Champions: Seize the Moment
In April, prior to our annual #TalkingIsPower campaign, we conducted two surveys to learn more about how this pandemic is affecting adults' time with the young people in their lives, specifically when it comes to conversations about sex, love, relationships, and birth control. With many parents doubling as teachers, parents are spending more time with their children in this unprecedented time. The first survey we conducted was through Ask Your Target Market, an online market research firm. We surveyed 250 US adults between age 18 and 34. The second survey was a national telephone survey conducted among more than 500 men and women age 18 and older.
We found that the majority of adults (57%) agree that sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic has provided increased opportunites for conversations with the young people in their lives about sex, love, relationships, and ultimately birth control. In addition, 90% of adults agree that such conversations positively influence youth to make informed decisions about these critical issues.
In addition to math, English, and social studies, sex education is a vital subject, but many parents might be hesitant to start these sometimes-awkward conversations. We’re here to help you seize this moment with guides, videos, and conversation starters and tips. Starting these conversations gives your young person the resources to have the power to decide their futures and give you the opportunity to connect and build a foundation for open, honest, and safe conversations.
In our second survey, more than two-thirds of adults said that, as teens, they had someone to talk with about these topics. Among those who had someone to talk to, 60% reported talking to parents, 58% to a friend, 35% to a significant other, and 23% to a sibling. Parents today continue to be a huge influence in young people's lives when it comes to their decisions about sex, love, and relationships. In a 2016 survey conducted by Power to Decide, 52% of teens age 12-15 said that parents most influence their decisions about sex.
Sparking these conversations is as easy as watching a show or movie with the young person in your life. We recommend that you talk about what’s going on between characters in the show, discuss what healthy relationships look like, ask what your young person believes love is, and other questions relevant to the media you're watching or what's happening around you. In a previous survey commissioned by Power to Decide, 61% of teen girls (age 13-16) said that their parents spoke about the relationships, love, and sex that they have seen on televisions shows that they both watch.
And, what a better time than to start a new binge-worthy television show than right now! Not too sure what to watch? Check out some shows here.
Champions have a huge impact on a young person’s decisions. A champion can be a friend, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister, grandparents, teacher – anyone that is willing to have these important conversations with the young person in their life, is a champion.
As #TalkingIsPower month comes to an end, we want to encourage all champions to continue to have these conversations not just this month, but year-round. Open and honest conversations between the young person in your life is the goal. Let’s talk!
