Nearly 9 in 10 American parents are worried that their children are heavily exposed to inappropriate content in entertainment media, reported a Kaiser Family Foundation survey.
Around 63 percent of parents are “very concerned,” and 89 percent of parents are “concerned,” that children are exposed to too much inappropriate content in the entertainment media. The biggest concern relates to sexual content according to 60 percent of parents.
The survey, released last week as the “Parents, Media and Public Policy” report, "accurately reflects parents’ deep concerns about how popular media affect their children,” said Focus on the Family’s Linda Klepacki, manager of the abstinence policy department.
“This survey, coupled with the recent study published in the journal Pediatrics—which found a likely causal link between kids watching sex on TV and early sexual initiation—ought to be a wake-up call to entertainment executives,” Klepacki explained.
While most parents agreed TV rating systems were useful in determining which shows to allow their children to watch, sixty-percent of them believed that ratings most or some of the time did not accurately reflect the shows’ content.
Eighty-three percent agreed that sexual and violent content on TV contributes to children’s behaviors and 63 percent of the parents favor policies to regulate the amount of sex and violence on TV.
“It seems parents already know intuitively what the Pediatrics study confirmed: Kids’ viewing habits affect their behavior,” Klepacki said.
Monitoring the entertainment content children are exposed to maybe difficult for parents given that 99 percent of homes have at least one TV, 81 percent have cable or satellite, 73 percent have Internet access and 63 percent have a video game player, reported the survey.
Klepacki observed that “Families want access to the latest technology, for entertainment and education,” but “don’t want their homes infiltrated with the garbage the entertainment industry seems intent on marketing to their children.”
