Effects of Exposure to Sexual Content in the Media on Adolescent Sexual Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Multitasking with Media

Abstract

Young audiences frequently combine media use (e.g., television viewing) with other activities (e.g., homework); this is referred to as multitasking. This research uses longitudinal data to examine the moderating role of multitasking by examining the effects of exposure to sexual content in the media on adolescents' sexual behavior. Consistent with the predictions based on the limited capacity approach, there was a significant multitasking by exposure interaction suggesting that multitasking reduces the impact of media. More specifically, the effect of exposure to sexual content in the media on sexual behavior was significantly greater among light multitaskers than among heavy multitaskers.