The study examines the prosocial effects of Hum Log (We People), India's 1st long running television soap opera. Hum Log was a prosocial TV program that was designed to promote women's status in Indian society. Regression analysis was used to measure the degree to which exposure to Hum Log affected viewers' (1) awareness of certain prosocial beliefs promoted by the series, (2) level of TV dependency, (3) involvement with the characters of Hum Log, and (4) adherence to 3 prosocial beliefs promoted by Hum Log. Exposure to Hum Log was positively associated with viewer's awareness of the program's prosocial messages, TV dependency, and involvement with TV characters in the series. Viewers who were more exposed to Hum Log were also more likely to believe in women's equality and women's freedom of choice, but not in family planning. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of present and future research on the use of prosocial TV programs for development in Asia.

A large sample of entertainment television programs that aired on 28 channels in China in 2004 were analyzed for romantic and sexual content. Romantic scenes, typically portraying men and women already in committed relationships, appeared in 80 percent of the 196 programs analyzed. The analysis suggested that, according to Chinese television in the early part of the 21 Century, emotional love was more important than physical sexual interaction in romantic relationships. More than half of the 1,112 romantic scenes analyzed depicted love between the partners without any discussion or display of physical sexual behavior. Only eight percent of scenes included discussion or depiction of sexual behavior (e.g., touching, kissing, intercourse) without some sense that the partners were in a loving, committed relationship. Sexual intercourse was implied or depicted in fewer than two percent of the romantic scenes. Findings are discussed in light of the Chinese government's periodic regulation of sexually suggestive media content and attempts to filter Internet content. The extent to which such content may affect young viewers' perceptions of romantic relationships and sexual behavior is also discussed.