The Birds and the Bees: Sexuality and Screens (#AtE)
Warning: The content in this video is for mature audiences only and includes references to sexual acts and sexual aggression. Please ensure all audience members are 18 years old or older and that parents are away from children when viewing the workshop.
In this week’s Children and Screens Ask the Experts episode, “The Birds and the Bees: Sexuality and Screens,” a panel of leading child development, health, education and sexuality experts explored that role that screen media (sexting, pornography, mainstream media, video games, and more) plays in the sexuality of children today. Offering research evidence and practical advice, the panelists answered pressing questions around digital media’s impacts on developing sexuality and discussed the importance of adult-youth conversations around sexuality on screens and in real life. Special video segments highlighted the voices of youth who had lived experience with the direct impacts of sexualized media content (videos courtesy of In the Know).
0:00 Introduction
1:31 Michelle Drouin, PhD
Moderator Dr. Michelle Drouin, professor of Psychology at Purdue University Fort Wayne and Senior Research Scientist at Parkview Health, initiates the conversation with an exploration of how adolescents’ increased access to online content through smartphones subjects them to the continuous demands of a hypersexualized online world. She offers information on sexting and introduces other sex-driven interactions in which teens are engaging, which the other panelists will explore in further detail.
8:46 Sharon Maxwell, PhD
Dr. Sharon Maxwell, psychologist, author, educator, MaxwellEd LLC, sheds light on how the media has become a main source of sex education for youth. Maxwell reiterates the importance of parents and educators being informed about the online content to which children are exposed and highlights how pornographic material can impact the ways that adolescents interpret and approach sexual behaviors in their own lives.
20:33 Youth Voices
22:38 Jo Robertson, MScMed
Jo Robertson, Research & Training Lead for the Light Project, details the types of pornographic content that adolescents are accessing, hows and wheres, and why porn is a powerful teacher. Robertson addresses some of the problematic behaviors portrayed in pornography such as rough sex, and their specific impacts on adolescents’ perceptions of appropriate behavior.
32:37 Debby Herbenick, PhD, MPH
Dr. Debby Herbenick, Professor at Indiana University School of Public Health, provides statistics on current trends in youth sexual aggression and elaborates on the connection between these trends and mainstream media depictions of aggressive behavior during sex.
40:27 Youth Voices
42:23 Cindy Pierce, MEd
Cindy Pierce, author, speaker, sexuality educator and comic storyteller, reminds parents why they need to reclaim the role of primary sex educators for their children. She shares direct, practical advice for talking with children early and often, including specific strategies for initiating healthy, productive conversations with youth.
53:15 Youth Voices Segment 3
55:52 Shelley L. Craig, PhD, RSW, LCSW
Dr. Shelley L. Craig, Canada Research Chair in Sexual and Gender Minority Youth and Professor of Social Work at the University of Toronto, transitions to discussing the role of technology in the lives of LGBTQ+ youth. She notes recent trends in sexual identity development and the mental health vulnerabilities of the LGBTQ+ community. Craig emphasizes the heightened need for education and resources for parents and the unique positive potential of online connection for LGBTQ+ youth.
1:07:44 Stacey Honowitz
Stacey Honowitz, Supervisor in the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit of Broward State Attorney’s Office, asserts that the legal system is seeing an increase in sex crimes as a result of new online presences and interactions. She discusses body safety, sextortion, peer pressure and issues with consent, reiterating the importance of talking with children about these concerns.
1:13:23 Cora Breuner, MD, MPH, FAAP
Dr. Cora Breuner, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine Division, at the University of Washington and the Immediate Past President of Medical Staff at Seattle Children’s Hospital, characterizes the role of pediatricians in engaging youth and parents in conversations around sex and promoting healthy sexual behaviors that may not be portrayed in mainstream media.
1:18:11 Group Q&A
The panelists answer additional questions, including how to approach the porn conversation in both a cautionary and non-judgemental way, developmentally appropriate topics to address, and how to respond to a child who has viewed porn. They offer perspectives on the responsibility of media companies to control problematic depictions of sexuality to which youth may be subjected. Finally, each panelist offers a key takeaway for parents, educators, and clinicians working with youth.
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