Adult at 14 season

"Adult at 14 season" was part of the 2003 autumn season on the UK television station Channel 4 which heavily indulges in human obsession. "Adult at 14" is a provocative insight into the lives of British teenagers. Entering the world of today's 14-year-olds, a place of extremes, of conflicting pressures and ever-changing boundaries.

Origin

Channel 4 set out to touch on the issues surrounding teenage life. Teenagers are surrounded every day by sexual images in the media, music and TV, and yet parents and professionals who work with young people are often reluctant to talk openly to them about issues such as puberty, sex, contraception or peer pressure. Young people are therefore often left to rely on friends for advice, which can result in risky behaviour and long-term consequences such as teenage pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections.”Although most opinions in this season support the age of consent remaining at sixteen in order to protect vulnerable young people from abuse, they campaigned for changes to the Sexual Offences Bill which, as it stands, will criminalise under 16s who engage in any form of consensual non-penetrative sexual activity.

Season

The season included a full-length Drama, documentary and several talk segments debating the issues facing teenagers.

*PleasurelandA vibrant and provocative feature-length drama focusing on a group of teenagers in Liverpool who can’t wait to grow up. "Pleasureland," tackles the incendiary subject of underage sex from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl who would rather get laid or get drunk than study.

*Sex before 16An hour long documentary about the age of consent entitled "Sex Before 16", How The Law Is Failing.

*14 AloneA group of ten 14-year old boys and girls spend five days and nights together in a house divested of the trappings of 'teendom': no TV, video games, mobile phones or CD players are allowed.

*Porn To Be YoungAlso known as "Kids on porn", a frank look at young people's attitudes to pornography and the role it plays in shaping their adolescent lives. The programme claims it will offer an insight into "this tender age when children are on the cusp of adulthood". Can adolescents distinguish between the fantasy world of pornography and the reality of sexual experience?

See also

* [http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/A/adultat14/index.shtml "Adult at 14"] at Channel4.com
* [http://www.backfreechurch.co.uk/Gazette/adult_at_14.htm A Church Opinion On Season]