Sexuality and Sexual Health: Media Influence on

An extensive amount of research on media's influence on sexuality has been published since the late 1990s and the first decade of the twenty-first century. Several impressive longitudinal studies of US adolescents have shown that exposure to sexually oriented television predicts initiation of sexual activities. This entry reviews that evidence, as well as evidence from other research lines—namely research investigating media's influence on adolescents' sexual risk taking and sexual self-image and research on the sexualization of women and girls. Finally, the implications of these research lines for theorizing about future directions in new media effects on sexuality are also reviewed.