Parents Say They're Getting Control of Their Children's Exposure to Sex and Violence in the Media - Even Online

Parents Say They're Getting Control of Their Children's Exposure to Sex and Violence in the Media - Even Online

But Concerns About Media Remain High, and Most Support Curbs on Television Content

WASHINGTON, June 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Even as the media environment continues to change, parents say they are getting control of their own children's exposure to sex and violence in the media, but they remain concerned about inappropriate content in the media more broadly, according to a new national survey of parents released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Sixty-five percent of parents say they "closely" monitor their children's media use, while just 18% say they "should do more." This may help to explain why since 1998 the proportion of parents who say they are "very" concerned that their own children are exposed to inappropriate content -- while still high -- has dropped, from 67% to 51% for sexual content, from 62% to 46% for violence, and from 59% to 41% for adult language.

Parents are particularly confident in monitoring their children's online activities. Nearly three out of four parents (73%) say they know "a lot" about what their kids are doing online (among all parents with children 9 or older who use the Internet at home). Most parents whose children engage in these activities say they check their children's Instant Messaging (IM) "buddy lists" (87%), review their children's profiles on social networking sites (82%), and look to see what websites they've visited (76%) after they've gone online.

At the same time, parents continue to express significant concerns about children's exposure to inappropriate media content in general. Two-thirds (65%) of parents say they are "very" concerned that children in this country are exposed to too much inappropriate content in the media and a similar proportion (66%) favor government regulations to limit TV content during early evening hours. Minority parents express the most concern: African American and Hispanic parents are more likely than Whites to say they are "very concerned" about their children's exposure to sex, violence and adult language in the media (67% for African Americans and 57% for Hispanics vs. 45% for Whites for sexual content; 64% and 55% vs. 39% for violence; and 60% and 51% vs. 34% for coarse language).

"While parents are still concerned about a lot of what they see in the media, most are surprisingly confident that they've got a handle on what their own kids are seeing and doing -- even when it comes to the Internet," said Vicky Rideout, vice president and director of Kaiser's Program for the Study of Entertainment Media and Health.

The report, Parents, Children & Media: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey, is a national survey of 1,008 parents of children ages 2-17. It was released today at a forum that included a presentation of key findings by Kaiser vice president and lead researcher, Vicky Rideout, followed by a roundtable discussion. The panelists included Mike Angus, general counsel, Fox Interactive Media (MySpace); Jim Dyke, executive director, TV Watch; Victor Strasburger, program chair, Council on Communications and Media, American Academy of Pediatrics and chief, Adolescent Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and Tim Winter, president, Parents Television Council. A webcast of the event will be available after 5 p.m. ET today at http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia061907pkg.cfm .

Additional findings:

Media Content
-- About a quarter of parents (23%) say inappropriate media content is one
of their "top" concerns as a parent, while another 51% say it's a "big"
concern, but not one of the top concerns.

Media Ratings
-- Parents' use of the TV and video game ratings has stayed virtually the
same since 1998 at about 50%, while use of music advisories has gone up
(from 41% to 52%), and use of movie ratings has declined (from 86% to
77%).
-- Among parents who have used any of the media ratings, the proportion
who say they find them "very" useful has increased over the years, from
43% to 58% for video game ratings, 45% to 56% for music advisories, and
42% to 49% for the TV ratings.
-- Many parents still don't understand what the TV ratings mean. Among
parents who have children ages 2-6, only three in 10 can name any of
the ratings used for children's shows, including TV-G, or G, which
means "general audience." Only 11% know that the rating FV indicates
violence (it stands for "fantasy violence"), while 9% think it means
"family viewing." And only 11% know that the rating EI means
educational or informational programming. Among parents with any child
ages 2-18, 61% know that TV-14 means the show may be inappropriate for
children under age 14 and just over half (54%) know that TV-MA means
for mature audiences.

V-Chip
-- One in six parents (16%) say they have ever used the V-Chip to block
specific TV content -- not a statistically significant change from 15%
in 2004 (but up from 7% in 2001).
-- Eight in 10 parents (82%) say they have purchased a new TV since
January 2000, when the requirement that all TVs over 13" be equipped
with a V-Chip went into effect. Among those parents, more than half
(57%) aren't aware that they have a V-Chip.
-- Among parents who have a V-Chip and are aware of it, 46% say they have
used it.
-- Among those who have used the V-Chip, 71% say they found it "very"
useful.

Advertising
-- One in three parents (34%) say they are "very" concerned that their
children are exposed to too many ads in the TV programming they watch,
while 35% say they're "somewhat" concerned, 18% say they are "not too"
concerned and 11% are "not at all" concerned.
-- Among parents who are concerned about advertising, ads for toys top the
list (18%), followed by video games (17%), clothing (17%), alcohol/beer
(11%) and food (10%).

Educational Media
-- A majority of parents (59%) say it's true that children who watch
educational TV have better verbal skills, and 41% say baby videos have
a positive effect on early childhood development (17% say that's not
true, while 35% say they're not sure).
-- A majority of parents (56%) of younger children (ages 2-6) say baby
videos positively affect development.
-- The majority of parents with children ages 2-13 are at least somewhat
satisfied with the number and quality of educational shows available
for their children (16% are "very" satisfied, 50% "somewhat"
satisfied), compared to 30% who say they are "not too" (21%) or "not at
all" (9%) satisfied.

Internet Monitoring
-- Among parents with children age 9 or older who use the Internet at
home, four in 10 (41%) say they use parental controls to block access
to certain websites.
-- Among those whose children use e-mail, four in 10 (39%) say they read
their child's email or look in their inbox.

Methodology

The results presented here are based on a national random digit dial telephone survey of 1,008 parents of children ages 2-17, along with a series of six focus groups held with parents across the country. All quantitative findings are based on the results of the national survey.

The survey was designed and analyzed by staff at the Kaiser Family Foundation, in collaboration with Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI); fieldwork was conducted by PSRAI. The survey was conducted from October 2-27, 2006. The margin of error from sampling is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Trend data are from surveys conducted by the Foundation in August 2004 and in April 1998.

Focus groups were held in Irvine, California; Dallas, Texas; and Chicago, Illinois. Two groups were held in each city: one with mothers of children ages 9-11, and one with mothers of children ages 12-14. Participants were recruited for the groups by independent research firms, and the conversations were moderated by Foundation staff. Additional focus groups were held in Washington, D.C. for the purpose of making a videotape of parent comments.

The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation dedicated to providing information and analysis on health care issues to policymakers, the media, the health care community and the general public. The Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

CONTACT: Rob Graham, +1-650-854-9400 (day of the event, +1-202-347-
5270), rgraham@kff.org; Sarah Williams Kingsley, +1-650-854-9400,
sarahw@kff.org, both of the Kaiser Family Foundation

Web site:

http://www.kff.org/

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