TV getting too violent?

Apparently growing tired of their endless crusade of censorship of everything that’s fun about television, the FCC, headed by Chairman Kevin Martin have now decided to target television violence. The FCC is concerned about the impact television violence has on children and are proposing to regulate content.

I just might be biased here (I am!), but I don’t see a problem with violence on television. I don’t see a problem with sex and profanity on television either. It’s fine if the FCC classifies programs as unacceptable for children. I don’t mind certain kinds of shows being relegated to certain time slots – in this age of TiVo and internet TV, this is especially no longer relevant. For them to meddle with content very blatantly violates the first amendment. And besides, do you really want this guy deciding what you can and can’t watch?

People are concerned that violence on TV provokes violence in children, however studies have found that children are more likely to mimic positive behaviors than negative ones. In addition, Japan has far more violent imagery on television, yet they have a lower violence rate than the United States and even Canada. I think this is symptomatic of a bigger problem in our society. Parents are increasingly leaving their children under the watchful eye of the television, not knowing what they’re watching and how they’re being affected. Rather than spend time with their children; rather than engage them in activities that will keep them otherwise occupied; rather than limit what their children watch, parents expect the government to take care of raising their children for them.

Then, there’s the sticky issue of news. In this day and age, the news seems to be a constant orgy of explosions and violence. In theory, the news is supposed to convey information, regardless of what it is, and sometimes the truth is ugly. Is the FCC proposing to censor news content?

If this proposal goes through, who will decide what’s acceptable for consumption and what toes the “too violent” line? With profane words, at least, you can determine specific words to omit from programming. Television violence, both fictional and news varies greatly. Any decision would be completely arbitrary. For example, who’s to say a shooting is more or less violent than a fistfight?

I’m of the mind that if you don’t want to see something, you’re free to turn the television off. If you don’t want your children exposed to something, you have the power to turn it off there as well. My family did not have cable when I was growing up, not because they didn’t want me to watch any specific programs but because they just didn’t want me to spend that much time in front of the TV. Ultimately, it comes down to people taking responsibility for their own lives and for the way their kids turn out. The commissioners of the FCC aren’t a substitute for parents.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/16/tvviolence.ap/index.html

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/effects_media_violence.cfm

http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-2/1171902367287760.xml&coll=7