How do peers, parents, the media and other outside influences, play a part in sexual behavior? In today’s society we seem to lack the morals, values, and ethics that we once had when it comes to sexual behavior. There are more outside influences in regard to peers, the internet, television, and other influences than there ever has been before. With so many influences, today’s children need their parents to step up and be their parents in order to show them the right way to make decisions regarding morals, values, and ethics. Even though sexual behavior is a personal preference, morals, values, and ethics influence this behavior as well as peer pressure, parents and outside influences.
Morals, Values and Ethics
Morals, values and ethics all have different meanings, but when it comes to sexual behavior and the decisions a person will make, morals, values and ethics do not seem to play a part in this decision. “Dictionary.com defines values as: n: beliefs of a person or social group in which they have an emotional investment (either for or against something).”(Changing minds.org, n.d.) Another way to look at values is that values helps us go through life making decisions about what is right or wrong, good or bad and what we should or should not do. Morals go hand-in-hand with values. “Dictionary.com defines morals as n: motivation based on ideas of right or wrong.” (Changing minds.org, n.d.) Ethics roll right into both values and morals. Dictionary.com defines ethics as: a theory or a system of moral values.” (Changing minds.org, n.d.) Major shifts have happened when it comes to societal standards of right or wrong that now seem to guide our society. Due to more single-parent households, many children are being cared for by an older brother or sister, or they are just being left alone. With the lack of parental guidance regarding outside media, gone are the tender days of “Leave It To Beaver” from the fifties to what our children face today with more sexual...