Have you ever noticed walking into a large shopping complex and seeing 6 year olds wearing midriff shirts and short skirts? And you wondered why today's young generations portray themselves that way and why their parents allow it. It all goes back to the strong impact that sexualization portrayed in media and marketing has on everyone in today's society, especially children, from newborns through to late adolescence, both girls and boys. They see it everywhere, from movies/TV shows, to magazines, to clothing, to computer games, to toys, to the music industry, and of course the Internet. "Children are influenced by the media: they learn by observing, imitating and adopting behaviors" (APA), 2001, p.1224). A girl as young as 4 sees Britney Spears' music clip "Baby One More Time", who at the time was a 17 year old girl/global pop icon wearing a school uniform that exposed her midriff, wearing a lots of makeup and a short skirt. Disney teen icons like Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana who take personal photos of herself in "sexy" poses and send them to her "older" boyfriend and then post it all on the Internet for all the world to see. Boys also face sexualization, as seen in Calvin Klein ads, where pubescent-looking boys pose provocatively with perfectly sculpted abs selling teen fashion. These pop culture celebrities, both male and female, are always in the media, for inappropriate actions and are thought to be role models for children. In fact, most of these sexualized celebrities are still children. The sad part is that it's not just the sexualization that is encouraged by the media, but also negative things like violence, drug and alcohol use... middle of paper... and they need to be protected from all the negativity in this world. As adults, we can protect children by decreasing the time they spend watching television and surfing the Internet and by being aware of what they see, hear and watch. The truth is that all the media is trying to do is "sell sex", but they have really gone too far. Works Cited Influence on Children's Media - History of Children's Media, General Considerations, Media Influence Studies, Domains of Influence, Recommendations http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2212/Media-Influence-on-Children .html#ixzz1PoYlQRnG Letting kids be kids - Independent review report into the commercialization and sexualisation of childhood {resource) Young Media Australia (YMA) - Also Fact Sheet on Sexy, Too Soon http://www.youngmedia.org .au/http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report.aspx