I usually do not like to blame the entertainment industry for things. For one, its been done so many times and in so many situations. If you cannot find something to blame your problems on, try saying that the only reason you have the problem is that you saw someone on TV doing whatever it is that led to your problem. Everything from the Columbine High School tragedy to numerous crimes committed around the country every day are linked to something someone saw on TV, heard on the radio, or read on the Internet.

But, (and there would have to be a but with an opening like that) I do feel that the entertainment industry needs to be slightly more modest when it comes to portraying sexualized adults in products targeted to young teenagers. Brittany Spears could be the poster child of this, but there are dozens more like Brittany Spears in the music business alone, along with all the other sexualized marketing targeted at young teenagers. When my generation's parents were growing up, they simply did not have to deal with this level of sexualized marketing. Mary Tyler Moore was considered "offensive" by many people because she wore tight pants. Times have changed.

And let me make one thing clear: I am not a parent. I am a single 24 year old doctoral student. I just feel that this is a time when kids are coming into an understanding of what constitutes normalcy in relationships, and if all they've ever seen is what's coming through on television, movies, and worst of all the Internet, we could have an immensely sexualized culture growing quickly in our nation's middle and high schools.

The parents are responsible for keeping their kids away from this material, but this is impossible to do in many cases. Any time the child is not in the house, the parent has no direct control over what the child sees. I feel that the media as a whole has a responsibility to tone down some of the more lurid images that they target to young teens.

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