Sex and Violence on Television

Sex and Violence on Television

Violence and Sex on Television

Ibid statistics show that 54% of kids today have a television in their bedroom. 66% of children, aged 10 to 16, surveyed that their peers are influenced by television shows. According to Eron, Leonard, former Senior Research Scientist at the University of Michigan, television is responsible for 10% of youth violence. A special report was issued by the Parents Television Council (2000). The report compared sex on television, language and violence from 1989 to 1999. The report showed a steady decline in broadcast television. This paper will discuss economic outcomes, legal ramifications and requirements, personal virtue and other related topics surrounding violence and sex on television. Another special report was produced by the Parents Television Council (2007), which concludes that medical and social science studies have been able to prove conclusively that children are adversely affected by exposure to violence on television.

Violence and Sex on Television

According to that same 2007 report, as well as various other reports and research studies, violence on television affects children negatively. The three major affects that are seen in these research studies conclude that children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, they may become more fearful of the world around them and they may be more likely to behave aggressively towards others. Imitation is the biggest economic outcome of violence on television. Also, according to the 2007 special report, between 1998 and 2006, violence during the 8:00 P.M. time slot has increased by 45%, it has increased by 92% during the 9:00 P.M. time slot and it has increased 167% during the 10:00 P.M. time slot. According to a research paper entitled "Children and Television Violence" (Scaflik 2004), the average American child will watch approximately 100,000 acts of violence on television, including 8,000 depictions of murder, by the time the child finishes the sixth grade. In this current economy, parents are often working long hours and children are left to their own devices. Information from the Museum of Broadcast Communications shows that children tend to watch different television shows when their parents are around than when they are alone.

Cigarette warnings are printed on each pack of cigarettes and some experts suggest that such warnings should be printed in bold, black letters on the side of every television set (Abelard, 2008),. The United States Government will never do this, so instead; parents must work with their children and use parental control on satellite and cable television systems, as well as on Internet and home computers to prevent their children from watching violent television shows and movies. According to Moran (2007), APA and AACAP were among several sources that provided information to the Federal Communications Commission on whether or not exposure to violence affects children. The findings of these results concluded that consumer understanding of technology and voluntary rating systems are not effective enough in protecting children from the violence on television. The FCC listed several recommendations in their report including that the television industry could commit itself to reducing the amount of excessively violent programming viewed by children, broadcasters could utilize one hour at the beginning of family time where they do not play violent shows, and multi-channel video programming providers could provide consumers with better choices for purchasing their programming so that parents can avoid violent television shows if they chose to. The rating system for television is not the law. In fact, it is strictly voluntary. It is sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of the National Association of Theatre Owners in an attempt to provide parents with some advance information on films. It hopefully enables parents to make judgments about movies and television shows that they may not want their children to view.

According to Cantor (1996), a parent must make the determination regarding whether or not their child or teenager should watch something on television. Some parents allow their children to watch whatever they want and do not censor what they watch in anyway, others pay close attention to what their children are watching or make the determination to allow their children to make a smart decision. Cantor's research (1996) concludes that parents should now allow their children to watch sex and violence on television until they are older and even then, they should censor what the children watch, making sure to pay attention to where their children are and what they have access to when parents are not at home.

According to the Sex, Violence, and Profanity in the Media Fact Sheet (parentstv.org), parents say that they are deeply concerned about what their children are watching on television. 60% of parents say that they are concerned about their children watching sexual acts on television and 53% claim that they are more concerned about their children being exposed to violence on television. According to the American Psychiatric Association, exposure to media portrayals of violence increases aggressive behavior in children. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation in a 2004 study, 52% of all parents agree that television shows are rated correctly, but 39% say that they are not. Whether or not a parent allows their child to witness sex and violence on television is up to the discretion of the parents. Sex and violence may not affect each and every child the same, but parents should still pay close attention to what their children are watching and make every effort to teach their children the difference between reality and things that are not real or portrayed as real on television. Eventually, kids will witness parts of television that their parents do not want them to see and it is important that these children are prepared for it and know the difference between reality and acting.

Utilitarianism beliefs state that when one is faced with a decision or a choice, that individual should first consider the likely consequences of potential actions and that one should choose to do what will provide the most pleasure. That being said, someone utilizing those beliefs may easily believe that violence and sex in television does not have a negative effect on people today and if it makes someone happy to witness it, the individual should watch it, regardless of how much violence or sex is involved or what the consequences may be later. Benefits to this are avoidance of oppression and most obviously, getting to do what one wants. But according to Szaflik (2004), violence on television can influence people to commit crimes. One of the questions Szaflik asks in his research paper is whether or not all violent acts on television that are viewed by children cause that child to commit crimes later on in their life? He also questions whether or not the affects of watching television violence is brief or long-lasting.

Scaflik also points out that television is being blamed for children becoming violent in life later, using television as a scapegoat, of sorts. Furthermore, Scaflik explains that children, who witness violence on television repeatedly, view the violence as realistic and see that this violence may be repeated and go frequently unpunished. Finally, Scaflik points out that this is not the only source for aggressive and violent behavior, but it is still a significant contributor.

Television and movie ratings are voluntary, are not legal and may not be completely accurate. Most television and movie producers follow the guidelines and most theaters uphold and enforce these rules and guidelines. Parents have the ability to make the choice for PG13 movies and parents also can choose to have control over what their child or teen watches at home.

According to Scaflik (2004), television bashing is too easy and not always called for, but most children are found to be watching too much television. Statistics show that in the United States, children are watching at least three to four hours of children a day. Many television shows and cartoons portray violence quite unrealistically without consequences or punishments (Scaflik 2004). Scaflik also cites Ed Donnerstein as making the statement that showing a young child someone who is run over and then the individual simply pops back up and runs away without any harm, it can cause a problem. Ed Donnerstein is the communications and psychology professor of the University of California at Santa Barbara. In the above statement, Donnerstein is mainly referring to cartoons.

Most times, violence is used to promote and hook viewers (Scaflik 2004). In his essay entitled, "Violence on TV: The Desensitizing of America," Scaflik makes some valid points regarding violence and the individuals witnessing this violence on TV. Scaflik explains that viewers first see violence in promos, which are targeted at promoting and encouraging the viewer to not only watch the entire announcement, but what the program advertises. Viewers later tune into the advertised program and see some amount of violence in the beginning of the show during a preview of the show's attractions. The violent scenes in the show will often times be interrupted just before the violent act takes place in order to ensure that the viewer "stays tuned" to watch more. Scaflik makes the claim that these types of tactics from networks mean that the network believe that violence is what attracts viewers the most.

Finally, shows such as Law and Order and Dark Shadows manage to show minimal amounts of violence and in inappropriate context, while they ultimately showcase the violence in a de-contextualized manner in the promos (Scaflik 2004). Scaflik points out that this is a serious problem for many different reasons, including the fact that viewers will get the wrong impression from the show and that viewers may also believe that there is a great deal of action and then will later be disappointed when only two or three minimally violent scenes are shown throughout the film or show.

The other problem is that violent promos are often times run during showtimes targeted towards children. Sometimes shows that have absolutely no violence in them at all will use violence in promos to attract viewership (Scaflik 2004). Scaflik uses Dark Shadows as an example of this. The show aired in 1991 on NBC and the network focused primarily on the love interest between the two main characters, however, promos of the show suggested a certain amount of violence in the show. Viewership ultimately declined because these types of promos offended the viewers who wanted to see the violence (and didn't get to) and also the viewers who did not wish to see a violent show and thought that the show would have violence based on the previews (Scaflik 2004)