Television and music videos are a major influence on teenagers. Even when we don’t count the time spent watching MTV, they still spend 2 – 4 hours a day on TV viewing. With such level of exposure, the content being viewed needs to be age appropriate. However, with no censorship, children and teenagers can be exposed to a great degree of violence and sexual content that may lead to desensitization of their mental and emotional health. This is the reason why I believe TV censorship is a modern day requirement.
There is some level of censorship prevalent for TV shows. However, these only provide ratings and do not edit content. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) “Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed”. Most households do not have any restrictions on what 7th to 12th graders view on TV.
Popular TV shows like Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City regularly include sexual content. Although targeted at a much older audience, these shows are also viewed by the youth. In times when teen pregnancies are on the rise, sexual content on TV encourages the trend.
Finally, there are shows like Dexter that airs on Showtime that glorifies and justifies the murders of a serial killer. Being exposed to such concepts and regularly viewing extreme violence desensitizes young minds and created confused ideas on what is ethically and socially acceptable behavior.
Any organization, no matter what its size, would need to have stringent verification processes to identify and rectify errors. The high level of errors in loan processing at Tom Jackson’s bank shows that not only are mistakes being made but they are not being detected till the last moment either. If this is the case, then bank will need to revisit its verification processes to identify loopholes that could be causing errors to go unchecked. It is also advisable that the bank employs the aid of an expert process consultant to ensure the bank’s processes are optimized to improve overall efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Those who stand against the censoring of television content cite the Freedom of Expression constitutional right as a justification. However, one should consider that along with every right given to a citizen, there is a corresponding duty. It is every citizen’s duty to exercise this right in a responsible and discrete manner.
The argument against television censorship is that the responsibility of monitoring teenage viewing lies with parents. Such statements merely pass on the accountability of TV producers to create conscientious shows by placing sole responsibility of restricting viewing to parents. I believe it is a joint duty, that both, producers as well as parents need to fulfill.
Works Cited
America Academy of Pediatrics. "Pediatrics - Media Violence." 2001. www.pediatrics.org. 24 April 2011 <http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/108/5/1222?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=media+violence&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT>.
Park, Alice. "Sex on TV Increases Teen Pregnancy Says Report." 3 November 2008. www.Time.com. 24 April 2011 <http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1855842,00.html>.
