Sitcom as sex educator?

Entertainment television, especially when supplemented by parental discussion, can be "a positive force in the sex education of youth." (1) In 2001, a character on the sitcom Friends had an unintended pregnancy after a single act of intercourse with an ex-boyfriend; during one episode, a conversation between the couple revealed that they had used a condom, but they acknowledged an awareness that condoms are only 97% effective. What messages did the episode's 1.7 million 12-17-year-old viewers take away? One-third of a sample of 323 youngsters surveyed 3-4 weeks after the episode aired recalled that the characters had used a condom; 15% remembered hearing that condoms were more than 95% but less than totally effective. One in 10 young viewers said they had learned something about condoms from the episode, but six in 10 understood the message to be that condoms often do not prevent pregnancy. Sixteen percent had discussed the episode with an adult, and these teenagers were more likely than others to have talked with an adult about condom effectiveness or unintended pregnancy. At a six-month follow-up interview, 24% gave correct estimates of condom effectiveness--about the same proportion as found among teenagers who had not seen the Friends episode. The researchers comment that although the episode did not present an unambiguous message, it taught or reminded "potentially huge numbers of adolescents ... of the risks accompanying sexual activity."

(1.) Collins RL et al., Entertainment television as a healthy sex educator: the impact of condom-efficacy information in an episode of Friends, Pediatrics, 2003, 112(5): 1115-1121.