Can a TV Show Help Young People Commit to Safe Sex?

An interesting new study from researchers at Ohio State University and UC Santa Barbara looks at the ways in which a TV drama and a news series -- both of which deal with teen pregnancy -- affect viewers' intentions to prevent pregnancy. The study's goal was to figure out not whether media has an influence, but rather how it influences viewers. Can it help them overcome resistance to helpful information and messages? Can it help break through their wall of denial, chipping away at the idea that "it won't happen to me"?

Just over 350 undergraduate men and women (ages 18-25) either watched episodes of The OC, Fox's beloved but long-ago canceled teen soap, or watched a portion of Channel One's "Mothers Too Soon" / "Fathers Too Soon," an award-winning news series for teens about the realities of teen motherhood. (Which, for the record, our Campaign worked on in partnership with Channel One, but did not develop, as the paper and press release assert. Also for the record: we provided the same set of messages and expertise to The OC for the teen pregnancy storyline used in this study).

The Channel One series did not affect viewers' intentions to use protection/prevent pregnancy. One theory is that viewers felt more of an overt educational message coming at them, and that it was a turn-off. I would also argue that the study's viewers were in college and the series was specifically crafted by and for high school-aged teens, which may be why viewers didn't identify with the teen parents profiled in the series. Perhaps because viewers knew that these were real teens, not fictional characters, they distanced themselves, thinking that they wouldn't be as careless as those teens were.

After watching the Ryan/Theresa teen pregnancy story on The OC, women were more likely to say two weeks later that they intended to take steps to avoid pregnancy. Men, not so much. In fact, it seems that after watching The OC, young men said they were less likely to use protection. What gives? The study argues that guys didn't identify with the show's characters, nor did they like the show. Well, that was sort of the point of The OC, wasn't it?

This study raises some great questions, and begs a reality check: The OC was an entertainment program first and foremost, which included some helpful prevention messages along the way to support the stories it was trying to tell, which were driven by character, complicated backstory, and over-the-top drama (poor Mischa Barton!). Channel One is actually an educational news network, which sets out to give viewers helpful information and messages (and from the looks of this study, may not have been delivering the goods to its audience as well as The OC was).

The study also confirms something that I've seen in action for more than a decade of work in partnership with the entertainment media: when viewers identify with a character, when they see someone they care about suffering consequences, it can help them tune in to their own vulnerability, and may help them make better decisions in real life. More persuasively than a PSA could. And I think this connection to characters is magnified over seasons and over the life of a series. How else do you explain the endless comments on character blogs, characters' facebook pages, message boards and more?

Programs designed to entertain, with some education woven in, are turning out to be extremely valuable tools to help improve social problems. But take away their entertainment value and you may also be taking away their educational value.

What do you think? Do you identify with a character on TV? Has anything on TV ever made you think twice about your own behavior?

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