Article One: Sexual Behavior

Seven Recent Trends in Sexual Behavior among High Schoolers

In the article titled “7 Recent Trends in Sexual Behavior among High Schoolers, According To a New Report,” Mariella Mosthof presents a summary of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report and Youth Risk Behavior Survey, both compiled between 2013 and 2017. From the research, currently, some sexual health issues facing the teens can be contained. However, other equally harmful sex-affiliated problems have been identified among the youngsters, rendering high schoolers vulnerable to STIs and sexual violence.  The article insists on the importance of sex education and access to sexual health resources as the most effective tools for preventing adverse consequences that may arise from teen sex.

Mosthof highlights seven significant findings of the research as listed below:

• The number of adolescents engaging in sexual activities has decreased. According to the study, the number of high school students who get involved in sexual intercourse has declined steadily since 1991. In 2017, only 40% of high school students had had sex, the lowest rate since 1991. Black students registered the highest decline rate.
• The older the students get, the higher the likelihood of having sex. 57% of seniors are having sex as compared to 20% of the freshmen. 20% of teens start having sex each year.
• Lesbian teenage girls are more sexually active than their straight counterparts. From the research, 85% of teenagers are heterosexual. 50% of the teens identified as gay, lesbians, or bisexual have already engaged in sexual intercourse, compared to 36% heterosexuals.
• As compared to older students, younger students use contraceptives less often. Generally, most students use contraceptives. 20% of the students in the 9^th grade don’t use contraceptives, while 90% of the juniors and seniors use them.
• Most students prefer using IUDs to condoms as birth control methods.
• The number of girls becoming pregnant is falling, but the STIs rate is rising.
• LGB students are more than twice as likely to experience sexual violence. 22% of LGB-identified adolescent students are experiencing sexual abuse as compared with only eight%  of their straight counterparts.

References

Kingsley, K. (2018). 8 Ways Your Company Can Boost Workplace Innovation. Retrieved from https://www.td.org/insights/8-ways-your-company-can-boost-workplace-innovation

Article two: Social Interaction

By definition, social interactions refer to the means through which people act and react to those around them. Social interactions can be either good or bad. Good social interaction is one which reduces stress, anxiety, increases coping and self-esteem. Examples of good social interactions are creating rapport and showing empathy. Bad social interactions, on the other hand, bring rejection, isolation, distress among different negative feelings.  Examples of bad social interaction are minimization, blaming, distancing, and awkwardness.

Article Three: Articles and Websites about Sexual Dysfunctions and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

How porn induces erectile dysfunction

According to this article, erectile dysfunction is a controversial theory for explaining sexual problems, and it occurs when a man is unable to achieve or sustain one long enough during sexual intercourse. While some researchers support the existence of porn-induced erectile dysfunction, others argue that pornography can be used as a form of medication for men with erectile dysfunction condition.

There are many causes of ED. Some of the causes include body image and relationships. Therefore, for men, ED does not have a single definite cause.  The following are the main points of the article about ED.

• Anti-pornography advocacy group Fight the New Drug, is convinced that pornography is immoral.
• Research in support of the connection between pornography and erectile dysfunction contends that pornography can desensitize sexual response.
• An article published in 2016 claim that more male youths are looking for help for ED, and that this could be due to the desensitizing effects watching of pornography. Additionally, the article maintains that pornography may diminish men’s satisfaction with their own bodies, inducing anxiety during sexual intercourse.
• Men who watch pornography may need to increase sexual stimulation to feel and stay sexually aroused gradually.
• Pornography can alter the way the brain responds to arousal, rendering a man less likely to feel sexually aroused by an actual-life partner.
• A study conducted in 2015 found that males who reported more time spent viewing pornography had greater sexual responsiveness to a partner in a laboratory setting.
• An analysis of two large, cross-sectional studies done in 2015 identifies a link between pornography use and ED.
• A 2014 article underscores that scientific survey neither discusses pornography addiction nor its insinuated role in ED.
• Only men who engaged in “moderate” use of Internet pornography reported more ED than those engaged in “high” or “low” use.
• Other causes of erectile dysfunction include prostate disorders, blood vessels disorders, psychological distress, and relationship problems.

References

Janet Brito, C. (2018). Porn-induced erectile dysfunction: How does it happen?. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317117.php

Article Three: The Influence of Media on Aggressive Behaviors

Aggressive behavior is a type of behavior aimed at causing physical or mental harm. While there is a wide range of factors that influence aggressive behavior such as genetics, mental disorders, availability of weapons, and intoxication, the media plays an instrumental role in influencing violent behaviors especially children and adolescents.

According to Nguyen, (2013), child and teenager exposure to violent media is accountable for an increase in aggressive behavior. This aggressive behavior has, to a large extent been contributed by video games, which have been an exceedingly fashionable source of entertainment for more than three decades. These games have recently caused an alarm for their increasingly violent and realistic programming.

Behavioral psychology insists that behavioral learning influences the behaviors of children. That is, children learn and behave from observing their parents. For this reason, therefore, Nguyen agrees with a theory that implies that children are more likely to attack a doll violently if they happen to observe their parents doing the same. It can, therefore, be suggested that any form of violence on media has the potential to induce aggressive behavior in children.

A study conducted in 2006 on violent media exposure’s effect on both child and adult behavior shows that media violence presents a threat to public health inasmuch as it leads to real-world violence and aggression (Nguyen, 2013). According to the study, exposing adolescents to media violence for a short time stimulates instant aggressive behavior with their friends at school. On the other hand, long-term exposure was substantially associated with destructive behavior past childhood and into adulthood.

In conclusion, although the media is not the sole cause of violence in both adults and children, its significant contributions cannot be ignored. Behavioral learning makes children imitate what they see on the media. Violent movies and games are among the significant influencers of aggressive behavior.

References

Nguyen, A. (2013). Does Violent Media Influence Violent Behavior? – Blog | Social Work License Map. Retrieved from https://socialworklicensemap.com/does-violent-media-influence-violent-behavior/