A new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals how high school students are handling choices ranging from whether to use sunscreen or to have sex.

CDC officials say they are not sure why sexual activity rates are going up a little bit and condom use is going down after major gains in both categories in the 1990s.

The survey found that one in three high school students are sexually active. Sixty-one percent of those that are sexually active report condom use, which is a slight decrease from two years ago.

Advocates for more comprehensive sex education say teens today just aren't getting enough facts.

"Right now, the best estimate we have is that one-third of school districts in the country have an abstinence-only approach. And another one-third have a mixed bag — where there's some reference to condoms or birth control, but not a very comprehensive approach," says James Wagoner, president of Advocate for Youth. The remaining third get a comprehensive approach where abstinence and birth control hold equal sway. Wagoner says without accurate information on both, the risks that young people are taking may increase.

Much of the sex education doled out in the nation's schools is funded from the federal trough. The New American has reported previously about the high costs and unconstitutional involvement of the federal government in sex education. “Government funding always leads to government regulation, increasing the power and reach of government itself.”

Although the Bush administration has more than doubled grants for abstinence programs since 1999 to a proposed $191 million in next year's budget, this is dwarfed by the amount spent on safe-sex and contraceptives. In 2004, it was estimated that the federal government would spend around $12 on safe-sex and contraceptives for every $1 spent on abstinence programs. “This massive imbalance of funds, however, is a moot point considering that this form of unconstitutional spending has no place in the United States Congress,” wrote Mary Benoit for The New American.

Glenn Flores, a pediatrician and professor at the University of Texas Southwestern, says that evidence suggests that it makes good sense for parents to talk early and often to kids about sex.

"There are studies that document that when a teen reports that they can talk to their parent about sexual issues and have good communication, that they're less likely to be sexually active — and more likely to use condoms if they are sexually active," he says.

"Teens constantly face temptations in every part of their life," he says.

Television, film, video games, and music have an increasing impact on youth.

In early May, Glenn Beck spent a week exploring some of the kinds of bad entertainment targetted at young people. Players of the new version of the video game Grand Theft Auto, “can hire a prostitute, have sex with her and then beat her to death with a baseball bat. When a police officer comes after him, he can either light that police officer on fire or cut him in half with a chain saw.” Television is not much better. Programs on the CW network, for instance, often feature young people in sexually provocative situations.

With this kind of "entertainment," it’s no wonder that our youth face greater temptations. Parents have the ultimate responsibility for monitoring their children’s entertainment. Parents need to be involved and interested in their children’s activities so they can communicate and educate them about what is right and wrong.

In addition, parents also need to become advocates for good entertainment by making their viewpoints known to industry and government leaders.

Dr. John Fisher teaches communications and researches in the area of mass media and political decision making.