their homework.

Speaking of Gov. Blagojevich

I think people are justified in seeing Gov. Rod Blagojevich for what he really is, and going a step further, pointing it out to a lot of people. He's a man who has made a pretty serious bunch of mistakes, but I'm amazed at how many people are still linking this to President-elect Barack Obama, and then allowing ridiculous amounts of word wars to ensue. It became a contest to see who speaks with the accused governor less frequently. 

The point is that one, obviously Blagojevich and Obama have had some interaction, having been part of the Illinois government, but two, it doesn't mean that Obama is somehow a tainted character because he spoke to the man.

Anyways, the thought just came to me after something about the Illinois governor was on in the 10 o'clock news and my mom threw up her hands and proclaimed "well that bodes well for this presidency!" 

Note: The number of comments on the Politico blog post is 449.... Really?

Deadly Crash

I'm sure everyone has heard about the F/A- 18 Fighter Jet that crashed into a San Diego home the other day. The pilot was forced to eject from the plane as both engines were lost. Unfortunately where it occurred led to the plane crashing into the home in the University City neighborhood killing a mother, her child, and the child's grandmother.

The whole ordeal is terribly sad and it got me to thinking about how bad the pilot must have felt. He lost both engines and was put in a life or death situation over a populated area when he was just supposed to be training. That must have been ridiculous. What would you do in that situation though? If you don't eject you go down with the plane and would probably end up crashing into the same home anyways? Would there have been enough time for the pilot to have steered clear of the home if he had stayed in the plane longer before ejecting? Would you risk your own life to possibly save others that may or may not be in the homes below. There is no way the pilot knew that people would even be in their homes at the time or that the plane would end up crashing exactly on a house rather than in a yard or something? I was just wondering what people think about the accident?

How many of you hate left lane drivers who never seem to MOVE OVER? I was recently reading on the internet how some states are starting to enforce the law and give tickets to those who stay in the left lane and are holding up traffic for others. Afterall the left lane is for passing only isn't it? I think this is a god send! Please pull them all over! I do a lot of high way driving and nothing makes me more upset than those who stay in the left lane and block a line of cars behind them. In many cases no one even drives in the right lane, especially on a three or four lane high way. Traffic would move much more smoothly especially during rush hour and make 84 and 91 through Hartford a little more bearable to drive through.

Er... Am I Black or White?

While perusing the LA Times, I caught an article that shouldn't have, but made me laugh out loud (or LOL for all my cyber friends). This piece struck me as a little ridiculous because basically, writer Karen Kaplan is trying to make the point that white people view themselves as black in instances such as dropping below the poverty line or going to jail. A study that asked people to classify themselves within racial terms showed that they actually changed their answers based on whether they were incarcerated during that time period. The changes between classifications were also based on the way interviewers perceived subjects based on their economic status and prison record.

I'm sorry, but I'm Asian and if I go to jail- I'll still be Asian. When I get out of jail... yeah, still Asian. Losing my job or falling below poverty line (which I'm dangerously close to as is) will not change the way I view my race. People don't magically become "black."

Not only is it a dangerous conviction of society that people are likely to base their assumptions of race with aspects like poverty and jailtime, it's also confusing, scary, and sad that people view themselves in that way. Being poverty-stricken or going to jail has actually nothing to do with your genetic makeup- something that constitutes race far more than any other condition.

Do you think that people are justified in their views of others and themselves based on these expectations?

Indefinitely Inappropriate?

I thought I would make it through the semester without posting on sports, hockey specifically, but sadly, recent events make that an impossibility.

Last night, uber-pest Sean Avery of the Dallas Stars, one of the game's most prolific instigators, was suspended indefinitely for comments he made regarding his former girlfriend, Elisha Cuthbert of "24" and "Girl Next Door" fame.

"I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about. Enjoy the game tonight." -Sean Avery

The verbal jab was intended evidently for both Cuthbert as well as his prospective opponent at the time, widely feared Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf.

Hockey is a game that struggles to get mainstream media attention. This gave a meaningless regular season game, one of 82 for each club, an extremely interesting storyline. Sadly, the commissioner was wrong to suspend the opinionated forward, and sent reprocussions that far outweighed the offense.

Not only that, but I was looking forward to seeing the two collide last night. After the suspension was handed down, I chose not to watch. It took all the fun out of the game for me. In a world where wide receivers are shooting themselves in the leg in crowded nightclubs and covering it up, what's wrong with a little war of words and a compelling storyline? The NHL botched this one, big time.

When the “Stars” Align

Later on tonight, a rare spectacular will be visible, because the moon, Jupiter, and Venus will line close together. Supposedly, this phenomenon will not occur again until 2052!

Now called “earthshine,” what Leonardo da Vinci once dubbed “the old moon in the young moon’s arms,” or when the full globe of the moon is visible, may also be visible in the night sky.

Furthermore, it has been concluded that Samuel Taylor Coleridge was inspired by this rare occurrence to write the epic, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”

This alignment may have been visible starting November 29th and ending December 1st, but due to weather conditions, it is probably best to take a good look up at the sky tonight.

If you do take two seconds to look up yonder, blog back. What did you think? Could you see the alignment? What was your reaction? Do you think this will be an artistic inspiration for you?