There has been a lot of controversy on television effects and freedoms in recent years. Watching of TV content is now thought to have negative effects on the viewers, especially the children. Globally, the content contained in TV shows has changed a lot in the last two decades. Today, a lot of the television content is based on violence and sex. This is the case whether the content is an advertisement, a movie, or a family TV show.
As a result, parents have become increasingly concerned about the morality of the society and the effects of TV content on their children’s behavior as they grow (Lorch & Lemberger, 2008). By and large, children and young adults are exposed to adult content on TV at a very young age. This raises a lot of concerns on the negative effects of TV content on the behavior and health of children. The essay looks at television effects and freedoms in reference to Italy.
Parents in Italy are raising concern over the content availed to children through television as most of it could end up affecting the behavior of the children negatively. TV content mainly involves movies which depict violence. Other content entails explicit and immoral acts which do not align to the societal beliefs and attitudes. Italians are staunch believers in the Catholic faith which condemns violence and depiction of sex in society.
As such, airing of violent and sexual contents of TV would be considered immoral at both the societal and national level. The same concerns raised in Italy have been raised in the US since the current generation can access TV content not only from the TV but also via the internet. With sites like YouTube, people are able to watch TV content without any restrictions.
There has been a tug of war between Google and these two corresponding nations as both would want internet content to be regulated. According to Meichtry and Zampano (2010), Milan is on the verge of controlling the content availed on Web videos which is an extension of the TV programs.
However, in Italy, there seems to be a controversy since according to Naom (1987), Italian television has been accused of airing shows with pornographic content. In a study carried out in Rome during the 1980s to determine the nature of TV content in Italy, it emerged that most TV stations dedicated an average of 2 hours per day to airing adult material.
In Italy, there is no proper regulation of the media industry, unlike in the United States where strong regulatory authority is in place to check the industry (Noam, 1987). With time, the government has been able to regulate the televisions and the media in general. However, it has been accused as of being oppressive in undermining the rights of journalists.
For example, in 2010, the government of Italy planned to “extend television-broadcasting regulations to Web sites that host videos” (Meichtry & Zampano, 2010). The move according to relevant authority was in alignment with other western governments to have control over TV content. This has been fueled by the European Union norm to have all content in TV regulated.
In summation, airing of violent and sexual content on TV in both Italy and the United States has raised a lot of concern in recent years. Despite the measures taken by the two governments, children can still access immoral content on the internet, which is yet to be regulated.
Reference List
Lorch, E., & Lemberger, C. (2008). Television – How do children use television?, How are children affected by television?. Web.
Meichtry, S., & Zampano, G. (2010). Italy Plans to Extend TV Rules to Web Videos. Web.
Noam, E. M. (1987). Broadcasting in Italy: An Overview. Web.