"Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll," and the Media-Are the Media Responsible for Adolescent Behavior?

The old controversy about the role of the media in violent behaviors of adolescents can be combined with another unsettled question-Does the media simply reflect the violent, aggressive, and sexually oriented society, or does it actually cause some of the behaviors it depicts? This chapter reviews existing studies on the exposure of adolescents to media-derived violence, sexual behaviors, and use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, and the influences that such images have on this population.