The Kaiser Family Foundation has surveyed television programming and
determined that that there's lots more sex on TV than there used to be, and much of it's embedded in teen-focused
programming. According the report, 70 percent of TV includes some sexual content (with a sex scene occurring every 12
minutes, on average). Popular teen programming that contains sexual situations is even steamier, with a sex scene
occurring every 9 minutes. Pop quiz: how many sex scenes do most popular video games feature per hour?
(A quick aside here. Why do teens get more sex in their programming? A marketer would respond that if you want to shill products to horny teens, you need to be where their minds are. A biologist would note that it's because teens have shorter mental and physical refractory periods.)
We highlight this because it's important to understand the context of the cultural wars that now buffet the games industry and threaten our favorite hobby. Plus, it puts all the "Sex in Games? OH NOES!" alarums in perspective. With sex becoming more prevalent in our most popular form of media, is it any wonder that typically prudish Americans are pressuring politicians to enact silly laws that infringe on first-amendment rights? Stop scapegoating games!
