“Let's Get This Party Started!”: An Analysis of Health Risk Behavior on MTV Reality Television Shows

Abstract

Past research has examined portrayals of risk behavior in various media, including television, advertising, and film. To address an underexplored area, this study analyzed drinking, smoking, and sexual activities in MTV reality programming popular among adolescent viewers from 2004 to 2011. Cast members' demographic attributes were also examined in relation to their risk behaviors. Results demonstrated that drinking and casual sexual behaviors were pervasive among cast members. Smoking and more intense sexual behaviors were also present, but to a smaller degree. Men and young adult cast members were more likely to engage in risk behaviors than women and teenage cast members. Also, ethnic/racial minority characters were shown drinking more often than were White cast members. Interpretations of these findings are discussed based in social cognitive theory and the concept of super peers. Implications for future research are provided.

Do you see what I see? A character analysis of health risk behaviors in television shows popular with Black adolescents in the US

“…Although the overlap group only included 27 characters from four shows, it is consistent with research that shows popular television is more diverse compared to movies (Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg, 2016), and that there is crossover in that White audiences are watching content with primarily Black characters (Nielsen, 2017). Contrary to research on reality television (Flynn et al, 2015), representation of male and female characters was equivalent across all popularity lists.…”

“…There are some limitations to this study. First, we only considered scripted/narrative shows, and reality television programs are also popular among adolescent audiences (Patino, Kaltcheva, & Smith, 2011) and feature risky content as well (Flynn et al, 2015). Also, we chose to assess risky behavior and demographics of characters in the overall shows that appeared on both lists, but the small number of characters (n=27) was not ideal for group comparisons.…”

“…Flynn et al (2015) found that sexual activity, drinking, and smoking cigarettes were prominent among the 622 characters from their MTV reality programming sample (e.g., Jersey Shore) in their sample. They conducted an analysis of character demographics, differences in the performance of risk behaviors, and reported age and race differences for drinking (e.g., less drinking among adolescents than young adults, and White characters drank less than Black characters) as well as gender differences in sexual activity.…”

Alcohol, Sex, and Screens: Modeling Media Influence on Adolescent Alcohol and Sex Co-Occurrence

“…Content analyses of popular media such as movies and television demonstrate that these behaviors tend to cluster onscreen just as they often do in adolescent behavior (Bleakley, Romer, & Jamieson, 2014; Flynn, Morin, Park, & Stana, 2015). Despite the widespread popularity of social media, television and film content remain an important source of envrionmental influences.…”

Differences in the Portrayal of Health Risk Behaviors by Black and White Characters in Popular Films

“…Combinations of risk behaviors like this are common in media as well. A content analysis of reality television found that alcohol use was correlated with sexual behavior and tobacco use (Flynn, Morin, Park, & Stana, 2015). Another study found that more than three quarters of popular films involved a violent character engaging in at least one other risk behavior (Bleakley, Romer, & Jamieson, 2014).…”