The recent Rand study connecting the viewing of sexual content on television with increased rates of teen pregnancy has created quite a stir. Even though the Rand researchers did not lay blame, and indeed were careful to make appropriate qualifying statements, Monday-morning quarterbacks who haven't taken the time to read the study have in some cases been too quick to accuse them of one-sidedness. Perhaps any one-sidedness in the story was introduced on the part of those reporting it. Fortunately there are cooler heads amongst those who deal with this issue on a regular basis. One of these is Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Though I spoke to him on a Monday, there was no post-game quarterbacking involved. "The recent Rand study that came out about sexual content on TV was a very good study, one of the best that’s been done to date," Albert told me. Acknowledging that he had nevertheless been "fearful of the unintended consequences"—that would follow if people were to focus on TV at the expense of other factors, Albert pointed the way to the reason the Rand study is important for families to read: "TV actually grows in stature as other important influences in a teen’s life—for instance, parents—diminish," he said. "The negative aspects of media influence can be greatly mitigated by on-the-job parents." How do we make sure we're the on-the-job sort of parent? Albert gave some very sound, practical advice in this portion of the interview. More of our discussion will appear in the Spring issue of the journal Vision. | 
