In today's television age, where a television can be found in nearly every household, the influence of media on popular culture and children is substantial. As a result, it can be more difficult for parents to regulate what their children see on television, and what they pick up from what they see as well. While the TV Parental Guidelines established for television viewing are a step in the right direction, more must be done to give parents better control over their children's viewing habits. The television ratings system should be reevaluated, given the possibility that differently aged viewers are more impressionable and more susceptible to media influences.
The prevalence of media is quite heavy in households and families throughout Canada. Canadians watch up to 30 hours a week in front of the T V (Oliviera, 2013). Children typically will spend 16 to 17 hours every week in front of the television even as young as two years old (Strasburger and Donnerstein, 1999). Given that remarkable hold on the free time of children, it stands to reason that the contents of media and television would impact their attitudes and behaviour. Studies have created a strong correlation between children's behaviour and the influence of media. Television viewing habits have been linked to children's behaviour, particularly negative behaviour like antisocial or aggressive actions; these attributes are heightened after having watched violent television (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis, p. 703).
The "extraordinary appeal of screen media" is something that should be taken very seriously when considering the importance of a TV ratings system. Children will not spend less time in outdoor activities in lieu of watching television, but there are very dangerous habits set up in households that contribute to increased television use. These factors include constantly powered televisions, and no rules about television viewing. For many children, given the amount of time they spend in front of the television, the content contained within can be their major source of social behaviour, as well as the inspiration for many social cues. While many of these links between behaviour and violence are small, they are still significant and correlative; this leaves little doubt that there is at least some influence on children by the media.
There are even indicators that, depending on age group, certain children are much more susceptible to receiving influences from media than others. Children ages 8 to 10 experience the greatest amount of social influence from television; younger children are often unable to contextualize many images they see in media, and older children have somewhat greater resistance to these influences, due to the fact that their personalities are somewhat more fully formed. This leaves the position of media violence important from a public health standpoint; violent imagery is thought to have a short-term effect on emotions, thoughts, and arousal, making aggressive behaviour more likely (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis, 2005).
There are those who say that the connection between media content and children's influence is negligible, if not nonexistent. Some studies have shown little to no relevance to the viewing of violent media in the behavioural attitudes of children; there are often other factors that contribute to the prevalence of violence or sexual acts in adolescents and children. Examples include home and school environment, genetic predisposition, peer pressure, and others. As such, it would be a foolish, ineffective measure to change the TV ratings system, as the consequences of a failed ratings system are small at best.
Despite the uncertain nature of media influence on children, it is still important for parents to be allowed an effective means of regulating their children's exposure to media. Anderson et al. (2003) point out that exposure to media violence can increase the odds of a child exhibiting aggressive behaviour from 50/50 to 60/40 in some cases; there is a 4% variation in aggressive behaviour between those who do not watch media violence and those who do (p. 70). Also, there is a substantial correlation between children with already-aggressive behaviour being particularly receptive to violent images in the media that they watch (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis, 2005).Therefore, while there are other factors that contribute to violent behaviour in children, this does not mean that the influence of media should not be discounted.
In conclusion, the reevaluation of the ratings system to more accurately reflect the content of the program can prevent impressionable, younger children from being influenced by more adult content on television. Studies have shown that, while the correlation between television viewing and violent behaviour is small, it is enough to provide a strong link, one which can be minimized through adequate exposure to appropriate television programs. While the TV Parental Guidelines can help to guide parents on the content contained within these television programs, there are substantial flaws in the system that leave many programs inadequately rated. As a result, the current system must be revamped to include more content-specific information to inform parents as to their choices, or a wholly new system must be created to facilitate this change. If this is done, parents will at least be able to have as much data as possible when making their choices regarding television programs to permit their children to watch.
Works Cited
Anderson, Craig A, Leonard Berkowitz, Edward Donnerstein, and L. Rowell Huesmann. "The Influence of Media Violence on Youth." Psychological Science in the Public Interest 1 (2003): 1-70. Print.
Browne, Kevin D, and Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis. "The influence of violent media on children and adolescents: a public-health approach." Lancet 365 (2005): 702-710. Print.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. "Parents Do Not Find New Television Ratings System Helpful, Study Says." Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News 25 Sept. 1998: 1. Print.
Oliviera, Michael. “Canadians watch 30 hours of TV but for many web dominates free time.” The Star, Apr. 26, 2013. Web. <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/060331/dq060331b-eng.htm>.
Strasburger, Victor C, and Edward Donnerstein. "Children, Adolescents, and the Media: Issues and Solutions." Pediatrics 103.1 (1999): 129-139. Print.
