For parents, the headline was ominous: “Study links TV, teen pregnancy.”

The article that appeared in The News Tribune Tuesday reported on a Rand Corp. study published in this month’s issue of Pediatrics magazine. Researchers say they found a link between higher teen pregnancy rates and watching television shows that have lots of sexual dialogue and behavior – ones like “Sex in the City, “That ‘70s Show” and “Friends.”

“Friends”?

The implication is that if teens watch such racy programming, they’re more likely to become sexually active themselves – and therefore more at risk of getting pregnant or impregnating someone else.

But couldn’t something else also be at work here?

Couldn’t teens who are more inclined toward sexual activity choose to watch shows with more sex in them? Perhaps parents who don’t exert much discipline over their children’s viewing habits are less likely to ask where their children are going on a Saturday night or what they’re doing after school before the parents get home from work.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that teens who watch racy TV shows will get ideas they otherwise might not have. But teens were getting “in trouble” long before television was around.

And how do the researchers explain the fact that teen pregnancy rates declined for 15 years until a slight rise in 2006 – a rise experts say could just be a statistical hiccup? During those 15 years, TV shows got more sexually charged, not less.

It’s far too simplistic to blame TV for teen pregnancy when so many factors in society are work. It’s probably safe to say that even if every TV in America suddenly stopped working, teenagers would still get pregnant.

The best thing parents can do to prevent teen pregnancy is to talk to their children about sex and be involved with their lives. That way TV programs and other forms of popular media won’t be the only ones giving kids messages about sex.