Think of the advertisements, commercials, and maybe the last few episodes of the TV shows you’ve watched in the past week. What is the one thing the majority of these have in common? They are provocative, and somehow promoting sex or promiscuous behavior. Nowadays, the easiest way to grab anyone’s attention is to implant the idea of sex in his or her mind. However, as our culture moves towards an increasing acceptance of promiscuity, we are also influencing an entire generation to think and act much differently, and perhaps more dangerously, than previous generations.
Take the show “Glee.” Now, “Glee” happens to be one of my favorite shows (yes, I’ll admit I’m a bit of a Gleek). This show has been known to be more of a family show, with several songs that everyone can enjoy, an easygoing plot, and a wide variety of characters. Yet, the Parents Television Council continues to monitor “Glee” for its material that’s, well, not exactly labeled as “family appropriate.” Sex is often discussed on the show and the dances and songs are occasionally provocative with a strong sexual theme. While this is appropriate and entertaining for older audiences, the eight year-old fans of the show probably aren’t thinking the same, and most likely do not understand the sexual undertones of the songs or conversations.
With the youngest generation being exposed to acts of promiscuity from all angles of pop culture, what does this mean for the future? Will sex eventually be the only thing that will be able to sell a product, promote a new television show, or make a singer famous and well liked? It sure seems as if our society is heading in this direction. This phenomenon has not only affected pop culture, but also society’s behavior as a whole. Think about how relationships have even evolved, well really un-evolved, in the past decade or two. As sex became more prominent in pop culture, it became more prominent in our culture. Serious relationships are not as
common any more among college students due to the newfound “hookup culture” we all partake in.
Media, advertisements, and television shows have one main goal: relate to the biggest audience possible, using an almost universally relatable idea. Now that sex and promiscuity have become the most relatable ideas in our society, its impact has been huge on our generation, and not for fault of our own. Pop culture extends father into our lives and influences us in a way that we too often fail to realize.