Exposure to The World

I’ve missed blogging. I wasn’t in any reach of superb inspiration until it hit me right in the face this morning while watching a few episodes of Glee Season 2.

Watching TV.

Teenagers, like me, actually have access to the media. We’ve got the Internet, television, film. Whether parents or guardians realize it or not, we are exposed to what we stumble upon while surfing the Web, or switching from channel to channel. We are able to catch and get information from the media without us really expecting to. And who brought in the Wi-Fi in the house? Our parents, or someone older than us, of course. They don’t want us to learn about things or get into other people’s cultures. But who stopped us from watching our favorite TV shows?

Yesterday, I and Caleb* somehow leaped into a conversation about rallies. And homosexuality. I had told him that one day I’d like to join at least one rally for the rights of people – gay people. Caleb shook his head at the idea. He said that “homosexual people are abominations. They aren’t accepted by society because God created Adam and Eve. Not Adam and Eve and gay.” I’m completely heterosexual, but hearing this from Caleb hurt. Are we even Christians anymore? Who still goes to Church among us? Who?

But let’s go back to the real subject here. This morning, I encountered Caleb again while focusing on the TV in front of me. He was watching a few scenes of an episode from Glee Season 2 with me while he was having a mad conversation on the phone with someone. I was aware that he had seen Brittany carrying Artie to a bed, and Karofsky forcefully kissing Kurt. The first thing he said as he ended the convo and put down the phone was something like this: “I don’t like you watching that show. That’s American culture. That show showcases sex, and gay....” I confess I wasn’t paying too much attention to what he was saying, but some short sentences like the ones previously said stuck to me.

Culture does get passed on. I’m not American, and I know little about American culture. But this isn’t about anyone’s culture. This is about a TV show showing their viewers about sex and homosexuality. TV shows aren’t the only things in media that expose these “mature content” to young people. This kind of media is everywhere: the mall, the local playground, the neighborhood, and even school. There are songs about sex. Other teens even joke about sex. Gay people are coming out anywhere. And how can you prevent your teenager from hearing or seeing these?

Sometimes, your kid knows more than you think they do.

* Caleb is a pseudonym.