Many television shows and movies aired today are full of violence and sex. The main reason why producers would do this is to attain more viewership. Sex and violence are critical aspects of the human society and thus reflect the true human nature. The most significant casualties of these obscene depictions on the television are usually the children. They end up picking the violent and sexual actions in the films and end up replicating them in real life. In a bid to avoid moral degradation, any video containing sex or violence should be restricted through censoring or banning.
Research conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics' identified that media violence is one of the main reasons for the real-life aggression. Children spend a lot of time watching television and thus have an immense amount of exposure to violence. Roberts (2013) noted that psychological research has also shown that exposure to violence might cause the children to be less sensitive to pain, become more fearful to their surrounding, and can also become harmful to others. One of the strategies that could be employed in a bid to reduce the exposure of violence especially to children is to urge the lawmakers to consider enacting regulations that would restrict airing of violent programs only during late night when most of the children are asleep.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
According to Roberts (2013), the authorities in-charge of content aired on television must equip the parents with technologies such as the V-chip that would allow blocking of any material that the parent deems sexually or violent in nature. Furthermore, research has shown that exposure of children and teenagers to sex on the television have adverse effects on their development. Teens would tend to initiate sexual intercourse immediately, and the content can also act as a catalyst in teen pregnancies. The research further noted that the obscene films could also have a toll on the morality of the children as some would want to express sexual acts in public and etc. (Roberts, 2013). The government should embark on stricter media regulations to ensure that sexually suggestive videos are of aired on television. Parkes et al . (2012) illustrated that all media organizations should be required to have an affiliate censoring department that defines the content and ensures that proper viewer discretion is provided before airing. Going against the provisions should amount to hefty punishments that ranged from fines to withdrawal of licensing.
It is important to note that according to the federal laws, the airing of obscene material is against the law. Some would argue that the First Amendment protects the televisions, but in the real sense, this is not the case. The Supreme Court outlined three considerations of an obscene content saying that it must depict offensive sexual content, show appeal to prurient interests, and also lack any artistic, literary, and scientific value. It is therefore incumbent upon the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to take legal steps against any TV company that airs sexual material (Parkes et al . 2012). Furthermore, program rating must be thoroughly done. Over the past, there has been immense laxity in rating where broadcasting companies have failed to inform the public on the nature of their content thoroughly. Policies must also touch on program rating and comprehensive viewer enlightenment regarding the program.
The recent school shootings in the country could be attributed to the violent nature of the television programs. Banning violent programs is not as easy as it would be for the obscene ones. It is here that the government and the relevant authorities must call upon the input of the parents who must monitor their children and control their exposure to these programs. The parents must act as the primary guardians that protect the children from these potentially immoral scenes.
References
Parkes, A., Wight, D., Hunt, K., Henderson, M., & Sargent, J. (2013). Are sexual media exposure, parental restrictions on media use and co-viewing TV and DVDs with parents and friends associated with teenagers' early sexual behavior? Journal of Adolescence , 36 (6), 1121-1133.
Roberts, D. F. (2013). Media content labeling systems: Informational advisories or judgmental restrictions? The V-chip Debate: Content Filtering From Television To the Internet , 157.
