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Kaiser Survey Reveals Parents Concerned About TV Sex and Violence 9/29/2004 Vast majority believe that sexual and violent content on TV contributes to children’s behaviors.
The Kaiser Family Foundation on September 23 released the results of a survey of 1,001 parents of children ages 2 -17. Conducted in July and August 2004, the survey is called Parents, Media and Public Policy, and it confirms—not surprisingly—that most parents are concerned about their children’s exposure to media content.
According to the survey, 89 percent of parents are “concerned about children’s exposure to ‘inappropriate’ content in entertainment media, especially on TV,” with 63 percent of them “very concerned” about such exposure.
Coupled with the results of a study released on September 7, 2004, by the Rand Corporation, parents are right to be concerned. The Rand study of 1,792 children between the ages of 12-17 found: “Adolescents who watch large amounts of television containing sexual content are twice as likely to begin engaging in sexual intercourse in the following year as their peers who watch little such TV.”
In the Kaiser study, 60 percent of parents said they are “very concerned” about sexual content, 53 percent are “very concerned” about violent content, and 49 percent are “very concerned” about adult language. More than half of the parents expressed the belief that “sexual and violent content on TV contributes to children’s behaviors, including a substantial proportion of parents who believe TV contributes ‘a lot.’”
Violence in the news also concerns parents. About a third say they have been “very concerned” about their children’s exposure to “graphic” news stories from the war in Iraq, and another 30 percent say they have been “somewhat” concerned.
Half of the parents indicated that they have used the TV ratings, with 24 percent of those saying “they use them often to help guide their children’s television choices.” Seventy-eight percent indicated that they have at some time used the movie ratings; 54 percent have used “music advisories” and 52 percent have used video game ratings. The “proportion who say they find the ratings ‘very’ useful has dropped by 10 percent since 2001 (from 48 percent to 38 percent), and is lower than for any of the other media ratings or advisory systems asked about in the survey.”
Although half of the parents have used the TV ratings, only half of them think TV programs are rated accurately for content. The survey found that “many parents are unfamiliar with the ratings used in the TV ratings system.” While “a majority could define the age-based ratings,” “TV-PG” (66 percent, parental guidance suggested, may be inappropriate for younger children), “TV-14” (56 percent, for children 14 or older), and “TV-MA” (54 percent, mature audience), fewer parents could define the content-based ratings, “V” (51 percent, violence), “L” (40 percent, language), “S” (37 percent, sex) and “D” (suggestive or sexual dialogue; 2 percent thought “D” referenced drug use).
Kaiser found that although “parents seem more familiar with the age-based portion of the ratings, those who have used them are twice as likely to say the content-based ratings provide more useful information (56 percent) than age-based ones (28 percent).” One wonders how parents who understand less about what the content-based ratings mean could find that they provide more useful information than the age-based ratings.
Among those who have a TV with a “V-Chip,” which enables viewers to block certain programs based on TV ratings, 58 percent indicated that they haven’t used it. Two-thirds of those surveyed say they “favor new regulations to limit the amount of sex and violence in TV shows during the early evening hours, when children are most likely watching, while 35 percent oppose them.” About 52 percent of parents say cable TV “should be subject to the same standards, and 43 percent say “it should not.”
So what’s an underlying lesson of the Kaiser survey? In this writer’s opinion, it is increased parental involvement. V-Chips and ratings may be helpful, but they are no substitute for parents seated next to their child with a remote in hand. Better yet, there’s no substitute for reading a good book, playing games and listening to good music with children.
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