A study by an Italian sexologist has found that couples who have a TV set in their bedroom have sex half as often as those who don't.

"If there's no television in the bedroom, the frequency (of sexual intercourse) doubles," said Serenella Salomoni whose team of psychologists questioned 523 Italian couples to see what effect television had on their sex lives:

Impact Lab,
TV May Ruin Your Sex Life

On average, Italians who live without TV in the bedroom have sex twice a week, or eight times a month. This drops to an average of four times a month for those with a TV, the study found.

For the over-50s the effect is even more marked, with the average of seven couplings a month falling to just 1.5 times.

The study found certain programmes are far more likely to impede passion than others. Violent films will put a stop to sexual relations for half of all couples, while reality shows stem passion for a third of couples.

Well, now we have a solution to the poverty problem: have the government supply free TVs to poor people with a fully paid subscription to SHOWTIME Extreme and certain other violent channels, but please, no programs with sexual content.

However, for teenagers watching sex on TV, doing so Predicts Adolescent Initiation of Sexual Behavior. Ah, the young - they do everything the opposite of the old.

When I started watching TV (1951) there was "I Love Lucy" who you never saw in bed with Ricky and (1952) "Death Valley Days" where, if someone got shot, the gun went off in one scene and the victim fell over, bloodless, in another. In other words, there was no sex and violence on TV. Perhaps that is why it was the Golden Era for TV advertising:

APA Online,
16 Jun 2002,
TELEVISED SEX IMPAIRS MEMORY FOR TV ADS JUST LIKE VIOLENCE DOES, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY

In the first published study to examine the effect of televised sex on memory for commercial messages, researchers at Iowa State University have found that viewers of programs with sexually explicit or violent content were less likely to remember commercials immediately after exposure and even 24 hours later. The findings appear in the June issue of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal of Applied Psychology.

This reminds me of the emails I get of naked young girls (click for larger view but WARNING! NSFW) such as the following:

Photo Credit: AbbyWinters.com

and then I am asked to close my eyes and describe the waterfalls. What waterfalls?

Although viewers may not recall advertisements after watching sexy TV shows, it may still be true that Sex Sells when the sexuality is in the Advertisement itself; see my articles Breasts for a Cause and 13 Peta Poses.