Does Watching Sexually-Oriented Reality Television Programming Increase the Frequency of Viewers’ Sexual Activity?

Indianapolis, IN

The purpose of this study is to describe the relationship between the amount of time spent watching sexually-oriented reality television programming and the frequency of viewers' sexual activity. The research question for this study is, "Does watching sexually-oriented reality television programming increase the frequency of viewers' sexual activity?" The participants for this study are approximately 200 college-aged students from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. Participants will take an anonymous questionnaire that asks them about their reality television watching habits (e.g. what kind of reality television they watch and approximately how many hours per week they spend watching reality television), how many times per week on average they engage in sexual activity of any kind, along with their age, gender, and ethnicity. This study adds to the more recent and growing body of literature exploring reality television and its effects on viewers' sexual behavior.