Remarks of Joanne Cantor, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison
at the V-Chip Milestone Press Conference
U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., June 16, 1999
(608) 262-2285; jrcantor@wisc.edu
Good morning. As a Professor at the University of Wisconsin, I've been publishing research on the impact of television on children for 25 years. As the author of a new book called "Mommy, I'm Scared," I've been attempting to show parents what they can do to protect their children from media violence. And especially as the mother of a 10-year-old son, I am delighted about the milestone we are celebrating today.
When I was a child growing up in the 50's, I witnessed how quickly and readily we all adopted TV into our homes. However, if our parents had had any idea of how the content of television would evolve over time, they would never have welcomed the new device so enthusiastically -- something like the v-chip would have had to be standard equipment back then.
The fact is, television has profound effects on children. The consensus of a wealth of research is that repeated exposure to media violence promotes aggressive attitudes and behaviors. Research also shows that even children who are not likely to become violent often suffer enduring anxieties as a result of watching television. Most children experience at least one episode in which a television show or movie induces nightmares or lasting fears, and it is quite common for children to have television-induced sleep problems lasting weeks, months, or even years.
Television news is a prominent source of children's fears. Children often assume that what has happened in the news will happen to them next. And intense fears can be generated very quickly: Many children have exaggerated fears and nightmares after being exposed to a short excerpt of a program, or even to a brief promo for an upcoming movie, TV program, or news story.
When I started writing "Mommy, I'm Scared," I knew I could include information on what type of content should be problematic for which children, and give guidance to parents on how they could remedy the problems once they occurred. But it bothered me that I would have to say to parents: Either get rid of your TV (which I don't recommend), or be prepared to constantly play de-fense, ready to come between your child and the wrong television program at any moment. But then, Congress in its wisdom enacted the v-chip legislation, so I was able to end my book by explaining that there is a new tool to help parents keep some of the harmful stuff out.
I waited to finish the last chapters of "Mommy, I'm Scared" until the FCC approved the electronic standard for the v-chip -- so I could explain how it would work and how parents could use it. One question that was being debated was whether the v-chip would be required to permit parents to block unrated programs. Although the FCC did not mandate this option, I encouraged parents to seek out the ability to block unrated programs in buying a new set, and I lobbied manufacturers to provide this option. I read in the trade press that the television industry was pressuring manufacturers not to provide unrated-program blocking. So I'm delighted that at least one manufacturer was influenced either by my advice or the parents they surveyed and is providing this valuable option to parents.
With a v-chip, parents can welcome "Sesame Street" while automatically banishing "Jerry Springer" and "South Park." And with the ability to block unrated programs, they can prevent their child from stumbling into horrific images of victims of school shootings or gruesome stories of child molestation and murder. Blocking unrated programs also gives the parents of very young children the power to block everything on TV except programs designated as TV-Y, a useful and reassuring option indeed.
TV can provide wonderful programming for children. However, its potential for negative influence is enormous. Nothing else of this magnitude of potential harm comes into our homes automatically. At last parents have some control within our own homes, without getting rid of our televisions entirely.
References
Cantor, J. (1998). Mommy, I'm scared: How TV and movies frighten children and what we can do to protect them. San Diego: Harvest Books/Harcourt Brace.
Cantor, J., & Nathanson, A. I. (1996). Children's fright reactions to television news. Journal of Communication, 46(4), 139-152.
Federman, J. (Ed., 1998). Executive Summary: National TelevisionViolence Study, Volume 3. Santa Barbara, CA: Center for Communication and Social Policy, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Harrison, K. S., & Cantor, J. (1999). Tales from the screen: Enduring fright reactions to scary media. Media Psychology, 1 (2), 97-116.
National Television Violence Study (Volumes 1, 2, and 3, 1996, 1997, and 1998, respectively). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Paik, H., & Comstock, G. (1994). The effects of television violence on antisocial behavior: A meta-analysis. Communication Research, 21(4), 516-539.
(Trade press article regarding unrated-program blocking). Broadcasting & Cable, August 24, 1998.