Too Hot for Teens?

The front page story in today's Cue section was about teen shows such as"The O.C." and "One Tree Hill". Are they too hot for teens? Yes, because they desensitize teens to inapporpriate sexual behavior as well as other risky and illegal behaviors. The suggestion for parents to watch the show with their older teens is a good one as it does provide the opportunity for dialogue. However, lets not put up Hollywood moguls for sainthood just yet. This is not to be ranked as TV public service in the face of a barage of public criticism about these shows. The parents are probably not overcoming the effect of the script material in any conversations.

Better alternatives would be some of the Lifetime Channel movies such as "She's Too Young" or last night's "Mom at 16". Both of these depict the consequences of living life as in these new teen hits. These films tear at the heart as the girl, her family and her "world" crumble under the weight of her sexual activity. "Mom at 16" repeats this Thursday and Saturday nights.