From the Editors of Common Sense Media

February 15, 2007

Teen soap The O.C. ends this week (Feb. 22) due to a dwindling audience. But in its day, the show had a huge cultural influence on a generation of teens.

The O.C.

inherited a tradition begun by Beverly Hills, 90210 and continued with Party of Five and Dawson's Creek. The O.C. featured the high drama that's the stuff of teen life but did so by modeling risky behavior: drinking, drugging, fighting, and unprotected sex. When the show debuted, it pushed boundaries with storylines that included drug dealing, lesbian sex, teen alcoholism, and lots and lots of acting out (by incredibly skinny women in designer clothes). It soon spawned a mini-industry, including reality copycats like MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and Bravo's The Real Housewives of Orange County.

But in a sign of the times, it just may be that The O.C. pushed content so much that kids are now moving away from teen fare (with notable exceptions, including One Tree Hill and MTV shows like The Hills) to truly adult shows like 24, Grey's Anatomy,CSI, and Desperate Housewives. As indistinguishable as some of the shows' themes may seem, it's really important for parents to realize that the messages and portrayals of thematic material in adult shows is aimed at adults -- not kids. Scenes of torture, brutal killings, and frank sexuality aren't age appropriate for younger teens. If your kids are watching these shows, we suggest that, at the very least, you watch with them and take a look at these tips to help them moderate the messages they receive.

Tips for Teens Watching Adult TV

Watch with your kids. That way you can see first hand what they're seeing, and you can interject your values and cautions, or even turn the show off if it's really age inappropriate.

Talk about what you see. Sex with no birth control? Underage drinking? Children as the object of violence or sexual predation? Scenes of terrorism or torture? Help your kids understand the difference between the need for entertainment to create drama and tension and the real facts and likelihood of disasters. Take this opportunity to allay their fears or educate them about world events or personal health and safety. Sometimes it's easier to talk to teens about delicate matters when the focus is a TV show and not their own life. The fact is that studies show that kids who watch lots of heavy sexual content on TV tend to become sexually active earlier. This stuff has an impact.

For more tips and the entire article, please visit:  http://www.commonsensemedia.org/parent_tips/commonsense_view/index.php?id=205 .