ESSAY QUESTION:
"Children today have an unprecedented number of options when it comes to entertainment. Since no parent can be aware of all of these options, it falls to the entertainment media to ensure that their content is suitable for young consumers."
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
YOUR RESPONSE:
In present world, where there are plethora of options of enertainment, it is defintely not always possible for parents to be aware of the content in various forms of entertainment, and hence it is to a great extent the responsibility of the entertainment media to ensure that the content is suitable for youg consumers.
The traditional means of entertainment such as television, radio , video cassettes have been long in the market and is regulated by both federal agencies on a national level as well as by the parents on a household level. Typically parents have grown with these traditional sources of entertainment and are aware of various mechanisms like child locks on televisions, parental access control, issuance of a DVD/cassette title after checking the age proof etc have ensured that parents to a great extent can monitor, regulate and decide on the content that children can view.
However, in the fast pace world of technology, with the advent of the complete entertainment package - the internet - everything is more freely available and is just a click away. The media and modes of entertainment available are not only more freely available but are more vulnerable to spread too, as its all in a digital format and is almost readily transferable. Parents today, no matter how they try, can just not keep up pace with the every increasing number of options. A very simple example can be a video game. Gone are the days when games such as Pacman were popular and come today the games could have provocative advertising, explicit swears, violent bloodsheds and so on. For a parent who has simply bought something that a child can play with , there is no way for the parent to control the content of the game. Hence with all these llimitations, the only way this can be controlled is at the root level i.e. level where all this content is actually produced i.e. the producers of this entertainment media.
Hence, in today's world where more and more options of entertainment are freely available, entertainment media should try their best to ensure that the content is suitable for young consumers and if it is not then atleast inform parents so that they can make aware and informed decesions before exposing the children to those contents.
"Children today have an unprecedented number of options when it comes to entertainment. Since no parent can be aware of all of these options, it falls to the entertainment media to ensure that their content is suitable for young consumers."
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
YOUR RESPONSE:
In present world, where there are plethora of options of enertainment, it is defintely not always possible for parents to be aware of the content in various forms of entertainment, and hence it is to a great extent the responsibility of the entertainment media to ensure that the content is suitable for youg consumers.
The traditional means of entertainment such as television, radio , video cassettes have been long in the market and is regulated by both federal agencies on a national level as well as by the parents on a household level. Typically parents have grown with these traditional sources of entertainment and are aware of various mechanisms like child locks on televisions, parental access control, issuance of a DVD/cassette title after checking the age proof etc have ensured that parents to a great extent can monitor, regulate and decide on the content that children can view.
However, in the fast pace world of technology, with the advent of the complete entertainment package - the internet - everything is more freely available and is just a click away. The media and modes of entertainment available are not only more freely available but are more vulnerable to spread too, as its all in a digital format and is almost readily transferable. Parents today, no matter how they try, can just not keep up pace with the every increasing number of options. A very simple example can be a video game. Gone are the days when games such as Pacman were popular and come today the games could have provocative advertising, explicit swears, violent bloodsheds and so on. For a parent who has simply bought something that a child can play with , there is no way for the parent to control the content of the game. Hence with all these llimitations, the only way this can be controlled is at the root level i.e. level where all this content is actually produced i.e. the producers of this entertainment media.
Hence, in today's world where more and more options of entertainment are freely available, entertainment media should try their best to ensure that the content is suitable for young consumers and if it is not then atleast inform parents so that they can make aware and informed decesions before exposing the children to those contents.
