Parental Censorship, does it make children more curious?
“I cannot define pornography,” United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once famously said, “but I do know it when I see it” ("I Know It When I See It.").
The word “pornography” comes from the Greek language for writing about prostitutes. However, the etymology of the term isn’t that much of a guide to its current usage since many of the things commonly called “pornography” nowadays are neither actually written nor actually about any such prostitutes. Pornography is any material (either pictures or words) that is sexually explicit.
People want to censor pornography to blunt any curious people under the age of 18 from searching for 18+ material. The question that is at hand is if Parental Censorship either stops curious people or in fact makes them want to look it up more and can sometimes lead to worse situations which in eventuality will spur the community to try to get more censors on the Internet, radio, tv and any other types of media.
Censorship is the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society this has been a hallmark of dictatorships throughout history.
In the 20th Century, Censorship was achieved through the examination of books, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other forms of communication for the purpose of altering or suppressing ideas found to be objectionable or offensive. The rationales for Censorship have varied, with some censors targeting material deemed to be indecent or obscene; heretical or blasphemous; or seditious or treasonous. Thus, ideas have been suppressed under the guise of protecting three basic social institutions: the family, the church, and the state.
Not all Censorship is equa...
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...it like maids or babysitters or they hide the truth from them as long as they can so they do not have to deal with such things until their children are old enough to understand it better so it will be easier on them.
Now, there are many ways to censor parts of the Internet from children by either downloading some software that keeps them off the site or you can set up a different login for them that doesn't give them the access to certain places without administrative permission AKA your permission, or you could sit there yourself and monitor their progress and teach them everything so they won't do what you don't want them to do but as no child wants to be monitored on the computer as they do what they want to which is either look up games on the Internet, watch cartoons, or whatever else they may or may not do on there.
("Balancing Censorship And Parental Rights.")
The type of content usually censored is sexual or violent things but Ballaro states, “Some bans (and the filtering software used to enforce them) eliminated access not only to pornographic materials but also to legitimate health and medical information” (Ballaro 1). If someone were to become sick, looking up symptoms on the internet is not the most efficient way to go about finding out what sickness they have, or what kind of treatments there are. Going to a professional would ensure that they get the correct diagnosis and treatment. Everything on the internet can be changed and not knowing the accuracy of a source is going to make the search more or less accurate. Children are also a big part of why things are censored. In the same passage, it is explained,“Opponents of Internet Censorship argue that education, not censorship, represents the best means of protecting children…” (Ballaro 1). Telling someone not to do something will just make them want to do it more. Educating kids on the dangers of the internet will not stop them from going on the internet. Protection children from all scammers and hackers, not just to mention explicit material, would also be challenging considering the internet is changing rapidly each day. Why not just block websites that are bad so even if children are tempted, they can not go to
"A Global History of Censorship." Guarding Public Morality: A Global History of Censorship. N p.g., 20 Mar. 2010. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.
Obviously, parents want to do the best things they can to protect their children. However, their fears misguide their thinking when it comes to censorship. As Charles Taylor points out, censorship does not only include pornography or excess violence on television, classrooms and libraries all across America can feel its presence. (Taylor) According to the National Coalition against Censorship website Congress passed the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) in 1981, which provided funds to charitable and religious organizations t...
To sufficiently take a side in the ever-growing debate of pornography, one must first define the concept around which this discourse surrounds itself. A working definition for pornography is a piece of material that has the object purpose of arousing erotic feelings. Radical feminists, however, strictly define it as “the act of sexual subordination of women” (Dworkin 1986).
Censorship has been a big part of the world’s history and especially America’s history. One of the most quoted amendments to the United States constitution is the first amendment; “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...” This amendment guaranteeing free speech, press, and religion is still heavily debated and contested today. Censorship, as a challenge to free speech and press has been allowed many times and has been heavily debated itself. Many people censor for many different reasons and in many different forms. Censorship itself is not always a bad thing and has in some cases been used for protection of the general population.
Censorship by definition is the suppression of speech or removal of communicative material which may be considered objectionable or repulsive. Censorship is nothing new and its effects are constantly felt throughout society. Many societies use censorship to protect the established moral and social order. Book censorship in western cultures can be traced to the earliest years of Christianity, when the church began to suppress opposing views as unorthodox. In ancient times, before the printing press and the mass production of literature, book burning was an effective form of censorship. This process guaranteed that no one would ever read them. Although book burning was very efficient it is now used as more of a gesture of protest to shock people rather than a real method of destroying a book. In modern times, censorship refers to the examination of media including books, periodicals, plays, motion pictures, television shows and radio programs for the purpose of altering or suppressing parts thought to be offensive. Today’s censorship occurs when certain people succeed in imposing their personal or moral values on others. Censorship deals mainly with the first amendment constitutional. “The law requires that if a book is to be removed, an inquiry must be made as to the motivation and intention of the party calling for its removal. If the party’s intention is to deny students access to ideas with which the party disagrees, it is a violation of the First Amendment” [First Amendment Center]. Though the First Amendment bars government authorities from prohibiting the free exercise, abridging the freedom of speech or practicing religious censorship in the United States, individuals have successfully pushed to remove books from public and ...
In her essay “Let’s Put Pornography Back in the Closet,” Susan Brownmiller, a prominent feminist activist, argues that pornography should not be protected under the First Amendment (59). Her position is based on the belief that pornography is degrading and abusive towards women (Brownmiller 59). She introduces the reader to the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and explains how it relates to her beliefs on censoring pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). In addition, she provides examples of First Amendment controversies such as Miller v. California and James Joyce’s Ulysses to explain how the law created a system to define pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). She described the system that used a three-part test as confusing (Brownmiller 58). Regardless of whether or not the First Amendment was intended to protect obscenities, she and many others believe that the legislatures should have the final say in the decision of creating and publishing pornography (Brownmiller 60).
Thesis: Although some people believe that censorship is adequate to select what things does the society will be good and can live around it while others believe that there should be no censorship because it takes away your right of expression of freedom.
The term "censorship" originates from the Latin censere, "to give as one's opinion, to assess" (Culture Shock: Who Decides? How and Why?: Definitions of Censorship). In contrast to this seemingly simple definition, contemporary usage offers no agreed-upon definition of the term or its' appropriate usage, most specifically concerning the highly conteste...
...elevision censorship is a very controversial issue in the United States because some parents feel that the government should enforce censors and others believe that it is the parents responsibility to censor their children and control their access to the media.
Censorship involves the restriction of material that the government believes may be harmful to society. However, censorship in film is controversial because it can either create safe boundaries for movies or hinder the film industry’s freedom. Those who support censorship believe that it prohibits unnecessarily explicit content from being freely shown in films. Those who are against censorship believe that censorship conflicts with constitutional freedom and can be used as a tool for manipulation. Although, both sides of the argument have valid points, censorship should not apply to films at any extent because it impedes societal progress.
Censorship is detrimental to society. People can’t learn from their mistakes if we hide them. People can’t decide the best option if we say there are no options. People can’t understand each other if they don’t know what anyone is thinking. People can’t mature when they are “protected” from mean words. People can’t be themselves when they are being censored.
Ever wondered the reason behind racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, children committing crime or violence? The main reason is that censorship is not properly imposed or there is a need of censorship in the society. Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people, individual, groups or government officials find it objectionable, offensive or dangerous on others. There are varieties of other definitions but all have in common the concept of withholding information and/or resources from those who seek it. Hence censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and sex, protect children, maintain stability and restore what censor sees as lost moral values. Censorship occurs when expressive materials like books, magazines, movies, videos, music or work of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. (http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html)
The main censorship that hides useful information is moral censorship. Moral censorship hides information that can help people learn about different ideas and alternative lifestyles. Moral censorship is used to protect children. Restricting obscene material only makes it harder and more desirable to obtain it. Obscene material was once restricted for most of the country. In this day and age, a majority of small town convenience stores carry literature which is deemed as obscene. Material that is considered obscene to others may be useful to some.
Pornography is ripping apart our society. Although Christians are sometimes discus tied with the impact and apathetic about the need to control this menace. Pornography is a year business with close ties to organized crime. Pornography involves books, magazines, videos, and devices and has moved from the society into the mainstream through the renting of video cassettes, sales Of so-called "soft-porn" magazines, and the airing of sexually explicit movies on Cable television.