Censorship: Simply Not Enough

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Recommended: Mass media on the young generation

Not too long ago, an evening television program caught mine and my daughter’s attention. It was a cute family comedy verging close to her bedtime. I was relaxed as we spent some quality time together, and out of nowhere I felt as if I had been punched in the face when a curse word came out of the so-called 15 year old actor’s mouth. Playing it cool, I glanced down at my young daughter who did not even flinch. I thought to myself, when were those words allowed to be uttered on television? Even worse, was my daughter’s reaction, or in this case non-reaction, because of desensitization or did she simply not hear it? Since then I have found myself immersed in the censorship dispute. Globally, media censors have loosened their grip significantly which have had a positive social impact, for the most part, but have they gone too far? I, for one, yearn for the “Mayberry” days where life was simple and no one had to worry about what children were watching on TV.

In 1973, Thomas Elmendorf, an emergency room physician, made a speech to the American Medical Association about the increase in violence behavior among young adults and it’s correlation to violence on TV. In it he cited that “Murder is the fastest growing cause of death in the United States. The annual rate of increase exceeded 100 percent between 1960 and 1974.” He also goes on to explain that by the time a child graduates high school, they have spent an astonishing 18,000 hours in front of the TV, not to mention other forms of media, versus 15,000 hours in the classroom. Elmendorf also elaborates that within those 18,000 television hours, a young adult will have witnessed “18,000 murders and countless highly detailed incidents of robbery, arson, bombings, shootings...

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...All Aspects Of Tibet 45.5 (2010): 4. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.

Collins, Rebecca L.Elliott, Marc N.Berry, Sandra H.Kanouse, David E.Kunkel, DaleHunter, Sarah B.Miu, Angela. "Watching Sex On Television Predicts Adolescent Initiation Of Sexual Behavior." Pediatrics 114.3 (2004): e280. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.

Elmendorf, Thomas. "Violence On TV." Vital Speeches Of The Day 42.24 (1976): 764. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.

Jerome, Sara. "Supreme Court Case May Dirty Down the Airwaves." CongressDaily AM 16 Nov. 2011: 5. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.

Katz, Paul. "Funny $#@*!." Entertainment Weekly 802 (2005): 23. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Apr. 2012.

TODD PITMAN - Associated, Press. "Myanmar Relaxes Grip On Media, Vows End To Censors." AP Top News Package (2012): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.

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