With all of these images in the media, do they have an effect on children and teens?

Some parents and experts say children can pick up on sexual or aggressive themes in the media — particularly in advertising — and this can influence their attitudes and behaviors.

Girls who receive the message through the media that sex is a normal part of teen interaction will think it’s OK for them, too, said Elayne Rapping, a pop-culture expert at the University at Buffalo.

“These girls, and it’s a natural part of growing up, they look to celebrities — they don’t look to their parents — in terms of what’s appropriate,” Rapping said.

A Rand Corp. study of teens found that heavy viewers of sexual content were twice as likely to initiate sex over the next year as those who saw the least sexual content.

Jake Winnie, who is 16, plays video games, but not obsessively, and he isn’t a big fan of the “Grand Theft Auto” series.

He said he thinks “GTA” can be worse than other violent video games because the violence is set in a real city, as opposed to a fantasy world where players try to kill alien creatures.

“I have a couple friends who are weird about [Grand Theft Auto]. They get too into it, and that’s all they talk about,” said the Clarence High sophomore.

No research links videogame violence to real-life violence, said Cheryl K. Olson, codirector of the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“An otherwise good kid is not going to become a thug — they’re not going to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do — if they’re playing a violent video game for a moderate amount of time,” said Olson, also co-author of the book “Grand Theft Childhood.”

However, other experts said exposure to this violence over time can be desensitizing.

“I think fantasy and reality get blurred when they play these games over and over,” said Kenneth Condrell, a Williamsville child psychologist.

Critics of what’s offered in the media say broadcasters, retailers, video-game makers and even the government all have more of a role to play to limit kids’ exposure to bad content.

Assigning a greater role to the Federal Communications Commission in overseeing the content on broadcast television could lead to censorship, said Jim Dyke, executive director of TV Watch, which was founded by three of the TV networks.

However, some advocacy groups say the FCC — which has jurisdiction over the broadcast networks — could do more to crack down on raunchiness and violence on the airwaves.

But in the end, advocates say, parents can’t rely on anyone else to completely protect their children from the most graphic violence and sexuality.

Cynthia and Jonathan Winnie recognize that they’re probably stricter with their three children — Jake, 16; Julia, 13; and Crystal, 5 — than a lot of other parents.

The Winnies have one TV that the kids can watch, in a central downstairs room, and if all three are there, they have to watch something that’s suitable for everyone.

They also only have one computer, and it’s also in a central location downstairs.

The Winnies say it’s important that they keep tabs on their kids’ media intake, but it is a struggle.

“I’ve got so many things to do on a daily basis, and now I’ve got to be a media policeman, too?” Jonathan Winnie said.