This week Children's Express reporter Emmet Barr, 16, looks at the effect the media has had on young people's attitudes towards sex.
Today in the media and TV we are constantly bombarded with sex. In soaps a 16-year old finds out she is pregnant after a night out but doesn't know who the father is, while in music videos your favourite female popstar is often found gyrating on a male back-up dancer. Even advertisements are forcing you to buy an "orgasmic" box of chocolates or they show the model making out with the guy who wears the nice deodorant.
All these things are making sex seem acceptable and are not making people aware of the consequences. Who is to blame for this? Does the media need to be more responsible? Do schools and parents have a bigger role to play in educating young people about the dangers of underage sex?
The number of 16-19 year olds who have abortions each year in the UK is almost 3000, which is a shocking figure. If people are willing to have underage sex they should be able to live with the consequences.
More teenage girls are getting pregnant in Britain than anywhere else in Europe. The latest available figures show that Britain's teenage birth rate is five times higher than in Holland, three times higher than in France and double the rate in Germany. These figures are hard to ignore but the promotion of sex is also hard to escape.
Something needs to be don't about all this. Advertisements with sexual innuendos or erotic under currents should be put on at a certain time of night and more education needs to be provided on the effects of these issues.
Young people could be throwing away their lives because of a stupid thing they do. You don't need to have sex just to be "cool" or "fit in". Think before you act!
About the team
This story was writen by Emmet Barr, 16 and edited by Rebecca Burns. It was published by Reach for the Sky website.
