Viewers Perceptions of On-Air Cursing Essay

Numerous studies have concluded that the content and amount of television programming watched by individuals – especially by children - has a direct result on the behavior of that individual. The behavior affected by television viewing can be anything from a desire for a certain food or material good to violent distemper (Zuckerman 1985.) Recently, more and more woman have given up their traditional role of raising their children opting instead to work during the day and leave their children to take care of themselves. Unfortunately, many children find that spending countless hours in front of the television to be a worthwhile way to entertain themselves. Most parents tell their children never to talk to strangers, but what they fail to realize is that every day their children are subject to the messages and ideas of strangers on the television. In fact, a study concluded that an average American by the age of 18 has spent more time watching television than they have spent in school; this study also went on the state that children spend more time watching television than any other activity besides sleeping. This may explain why an additional study revealed that if a child was told something by his or her parents and then viewed on television something that contradicted what the parents had said, four times out of five the child opted to believe the

The average American child watches 20 hours of television per week, that is 5,000 hours before first grade. Most children between the ages of 3-6 years old can even turn on the television and start a DVD by themselves. I am guilty of allowing my children more TV time then they should have, but I guess that is because I enjoy watching it myself. There are many hidden messages in children’s shows that I was oblivious to until now. For instance, in the show “Rugrats” Charlotte Pickles, Angelica’s mom never had time for her, always on the phone and working. Ethnic stereotyping is another message sent in Speedy Gonzalez’s cousin Slow Poke Rodriguez which is lazy, slow, and dim witted. Morality is also affected by these shows. Most every little boy

Ratings increase budget, etc. However, there must be more consideration for the impact it is creating in society. Parents Television Counsel (PTC) is a non-partisan organization that advocates responsible entertainment. Their mission statement is, “To protect children and families from graphic sex, violence and profanity in the media, because of their proven long-term harmful effects” (PTC, 2015). This is the kind of organization I align myself with personally and professionally by petition support, tracking ads and TV programs and offering

Within our society today, media plays a huge role in everyone’s life - an important role. Media offers entertainment, news, information, and education; however, with these benefits come negatives as well. For example, foul language, drug abuse, and sexual content may be presented to an unsuitable audience, specifically children. It’s easy to see sexual content on tv, hear foul language in songs on the radio, or even hear about the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Children are especially good at mimicking what they see and are easily influenced. So, with all this content being shown openly with no censorship, children think this is a social norm, as well as spending long periods of time watching TV, playing video games, and using the internet. Modern technology has transformed the way children learn and interact within their environment, it is having a negative effect on them in this younger generation with all the easy access to all genera’s of media material for long periods of time.

Over the past two decades, hundreds of studies have examined how violent programming on TV affects children and young people. While a direct "cause and effect" link is difficult to establish, there is a growing consensus that some children may be vulnerable to violent images and messages.

Kids In Mind, a ratings analysis service, uses 3 main categories to rate movies. Sex/nudity, violence, and profanity are each graded on a 10 point scale. This helps viewers make an informed decision about the content they will be exposed to. The hypothesis is that R-rated movies will have higher occurrences of content in these categories than the PG-13-rated movies. This sample includes 42 movies, most of which were released in 2011. Half were given a rating of PG-13 and the other half were rated R. Below is the statistical summary from the data that was collected.

Television has increasingly become the quintessential epicenter of communication, since its invention, in 1927. At any moment in time 2.5 billion people are viewing some form of television broadcast (Ballard). Modern society has introduced various categories of television. These variations range from educational to violent. This broad spectrum makes it hard to generalize the effects it has had on American youth; however, television seems to have increased moral and intellectual degradation. Through violent shows and monotonous news broadcasts, American youths have become desensitized to the poverties, and hardships of the world. This desensitization has had several, and moreover negative, moral impacts on the youths of America. Nevertheless,

The vulgar content in media desensitizes people by creating a culture in which people imitate the destructive behaviors they observe. The norms that is

The increasing amount of violence, foul language and sexuality available to children on TV is harmful to their development. What was once a time for children to watch TV with content suitable for their age is now directed for an older audience, Family Hour. Statistics show that this is the time most children are watching television with their family members. Despite knowing this, “Since 2000-2001, the amount of sexual content during the Family Hour has increased by 22.1%” (Parents Television Council 55). A poll done later in March of 2007 asked the general public if they thought there was too much sexual content on television. 79% of those that participated in the poll stated that there was too much.

The use of profanity and of deliberate substitutes for profanity on television does not reinforce family values. In fact, it does the opposite by undermining the lesson about not using vulgar language in most families. Families should have the right to determine what kinds of behavior and what kinds of language are appropriate but television can compete with any family values in that regard. By presenting foul language as acceptable for general use, television programs become arbiters of behavior by influencing the culture outside the

Offensive language is a part of television that has increased dramatically over the past decades. Public television shows such as Family Guy, Southpark, The Office, Tosh.0 and countless others are riddled with offensive jokes that target nearly every group of people on the planet. With so much offensive language it is hard not to question whether or not this is completely changing how offensive media is perceived outside of the media. These shows have jokes that use negative stereotypes on almost all races. Often times they ridicule minority groups, by portraying them with this negative stereotypes. This research proposal is very important because with the extremely high popularity of some of these shows with offensive language, and how public they are, it could be affecting the younger generation into believing that this is acceptable. We know that this could be a problem because of theories in media such as the Cultivation Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Perceived Reality.

Today’s society is heavily influenced by television. The violence disrupts a child’s learning process and can alter the moral beliefs that an older person has. Children view more violence on Saturday mornings than any other time. The cartoons aimed at little children influence youngsters to mimic violent acts because their parents do not fully explain the effects of the stunts. It is pathetic that in such a technology based society, such a simple thing as television can have a negative effect on people.

In a study by Iman Sharif and James D. Sargent, 4508 students participated to find out whether or not certain television content affected the grades of young children. In many analyses they found that,

Television is a big part of today’s society. Everybody watches television, including the children. There is a potential problem with letting children watch television. Ask this question, would someone let their own child watch some of the programming that they watch, too? Some of these programs are intended for the adult generation, not young children. Violence has a major role in television these days. Letting children watch this violence could corrupt their minds and eventually lead to bad behavior. There needs to be a limitation on the types of television programming that parents let their children watch, because violence in television can negatively affect children.

"Impact of media use on children and youth” explores the good and bad effects that media can have on a young child’s development both mentally and physically. In the beginning of the article, they provided examples of how watching television can expose young children to violence, sexuality, and offensive language. The author made an interesting point that connected an increase in violent behaviors with children who watch violent