Saturation

[astronaut_head]

I’m a college student who has been studying the media for a few years now, but it hasn’t taken a lot of research to discover that our media is sex-saturated and filled with not so swell things.

It’s been difficult to communicate with my parents about why different tv shows, music, and movies aren’t appropriate for younger kids to watch or listen to. I haven’t been able to find an effective way to show them that it’s not just as simple as looking for a “Parent Advisory” label on a CD or checking the rating of the newest movie in the theater. Sex has become so casually integrated into the media, and I know it’s not something that can be avoided 24/7- I’m disgusted at some of the things I catch just tuning through the radio channels or flipping through the TV- but it’s produced more heavily into the media than it was when my parents were teenagers. My younger sisters are learning about casual sex through the music they are listening to and the movies they are watching, and it’s hard for me not to get frustrated when my parents shrug it off like I’m over reacting. “We’ve given them the talk” they say- but what happens when I’m watching them recieve more education from the pile of filfth we call the media?

I guess I am just seeking some advice about how to present my case to my parents from the point of view of an 19 year old who sees the media differently than they do, with out attacking their parenting or making them become defensive. I don’t want to start an argument, but I don’t feel it’s encouraging their kids to persue lives of purity and holiness by letting them watch or listen to whatever they want. I want to entrust this to the Lord, but at the same time know when to speak my mind sensibly about societal issues I feel are very influential in the lives of young people today. Thanks for the (name removed by moderator)ut, friends.

 

[edwest2]

Hi,

Communicate with your siblings. Ask them about what they think is OK. Advise them about what you think is OK and why. Those who create stories and music need to think about the influence these stories can have, especially on younger people who have not been effectively taught, this is right and this is wrong. The next thing is to set an example by your own behavior. I don’t listen to the radio anymore except to listen to a Catholic station. There are very few movies I can watch because I don’t want to see what they’re doing and hear the profanity. Even many magazines are designed to make living like a whore attractive. I recently saw a magazine where a healthy young man on the cover had the word rape on his belt buckle.

Your parents may not understand this. They may listen to you or not. Prayer is a powerful way to help your family members also. Have faith and continue in your faith. Imitating the world and conforming to it is something the Bible tells us to avoid.

God bless you and your family,
Ed