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Senate Votes To Empower Parents As Censors
unlametheweak recommends an Ars Technica report that the US Senate has unanimously passed a bill requiring the FCC to explore what "advanced blocking technologies" are available to parents to help filter out "indecent or objectionable programming." "...the law does focus on empowering parents to take control of new media technologies to deal with undesired content, rather than handing the job over to the government. It asks the FCC to focus the inquiry on blocking systems for a 'wide variety of distribution platforms,' including wireless and Internet, and an array of devices, including DVD players, set top boxes, and wireless applications."
...it'll make sure that broadcasts are tagged up with useful metadata about the contents, if nothing else; which I'm sure will be good for everyone, and it'll add some granularity of control between different devices - which sounds ripe for adding cool new features.
A really positive move would be to ban all advertisements targeted at kids. It traps parents into a neverending spending cycle many can barely afford in the first place. Why should marketing experts be allowed direct their expertise in manipulation at the most vulnerable members of society.
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
I dunno...my parents had a VERY effective manner in dealing with this 'neverending spending cycle' you mention. It was the simple word, "no".
While I'd agree we have too much advertisement in general...just because it is advertised doesn't mean you have to buy it for yourself or your kid. That simple word "no", was quite effective when dealing with all sorts of issues during my upbringing.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Indeed.
Also just put the shows on at times where its expected to have children put properly to bed. For instance here in Copenhagen a local TV station is showing hardcore porno between 0 and 4:30 am; of course this has lead to some share of people shouting think of the children, but they got told to get bend, children are not supposed to be up at that time.
But then again we are pretty liberal with what we accept; only TV censoring I can think of is airing children oriented commercials during children shows (yes you are not allowed to show commercials for toys during programming targeted for children) and any commercials for gambling.
not that it matters to congress, but doesn't the V-Chip already block everything?
Isn't every TV, game console, and DVD player already shipping with a V-Chip?
They're using their grammar skills there.
I'm not inclined to not have a television --- I like F1, and watch Doctor Who --- but there's a single TV which is sat in the corner of one room, which is turned on to watch specified programmes and turned off when they finish. The kids know my parents don't have a television, that I'd be perfectly capable of simply disposing of the one we have, and therefore that they shouldn't push their luck. Televisions in bedrooms, kitchens and other rooms in the house? How common.
ian
Hearing a beep or a brief moment of silence in place of an expletive is plain obnoxious. Can we not come up with something that makes that sort of censorship optional? I'd want it if I had kids, but I don't, so give me the F bombs!
After getting Tivo, my kids didn't even know what to ask for last Christmas. It was great, because they asked for things they really wanted (and were good things for kids, IMO), as opposed to asking for what the TV told them to ask for.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
When I was a child, we just plainly didn't have video games or TV to waste time on, and in turn I made things to do. I seriously recommend it. A big part of development is creativity, and without it, I'd be worried how average I would've turned out.
Belief? Hope? Preference?The Existential Vortex
I'd agree with pretty much everything you've written, but I'd add one caveat regarding a situation that it doesn't appear you've considered: advertising.
I'll give you two examples, a sexual one (for the sex-averse prudish Americans) and a violent one (for the pantywaist Euros).
- A man is dragged from a car, protesting and in terror. He's made to kneel on the pavement, begging the unseen assailant "Don't, please, don't...please..." The muzzle of a pistol barrel is put to his temple and the screen crashes to black with the sound of a gunshot.
- A beautiful young woman and a studly young man are kissing passionately in an evening office setting. She pushes off his jacket, and starts unbuttoning his shirt while they discuss some plot point. The camera view moves to his right quarter from behind, so you can see her face as she sinks to her knees and starts unbuckling his belt.
BOTH of these scenes have come up in ads for TV programs that came on WHILE WE WERE WATCHING CHILDRENS' PROGRAMMING. Normal TV, not cable.
Perhaps I'm both prudish and a pantywaist, but I don't believe EITHER of those scenes are appropriate for pre-teen children. No, neither scene actually showed what was being categorically implied/displayed, but to suggest therefore that it was "ok" is ludicrous.
I entirely agree with you about parents bearing the complete responsibility for vetting programming their children shall watch - but how is a parent supposed to intercept or review this? There's no practical way I can think of. Your kid could be watching some entirely educational or child-appropriate show, but five or six times an hour it's intercepted with this?
Personally, I've pretty much given up on broadcast TV. But I can see how parents would be incensed at their inability to control viewed content ... even when they are conscientiously working to make sure it's age-appropriate.
-Styopa
My parents had a similar answer, "Save your money." They didn't care what I purchased (so long as it was safe, legal, etc) as long as I saved my own money to get it. Really taught me fiscal responsibility at a pretty early age.
$> man woman $> Segmentation fault. (Core dumped)
Only if that local station was broad cast over the airwaves.
If the channel was a local cable channel, the FCC would have no say.
Even if corporations give parents power to control this stuff, public schools in the U.S. are still forcing all sorts of stuff down kids' throats, regardless of how parents feel. Everything from politically motivated "scientific" teachings regarding creationism to the definition of marriage, over which a Mass. man was arrested because he refused to leave a meeting until the school reached a compromise about teaching his child (a practicing Mormon) to accept gay marriage. The school didn't compromise.
Things like the gay marriage debate put church and state on a collision course, setting up the state with its own particular belief system even to the persecution of those who want to worship their own way. Far from being able to exercise religious freedoms, those with differing opinions are being labeled hate criminals.
No, you're asking me to help you pay for it. Nobody is stopping you from buying a TV that blocks programming, but I shouldn't have to help you pay for it. IMO a Rolls Royce would make my life better, but if I want one I'm going to have to pay for it myself, without forcing you to help me.
The government exists to protect your rights, not make your life better.
Wow, nice attitude. "If you don't want to give me free money to raise my kids, you can GTFO." Maybe it's a good thing you're having other people raise your kids.
I agree, the government shouldn't be involved in any of those things. If you think I'm being facetious, check my posting history.
You're the one who's life sucks bad enough that you want to take other people's money to help make it better. Maybe *you* should move?
Maybe not
If you don't like whats on TV, DON'T WATCH IT.
If you don't want your child watching it, DON'T RELY ON TV AS A BABYSITTER.
Here's better advice from some one that does sometimes use tv, computers, and video games a babysitter while I'm even at the house doing my own thing. Don't have cable or over the air TV. Just buy season DVDs of the stuff you remember watching when you grew up or that you vaguely think that is legit for your family to watch. The same applies to video games and computer crap. Now the only resource that I really have to keep an eye on is the damn computer. Why? Because it's internet connected and they'll play any "free online" game that they've got an ad to click on.
We've got a stack of adult R stuff in our room that we sometimes watch, but we don't have to worry about the kids watching our Red vs Blue. Heck, by the time they turn 15 most of what we've got locked way, would be fine for them to watch. On the infinity+ tv channels... there is the easy solution to that as well if you even do get that... block out everything except the 5-20 cartoon only channels. Even then you can find objectionable stuff in cartoons, but generally that should be fairly safe.
We did this with our kids, and some friends didn't. It made extra work early on, because young kids really aren't that competent yet, but it pays off as they become so. Fast forward a number of years... Our kids have been getting their own breakfast and lunch for years, with no help from us past the early times. Theirs still count on Mom and Dad to do it for them. Our kids do their own chores around the house, and divvy up on family chores, though occasionally some prodding is needed. Theirs were just starting on the "chore thing." Etc, etc, etc...
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
Unfortunately, that approach only works once children understand the value of money, which does not typically happen until they're 5-8 years old. The TV ads in cartoons are often targeting much younger children. Generally, the simple answer is no, especially in a store.
We were taught by our parents that the surest way to be told "no" was to ask for something. "Can I have that?" got a sharp reply of no, and continual asking or compaining got a smack on the ass. The response was even quicker if we tried to ask for something while in a store or if we tried to play the sympathy or public embarresment angle. We had to be especially good just to even go TO the toy section in a store, and Mom always used the candy free isle in the grocery store. We never got something by asking for it. Never.
We were TOLD when we had been good enough to get candy or a toy. Asking before that point delayed how long we'd have to wait to reach that goal. Something like "you've been good today, so after we're done shopping I'll buy you a treat." It worked.
My wife, a 3rd grade teacher, has a better method she uses in her classrooms that we started using with our kids: She gives her students little sticks with their names on them to keep at all times. Each time they do something wrong, or break a rule, they have to turn over one of their sticks. Each time they do something especially good, or just as a reward for effort, they can get one back. They start the day with 3 sticks, and if they end the day with the same number, they get a little card punched with a hole, plus an extra hole for each stick beyond 3 they ended up with. Their puched cards get traded in for a piece of candy (if they have enough holes at the end of the week) or can be stored up for bigger rewards. Less than 3 sticks, certain punishments happen consistent with school rules.
At home, we adapted this system slightly. The kids have the same 3 sticks rule, and get punches for the thrid and each additional stick they end the day with. We let them build up as many sticks as they can doing good things all day. We take a number of sticks away for doing various things bad. A lie saccrifies all sticks, as does agressive play with others (bullying or fighting). Arguing is 1 stick, but they keep loosing more as they continue to argue. Asking for something that is not deserved ("Can I have a ...") looses a stick. Something big, like getting in trouble at school to a point that gets a note home, and they can loose not only sticks, but all their built up punches too... Telling the truth, especially when it's not good and might result in punishment, always earns them a stick (sometimes more).
Anything that happens at school can just as easily result in a loss of sticks. We make sure all the parents that may watch our kids for any reason, as well as family members, also know the same rules, and enforce them just the same. Failing to hand in homework, talking back to a teacher, etc, anything we hear about in a note home or in their weekly report goes towards their stick count. We ensure family and friends hold them to the same rules.
The kids have quickly adapted to 1: keeping their mouthes closed in stores and staying close to us while shopping. 2: they do not lie. 3: they do not start fights. Our older girl has been in one; she's in 2nd grade and kicked a 4th grader bully in the nuts hard enough to need medical attention, and after we heard why (he took her juice box from her, and when she first got a teacher involved and then confronted him, he pushed her, then she kicked him) she earned a stick for that plus another for having told the truth about it, and a 3rd for trying to get help first) 4: they understand the rewards for continual good behavior are better than that for incremental behavior. 5: they suffer dissapointment, sometimes big dissapointment, when they're bad and understand the efforts necessary to recoup a loss if that happens. 6: they don't talk back to us. (though the 2 year old loves t
There is no contest in life for which the unprepared have the advantage.