Chris Craven Estee Beck English 102 26 May 2011 Media and the Down Fall of Youth Morals

Sex, rape, street-crime, murder all common, accessible actions on numerous cable channels and video games seen on televisions, in homes, across the nation. Pop Media is the media that is most popular at any given time. Since television was invented, what was pop has always been cutting edge, or pushing the limit. The difference between then and now is the audience that is addressed by such media. 50 years ago parents had children on a strict leash of what could or could not be seen on the television, however now the leash has vanished and many children are watching and playing media that is beyond a childs rationale and understanding. Adults know that what is being watched is simply someones imagination gone wild; kids, on the other hand, do not have the same ability to differentiate between the real world and the virtual world. Not only are children watching this type of media, it has become the majority of what is watched; more often than not, this media is targeting the youngsters. Undeniably, the abundance of violent and morally corrupt media in the mainstream has caused a deterioration of acceptable behaviors and morals in todays youth. In this paper, I will explain how obscene media targets children, how children are watching the media that is not ideal for a young age, and finally how studies show that children display similar attitudes or morals towards the virtual world and the real world.

Marketing companies around the country will tell the public that the restrictions and ratings given to movies, music, and video games are strictly followed and enforced. However, these companies fail to mention that the ad campaigns that are run actually are targeting the youth the company professes to keep safe. According to the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, Study Finds Companies in Motion Picture, Music Recording and Electronic Game Industries Routinely Target Children Under 17; Retailers Make "Little Effort" to Restrict Access to Violent Material. (insert citation). The study that the FTC issued showed results that 35 of 44 newly released movies that were explicitly rated were targeting children, 15 of 55 music labels that were explicitly rated were targeting children, and 83 of 118 violent video games had ad campaigns to target children; these results show that nearly 60 percent of violent media targets age groups below the rating the given approval rating. On top of these horrifying numbers, it was found that almost 50 percent of the time children were granted access into rated R movies without parents, and 85 percent of the time stores allowed children to purchase media materials that were rated R (insert citation). The behaviors demonstrated by these companies are unacceptable, and actions need to be taken to prevent the nations children from being subject to such advertising campaigns. There are those out there who will claim that children are not watching the violent media, and that if they are, fault is on the parents. There are numerous studies and reports that show that children are watching the inappropriate media, and with the abundance of media outlets in society today, it is nearly impossible for a parent to know what media has touched the mind of their children 100 percent of the time.