TV Without Sex, Violence, Profanity Soon Within Reach

Parents have widely differing, but very strongly held opinions about what they do not want their children to watch on television. Even the most liberal of adults will draw the line somewhere. And, although parents often express views that their children don't share, if you were to ask a group of children what they think their younger brother or sister should be allowed to watch, you’d find they also have firmly held beliefs. The irony is that these so-called beliefs seem only to apply to others.

Public debates about what is appropriate to show children on television often focus on the subject of violence, but the range of issues is broader and more complex. It covers other issues that adults feel children should be protected from in some way: sex, drugs, profanity and other immoral practices in addition to violence. Network executives, programmers, parents and children all have conflicting opinions about where the lines ought to be drawn

Finally, two much talked about programs have been officially adopted that accommodate each individual’s tastes. Last month the FCC approved the latest version of the television ratings system. They also ruled that TV set manufacturers must install the V-Chip in one-half the TV sets over 13 inches by July 1999, and in all sets by January 2000. An invisible signal encoded with the rating is broadcast along with the program. The encoded signal is then interpreted by the V-Chip. These two actions working together will enable parents to restrict the program content coming into their homes using two standards. A viewer may select the age-appropriate level of programming he or she wishes to block out - for example "TV/PG-13" and "TV/MA" (mature audiences - the equivalent of an R-rating in the movies). Then, there are the specific content categories: "Sex," "Violence," "Dialog" (profane language). This process seems rather complicated, but is supposedly easier than programming the clock on a VCR. The television screen remains blank while a program is on that is within the blocked category.

Entertainment industry officials and many legislators believe that while they have done their jobs by providing this new blocking device, most viewers will consider the option either too complicated or too restrictive and simply won't use it. If that happens, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.