"Each year in the US, more than 750,000 women ages 15-19 become pregnant" (Rationale for sexuality education in public schools) "while young people in the US ages 15-25 make up only one-quarter of the sexually active population, they contract about half of the 19 million sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) annually" (Rationale for sexuality education in public schools). These statics show us how we need to get a handle on teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Millions of teenagers in the United States are misinformed about the risks of being sexually active and think nothing bad could ever happen to them but through sex education class students would learn about different types of sexually transmitted diseases and how to avoid getting them. These classes would also inform students on how to help prevent pregnancy and the difficulties of being a teen parent. If students became further informed of these risks through sex education classes, schools can help reduce the rate of unwanted pregnancies and lower the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. .
At an early age, children are exposed to sexual references on T.V. shows, movies, Internet, music, and video games. In a study done by a doctor he found, "Teens who were exposed to higher levels of sexual content on the television (90th percentile) were two times more likely to be involved in a teen pregnancy than those in the 10th percentile" (Friedman, 772) This shows how highly T.V. has an effect on everyday teen life. A teen seeing sexual references can confuse them on what sex is really about and how it can affect your body. The media can make sex seem as just something casual to do and of no importance. Media hardly shows these men and women taking proper precautions to avoid getting STD's or preventing pregnancy. A great deal of T.V. shows can depict inappropriate things such as "hooking up" with multiple partners as cool.
