What is viewer discretion

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Subscribe for updates from GIPC. The ratings are helpful to guide parents as to what content they deem suitable for children and what is not. In addition, the guidelines were designed to be used with an installed V-chip in television sets to restrict what children watch on TV.

Since , chips have been mandatory for television sets and personal computers, including a television tuner and screen size of 13 inches or more.

Parents can program the V-chip to block programs based on these parental guideline ratings. With comparatively little research done on the impact and effects of viewer discretion warnings, and ambiguous outcomes on that little, many have used this as grounds for debate about its usage and whether its intent, to protect children, is being met.

One study by Brad J. Bushman of the Institute for Social Research pointed out how warning labels often have a troubling side effect. Rather than restrict, warning labels tend to increase the desire to watch violent programs source.

Despite criticism about the clarity and transparency of parental guidelines, few people will argue they should not exist at all. Most people agree that some degree of parental guidance is required for children to ensure their safety and well-being.

As parents, it is important to be aware of the bigger picture. Although viewer discretion, originally, was limited to television and movies, the warnings now appear prominently on the internet, especially social media. Navigating online media is difficult for adults, let alone children. Apart from content warnings, you might have come across trigger warnings online.

If you have not, not to worry, this section will briefly explain what they are. A content warning, or disclaimer, is a broad warning that flags something that might upset someone, or even just make them feel bad, without referring to a traumatic experience. It intends to prevent people who have experienced trauma from being exposed to something that might trigger a physical or mental reaction source.

Although the list of potential trigger warnings is infinite, common triggers include discussion of source :. Firstly, they do little to minimize the fall-out when dealing with the content. If we hold fear and worry, we will certainly have it. If we hold love and kindness, we can certainly give it. If we hold anything, ANYTHING that is not a story of love, success, beauty or kindness in our hearts, we will put ourselves in the hell we have created.

Set your mind and story mode on positive things like love and kindness. If you catch yourself dwelling on worry, or fear, or anger, stop playing that imaginary, change the movie.

Yes, guard your eyes and ears from what you see and hear, but most importantly guard your heart and your life from what you dwell on and rehearse. You can create and have anything you dwell on. So to be happy and to enjoy your life, dwell on positive, lovely things.

The consequences for how we think and what we hold in our heart are too powerful to ignore. What we meditate on affects everything: How we feel. How we move. How we think. How we live. Brenda: Oct 12, at PM. Found a story about someone who also wanted to be Superman - reminds me of you.

Tim Anderson: Oct 12, at PM. He is a widely quoted media observer and critic, having been interviewed and quoted by over 75 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times , Newsday , Christian Science Monitor , and others.

He has also made a number of appearances on radio and television shows. In Viewer Discretion Advised Jeffrey McCall gets right to the heart of why the mass media are of such concern to so many people. He illuminates the controversial issues of media sex, superficial news, a media-hijacked political system, lack of protection for children, and the limits of First Amendment protections of speech. McCall writes with a clear, engaging style so that everyone can read this intriguing book—and everyone should read it.

James Potter, University of California, Santa Barbara; author, Media Literacy and The 11 Myths of Media Violence Jeff McCall's searing book raises painful issues that we all—as Americans, as journalists, and as consumers of mass media—should be examining and for which we should be demanding answers and change.

Though I disagree personally and professionally with important parts of his analysis, I applaud his journey into my world and the spotlight of his challenging questions.