Increased control reducing content discontent

According to a new Kaiser Family Foundation report, parents are getting much better at controlling the media experience of their children, including broadcast and online material. However, they still think there is too much sex, violence and coarse language making it into the home. 65% closely monitor their children, compared to only 18% who feel they should take a more active role. And compared to a similar survey conducted in 1998, parental concern about what their children are exposed to has dropped significantly. 51% are currently concerned about inappropriate sexual content, compared to 67% before, with similar drops for violence (46% from 62%) and coarse language (41% from 59%).

The study suggests that parental comfort levels could easily be increased by stressing the V-chip and other blocking technology. Only 16% of all parents have used it, and 57% still are unaware that it even exists. But of those who do know about it, 46% have used it, and among the user group, 71% have found it to be "very" useful. The study shows that about half of all parents find ratings to be useful, but most do not understand the abbreviations used for TV programming.

About a third say they are very concerned about overexposure to advertising among the preteen set, and another 35% are somewhat concerned. About two-thirds of the parents surveyed would favor some government restriction on programming content during early evening hours.

SmartMedia observation: It is encouraging that most parents say they are taking an active role in monitoring their own children. We find it even more encouraging that there is a great deal of room for educational programs like the late Jack Valenti's TVBoss initiative to make a real impact. There are numerous paths to explore before going engaging in a fool's errand trying to regulate content in First Amendment territory.

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