Television on Moral Values Has Been Extensively

¶ … television on moral values has been extensively studied by social scientists. In 2007, a national cultural survey commissioned by the Culture and Media Institute (CMI) indicated that the news and entertainment media destructs the nation's values. A Gallup Poll on American's Confidence in Institutions (2007) confirmed some of these results. The CMI survey, reported that "74% of Americans believe the nation's moral values have declined over the past twenty years, and large majorities hold the media responsible for contributing to that decline" (Iyebote, 2007). It, further, observed that only 7% of those surveyed believed that the entertainment industry had a positive impact on values 73% believe that the moral impact is destructive, whilst 54% compared to 11% of Americans believe that the news portrayed by TV corrupts moral too (ibid.). Similarly, the National Cultural Survey affirmed that "large majorities of every significant demographic category of American adults believe the media are harming the nation's moral values." (Iyebote, 2007).

Whilst John Paul II condoned television for certain aspects (as we will see later), he also condemned its rampant portrayal of promiscuity and violence. What was once considered morally wrong is now considered tame, and frequent viewing of these scenes can, certainly, affect ideologies, thoughts, and action. More than one teen murder, for instance, has been definitely linked to television viewing (which, often, shows kids graphically how to employ weapons). On the other hand, Munro (1979) states that it is not TV depictions of violence that instigate the violence. Rather, already unbalanced people can, by viewing these portrayals, be encouraged to actualize their aggressive tendencies.

Others are, however, less certain about the extent to which television news effects morals, and ironically enough it was Pope John Paul II who, in his 1994 message on Communications Day, stated that television could serve as a positive value agent. Two of the major positive values that he saw from television were its ability to bring the family together, and its spectrum of educational offerings.

Television may positively affect moral values in other ways too. It may enlarge viewer's understanding and tolerance of others by exposing him or her to the diversity of cultural and global perspectives, whilst affording her an understanding and appreciation of those perspectives. Ultimately perhaps, much of it is contingent on the type of programs that one chooses to expose oneself too, the age that one is when one views these programs, the intensity of and frequency of television viewing, and how this television viewing interacts with other elements in one's life.

It is questionable whether television is a barometer of contemporary life, or whether television shapes that life. It could be that the truth is a synthesis of both. In the 1950s, for instance, television depicted the nuclear family as representing the model family. In the 1960s, single mothers were depicted as widowed, but never unmarried or divorced, as this was considered socially unacceptable. In the 1970s however, divorced characters became more frequent as were inclusions of minorities and the ideal family of the 1950s was seen as a miasma (Spiegel, n.d.). Nowadays, the spouse / partner, or wife has assumed inordinate power, whilst the male is seen as the "irresponsible" one.