How much protection and education do children need when viewing media? What should be the age of consent, and for what type of media (porn, ultra-violence, snuff films)?
Obviously children should not be permitted to see certain movies, watch certain television shows, or see certain images in magazines. Everyone can agree with this statement. But what people are debating today is the specifics of this issue: how old one must be to view types of media, what sorts of media is acceptable for these consumers. For instance, is it ok for 18-year-olds to be legally banned from drinking alcohol but be legally allowed to view extremely violent movies and videos of actual sex being performed? I believe that the debate of who should be allowed to view what types of media is an interesting issue. Talking first in terms of movies and television shows, I believe nobody under the age of 17 should be allowed to see a rated R movie in theaters, nor should they be allowed to rent a rated R movie from Netflix or Blockbuster. This material is rated R because it contains inappropriate sexual behavoir, grotesque violence, and other things that kids should not be exposed to. I consider children to be anybody under the age of 17. So technically, I'm still a kid! Although one may aruge that teenagers are regularly exposed to sex in the media without seeing rated R movies, it's my belief that stopping the teenage viewing of rated R movies would decrease the everyday exposure to sexual material drastically. Also, I believe that every high school and middle school should require students to take Sex Education classes. This would help to education young kids about sex and help raise awareness about the dangers and consequences sex can lead to. With this new knowledge, kids would be able to view sexual images in the media without wondering what they were looking at and they might be able to look at certain material in a critical light. In terms of viewing porn, I believe that the legal viewing age of porn should be raised to 19 or 20 years old. This is because although age 18 is considered the start of adulthood, I don't believe that every 18-year-old is ready to view porn. Also, the statutory rape law states that anybody age 18 or older having sexual intercourse with anybody younger than 18 year's old (a minor) can be charge with statutory rape and be sentenced to jail, regardless if the sex was consentual or not! I think that allowing 18-year-olds to view porn may arouse sexual desires which they want to carry out to their 17-year-old (or younger) girlfriends or boyfriends. Now I'm not saying that people older than 18 don't have sex with minors, but I think 18-year-olds are a little more immature and are more likely to have sex with a minor because they are closer in age to a minor. For instance, an 18-year-old senior boy in high school views porn and wants to start having sex with his 17-year-old girlfriend, who is also a senior yet is a minor by law. He could be arrested even though they are just a year apart. I think that a lot of the violent crimes committed in our society today (rape, murder, etc.) are partly due to the exposure to violence in the media at an early age. Therefore, our society should limit young people viewing media with violent and inappropriate material in order to create a more safe environment for everybody.
Obviously children should not be permitted to see certain movies, watch certain television shows, or see certain images in magazines. Everyone can agree with this statement. But what people are debating today is the specifics of this issue: how old one must be to view types of media, what sorts of media is acceptable for these consumers. For instance, is it ok for 18-year-olds to be legally banned from drinking alcohol but be legally allowed to view extremely violent movies and videos of actual sex being performed?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the debate of who should be allowed to view what types of media is an interesting issue. Talking first in terms of movies and television shows, I believe nobody under the age of 17 should be allowed to see a rated R movie in theaters, nor should they be allowed to rent a rated R movie from Netflix or Blockbuster. This material is rated R because it contains inappropriate sexual behavoir, grotesque violence, and other things that kids should not be exposed to. I consider children to be anybody under the age of 17. So technically, I'm still a kid! Although one may aruge that teenagers are regularly exposed to sex in the media without seeing rated R movies, it's my belief that stopping the teenage viewing of rated R movies would decrease the everyday exposure to sexual material drastically. Also, I believe that every high school and middle school should require students to take Sex Education classes. This would help to education young kids about sex and help raise awareness about the dangers and consequences sex can lead to. With this new knowledge, kids would be able to view sexual images in the media without wondering what they were looking at and they might be able to look at certain material in a critical light. In terms of viewing porn, I believe that the legal viewing age of porn should be raised to 19 or 20 years old. This is because although age 18 is considered the start of adulthood, I don't believe that every 18-year-old is ready to view porn. Also, the statutory rape law states that anybody age 18 or older having sexual intercourse with anybody younger than 18 year's old (a minor) can be charge with statutory rape and be sentenced to jail, regardless if the sex was consentual or not! I think that allowing 18-year-olds to view porn may arouse sexual desires which they want to carry out to their 17-year-old (or younger) girlfriends or boyfriends. Now I'm not saying that people older than 18 don't have sex with minors, but I think 18-year-olds are a little more immature and are more likely to have sex with a minor because they are closer in age to a minor. For instance, an 18-year-old senior boy in high school views porn and wants to start having sex with his 17-year-old girlfriend, who is also a senior yet is a minor by law. He could be arrested even though they are just a year apart. I think that a lot of the violent crimes committed in our society today (rape, murder, etc.) are partly due to the exposure to violence in the media at an early age. Therefore, our society should limit young people viewing media with violent and inappropriate material in order to create a more safe environment for everybody.