Media Censorship and Youth
The purpose of this article is to raise awareness in parents about what their children are exposed to as they spend countless hours in the realm of electronic media. The audience is not only the parents however, but also children or future parents who are worried about their exposure or the exposure of their future children to a vast amount of explicit material.
It has long been debated as to where the line should be drawn in censoring explicit material in all forms of media. Everyday, more and more children are exposed to some form of media, whether it is on or offline. In most cases, they find themselves being specifically exposed to the world of electronic media. The Internet alone features a wide variety of media and is continuously expanding. Today, if someone wants to see something, watch something, learn something, or write something, he or she can easily log on to the Internet and do not only the things listed, but much more. Thinking about how much is actually on the Internet, available to anyone and everyone who has access to a computer with an Internet connection, leads to a couple of questions. Is everything on the Internet beneficial to children between the ages of 8 and 18? Could it contain material that may be harmful to viewers in this age group? Censorship is an issue not only on the Internet, but also on the television, radio, in movies, music, and many other forms of electronic media. The line must be firmly drawn somewhere to state what can and cannot be shown or said in electronic media today. Lack of censorship and easy access to various forms of explicit material have an overall negative affect on children today.
Near the start of the Great Depression, the film industry in Hollywood was booming. People from all different social classes went to watch the newest movies that were produced. Many had started using nudity and other explicit images in their films at the time, not only to attract a wider audience, but also to add artistic value to their stories. The government hired a man by the name of William Hays to write up a list of what was not to be shown in films. To the filmmakers’ dismay, in the early 1930’s, he produced what became known as the “Hays Code,” a specific list, which placed strict limitations on all content in films, and eventually carried over to television shows as well. For example, it wasn’t even considered right to show a husband and wife sleeping in the same bed. Even in the ever-popular Dick Van Dyke show, which aired in the early 60’s, he and his wife slept in separate beds on opposite sides of the room. By the mid 60’s, however, Playboy Magazine had become more popular than anyone could imagine and the idea of free love combined with the invention of “The Pill” made it possible to have sex without the fear of becoming pregnant. With this, came the Sexual Revolution and the destruction of the Hays Code. From this point on, all forms of electronic media were given more freedom in what they were able to do.
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