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An overwhelming majority of Americans (91%) object to government deciding what they are able to watch on television, even if they don’t always approve of the programming. Instead, eight out of ten people (85%) prefer to exercise personal choice over what they watch on TV and not have the government regulate what they view. They also want the government and the TV industry to provide them with the information and tools they need to make their own television choices. Read more.
What Parents Can Do
There are a variety of tools to help parents manage what their children see on TV, including: the TV rating system, on-air advisories and warnings, the v-chip in your television and parental controls on cable and satellite.
TV ratings provide information about the content and age-appropriateness of programs and can be found with most program listings (see tvguidelines.org to learn more about the ratings). In addition, every television larger than 13 inches manufactured after 2000 contains a v-chip – a simple tool to manage the programming your children watch even when you’re not in the room (see v-chip.org to learn how to activate the v-chip in your TV). Cable and satellite companies also offer a wide variety of parental controls (learn how to use them at ControlYourTV.org for cable or visit your satellite company Web site).
What the Television Industry Can Do
Those who provide you with television programming should educate people about the tools that are available to help control what is seen in the home. The industry promotes the TV parental guidelines rating system, supports education and awareness efforts to encourage the use of parental controls, and airs warnings and advisories on programming. The television industry also can rely on responsible standards and practices to avoid live programming that might offend some people.
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