A normal person would think that people who routinely watched the sex-crazed Guidos of Jersey Shore make complete asses of themselves while liquored up would not want to replicate that kind of embarrassing behavior.
But no, because America is YOLO now and like hell Ronnie and Vinne are gonna do Jagerbombs and get laid and I’m gonna stay in and watch TV and not fuck bitches. And if JWOWW can sleep with Roger two days after meeting him that means I ain’t no slut if I fuck Eric tonight.
At least, that’s the claim being made in a new study published by Media Psychology. The title of the work is as indecipherable as The Situation’s sexuality: Sex on the Shore: Wishful Identification and Parasocial Relationships as Mediators in the Relationship Between Jersey Shore Exposure and Emerging Adults’ Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors.
WUT? Well, deciphered, the study wanted to see if people identified with Jersey Shore characters and, in turn, acted like them. The answer is yes. People who watched it were more likely to feel that engaging in sexual behaviors was more socially acceptable than people who didn’t watch the show. Because, you know, Pauly D gets down. Here’s the money quote from the survey.
Survey data from Study 2 revealed that exposure to the sex-laden Jersey Shore was related to permissive sexual attitudes among emerging adults. Wishfully identifying with Jersey Shore personalities mediated the relationship between Jersey Shore exposure and permissive sexual attitudes, as did viewers’ perceptions that Jersey Shore personalities are friends.
Humanity. Still dumb as ever.