The Adultification of American Television

December 7th 2015

Susan Baran
COM260A: Media Literacy

Herbert Acquaye
Kelsey Charette
Alexa Pairisi
Emily Pieroni
Briana Trifiro

The adultification of American television is a phenomenon that is sweeping across the

nation. In this research design, we aimed to uncover the effects that mature programming can
have on some of Americas youngest television viewers. Through this, the increased usage of
profanity, sex, and violence depicted on television and music entertainment was analyzed and
studied. Overall, there has undeniably been a palpable shift in the values that are depicted on
American TV today. With television programming growing more and more mature, this calls into
question theories regarding how children learn, who exactly is responsible for monitoring
television programming, and so on. Today, there are 114.7 million television sets in the United
States alone. The average American watched over thirty-four hours of television a week, and it is
considered to be the majority of Americans favorite media-related activity (Baran 191). This
being said, knowing the background and the history of American television is imperative to be
able to acquire a full understanding of why the adultification of American television is affecting
our youth today.
The electronic television was first successfully revealed in San Francisco in 1927 by
Philo Farnsworth; almost an entire century ago. He and Vladmir Zworykin, the pioneers of
television, used the ideas from Paul Nipkow who in 1884, developed the first workable device
for generating electrical signals suitable for the transmission of a visual image, called the
Nipkow disk (Baran 184). It wasnt until 1939 at the Worlds Fair in New York that the television
was first publicly demonstrated. From then on, television sets were for sale all over the nation
(these appliances ranged in price from $200-$600 at the time). In 1941, despite the outbreak of
World War II, the FCC approved the nations first two commercial stations. As a result, the
number of national stations climbed to 108 by 1952, and 559 by 1960, where three major
networks, American Broadcasting Company, Columbia Broadcasting System, and National
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Broadcasting Company, reached over 17 million homes, compared to only a few thousands of
homes before 1947 (Baran 185).
Through the 1960s and 1970s, the population of people who owned television sets in
their homes skyrocketed. With the number of TV sets across American increasing, this led to the
rise of content being aired on those television sets. These programs could be aired using cable,
which is a more common name for community antenna television (CATV). This system was
invented by John Walson who ran a wire from a tower to his store where it offered improved
picture quality and more channels. This small system turned into a huge and successful business,
that by 1962, 800 systems were providing cable television to more than 850,000 homes (Baran
191). Aside from the rise of cable, the 1960s also began to show the immense social and political
power through the airing of the Nixon-Kennedy debates and the assassination of Kennedy in
1963. The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 declared Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) a
network which would unify the educational stations, creating the fourth major television
network. Later in 1972, a fifth network known as Home Box Office (HBO) was introduced as
being designed specifically to be distributed by the cable system. However, a new owner of HBO
in 1975 began distributing it through satellite which changed television forever. This new
premium cable offered high-quality, nationally produced and distributed content (Baran 195).
This feature brought television to its maturity in the mid-70s.
Focusing in on 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act. This allowed any
communications corporation to compete in any market against each other, which ultimately led
to more deregulation. Notably, Americans love to have the freedom to do and say whatever they
want. However, this may have ultimately done more harm than good. With the government

regulating the number of stations a company could own, there is more concentration of
ownership. To this day, deregulation is still a cause for concern.
Today, the most prominent theories amongst researchers are those that accept the
potential for powerful media effects. One of the most prominent of these is known as Cultural
Theories. One in particular, critical cultural theory which states the idea that media operate
primarily to justify and support the status quo at the expense of ordinary people (Baran 334) is
used to explain how and why media operate. Today, society emanates in an incredibly sexualized
culture, so while some television programming may not be directly promoting adultification, we
are only storing the information consistent with our over-adultified and hyper-sexualized
cultural norms.
Television has become an integrated aspect of everyday life. In one way or another, the
majority of people are exposed to television programming in some facet during their day. One
media literacy researcher went so far to explain that
Television is one of the most shared and homogenizing mechanisms of childrens lives
today throughout the world. Whether they have a TV in their bedroom, share the family
set in the living room, or they watch it in the classroom or the community center it is part
of the taken-for-granted everyday experience of most children (Lemish 2).
The dramatic increases in the amount of time children spend watching television raises concern
regarding whether what is shown on television is actually appropriate for broadcasting, and
whether or not it affects the development of children and adolescents.
In the past, television was a completely different threat in comparison to what it is today.
During the 1940s to 1960s, it was unfounded for a television couple to share the same bed, it
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was common for each partner to have their own bed and wear modest pajamas (Conradt). Even
the word hell was not spoken on television until a 1967 episode of Star Trek, and shit wasnt
used for another 32 years, until a 1999 episode of Chicago Hope (Stires). In the past, television
was a place where boundaries remained uncrossed, yet today it has become a medium in which
there is now competition to see who can cross the boundaries and shock audiences more.
Today, the majority of the most popular shows include some form of sexual situations and
elements of violence that once would not even be allowed on television. Jean Kilbourne, a
renowned researcher explains that
our media culture has now normalized the figure of the sexy little girl as a baby faced
nymphet with preternaturally voluptuous curves and whose scantily clad body gyrates in
music videos, poses provocatively on teen magazine covers, and populated cinema and
television screens around the globe (Egan).
This type of behavior and dress was once only expected from children of lower, working-class or
minority neighborhoods, whose parents did not teach them how to dress appropriately and
therefore failed to protect them from this evil. But now this revealing attire and attitude has
become a major staple in American television. Currently, American television shows are filled
with images of underage children wearing revealing and sexual clothes. Kilbourne argues that
the infiltration of graphic sexuality and pornography into American culture has had a filtering
down effect with sex being marketed to younger and younger audiences (Egan). This
phenomenon of hypersexualized programming has been marketed mainly towards young girls,
with their favorite characters focusing their lives around boys and becoming a woman that is
sexually active. Some programs marketed towards youth, such as in ABC Familys The Secret

Life of the American Teenager, the young viewer is exposed to underage children half naked
having sex as well as regular drug usage.
This evolution is not limited to just sexual content. In recent years, the incorporation of
violence on TV has skyrocketed. Violent scenes once consisted of just a single punch with no
blood to settle a score. Today, it has developed into an entirely different creature, filled with full
blown combat rather than slight physical violence. There are numerous shows currently on
television that are dedicated to portraying feats of extensive violence. This type of adultification
of American television is more of a recent social problem, beginning around the early 2000s,
when gruesome violence first begun to permeate American television. However, there is serious
lack of attention to the growing presence of violence on TV, as it has become omnipresent in
that it inundates almost every media source, is unyielding in that it targets girls on almost every
level, is global in its reach and can be life threatening (Egan).
The lack of attention to these issues can be partly blamed on societys growing
acceptance of these types of behaviors on television. Instead of people questioning what they see
on their television programs, they have come to accept it as something normal. Today, some of
the behaviors and clothing that most girls wear was once only worn by those from low-income
and immigrant neighborhoods, but now is seen as a kind of rebellious behavior of children from
college-educated, middle class suburban families (Egan). Some parents allow their children to
watch these shows because they find it cute or amusing when the child characters are dressing
and behaving as if they were adults. This type of cuteness includes teenage female characters
becoming romantically and sexually involved with multiple adults, as done by multiple
characters on the teen-tween focused show Pretty Little Liars or Gossip Girl, shows marketed
largely to younger audiences.
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In a study done by the American Psychological Association Task Force on the

Sexualization of Girls, a number of television programs watched by youth audiences were
monitored. The study found that 11.5% of verbal sexual messages coded involved sexually
objectifying comments, nearly all of which were about women (APA). Most of these comments
are executed to invoke a comical response rather than show their true insulting and discourteous
intent. There has also been a heavy push for trying to self-empower girls on television shows, but
this has resulted in an increased normalcy of self-objectifying young girls. These types of trends
have instilled a belief in young girls that in order for them to fit the standards of society they
must dress in specific was and become involved sexually at younger and younger ages. Even
though some people attempt to fight this and prevent this hyper speed maturity of children,
Kilbourne explains it is extremely difficult because our kids are growing up in a toxic cultural
environment and its becoming awfully difficult for parents to stem this tide. We can tell parents
dont let you kids dress this way, but its like saying the air is poisoned, dont let your kids
breath (Egan).
In addition to the increase of sexual content being shown of television, viewers have
become numb to the violent content they are taking in. Unlike sex, violence travels well
throughout the global market of television because it is easily understood by the audience
regardless of language and cultural barriers. By the age of 12 the average child whom views
commercial television will have been exposed to about 20,000 murders and about 100,000 other
acts of violence (Lemish 72). This numbing effect has been becoming a growing statistic due to
increased exposure to violent programming from younger ages. This causes children to be
virtually unfazed throughout their development to violent acts they view on television. One
major contributor to the numbness of violence is due to animated violence. Many parents believe
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that there is less concern for this type of violence in comparison to real violence. Children often
believe that in cartoon violence, characters are not actually getting hurt, and the depictions of
violence are just silly. Children do not view an episode as violent unless there was blood, even
though it might have involved people being shoved, pushed, thrown to the ground, or even being
shot (Brocato). Violence has become a glamourized aspect of television with countless shows
plotlines revolving around violent crimes. Shows such as Dexter attempt to justify the main
character murdering people by having his victims being serial killers themselves, but this
justification for violence can have serious implications on a younger audience.
Additionally, the American Psychological Association did a study of sexual harassment
on primetime programming, analyzing 81 episodes of various shows. 84% contained at least one
incident of sexual harassment, with an average of 3.4 incidents per program. 33.3% of these
incident were sexists comments describing women as; bimbo, dumb ass chick, toots, fox and so
on. 32% of incidents were verbal sexual comments that typically focused on a womens bodies or
body parts, most commonly breasts, in which were referred to as; jugs, boobs, hooters, knockers,
and canned goods. Lastly 13% of incidents were body language, and mostly involved men or
adolescent boys leering at women or girls. Additionally, yet another study conducted analyzed 56
episodes of 5 different workplace-based situational comedies. Each episode averaged 3.3
incidents of gender harassment, and 0.50 incidents of sexual harassment. 74% of episodes
analyzed contained at least 1 incident of gender harassment in the form of jokes, most of which
were followed by laugh tracks (APA).
Sexualization is able to shape peoples behaviors, whether it be precocious sexual
activity, eating disorders, or unwanted pregnancy. It is also able to shape public spaces, creating
sexualized and sexualizing environments such as schools and workplaces (Egan). The long-term
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viewing of sexualized television can lead to serious development hazards, if children focus more
on sexualizing themselves rather than pursuing other more age-appropriate development
activities then it can alter their development. Serious risks can be associated when children view
images that depict sexual behavior because it can devoid emotion, attachment, or consequence.
This poses significant risks because children then learn to associate physical appearance and
buying the right products not only with being sexy but also being a successful person. These
lessons have the ability to shape ones gender identity, sexual attitudes, values, and their capacity
for love and connection later in life (Egan). Gerbners cultivation theory proposes that when
people are exposed to media content or other socialization agents, they gradually come to adopt
beliefs about the world that coincide with the images they have been viewing or messages they
have been hearing (APA). This is extremely important because it proves how powerful an
influence television can be on how a person thinks.
A comprehensive study of American television found that approximately 75% of violent
characters go unpunished for their actions. This phenomenon this can be detrimental to the
development of adolescents because it can lead to children believing that they can also perform
these acts of violence and walk away unpunished. On most TV shows, about half of the
representations of acts of violence did not show injury to or suffering of the victims. Viewing this
can cause children to believe that when they are performing such actions that the victim isnt
really being hurt or that the injuries are not very serious. About 1/6 of shows presented the longterm implications of violence, such as those of economic and emotional nature (Lemish 72).
Fredrickson and Roberts objectification theory describes the process by which girls internalize
the sexualizing messages of culture. This theory focuses particularly on the impact of the sexual
objectification of female bodies as the cultural milieu in which girls exist and develop.
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According to this theory, girls internalize and reproduce within their own self-schemas, an
effect referred to as self-objectification (APA). Girls understanding of sexuality is also limited
by their cognitive development. This leads to questions such as, how does a 7-year-old
understand the plastic sexuality of Britney Spears? Or how do 10-year-olds cope with pressure to
dress and act in sexually provocative ways?
Girls have much less ability than adults to comprehend and cope with cultural messages
(APA). The theory that supports how truly influential television is in a childs life is Albert
Banduras social cognitive theory. It states that people learn from watching others, and explains
personality in terms of how a person thinks about and responds to ones social environment.
When people see someone else being awarded for behavior, they tend to behave the same way to
receive an award. It also states that people are also more likely to imitate those with whom they
identify themselves with. Bandura was able to prove this theory by showing children a video of a
girl punching a doll, later the children were presented a doll and the children behaved in
similarly aggressive ways (McLeod). This proves that television can a have a serious effect on a
childs behavior and actions, there are many instances in which children have become harmed
due to their imitation of something they watched on television. In Israel a 7-year-old boy who
broke his spine was reported to have shouted look how superman flies! before he jumped out
of a window. But televisions influence can have more violent results, such as in the United
States when viewing Oliver Stones Natural Born Killers was blamed for a 15-year-old boy
killing his parents. As well in Thailand a 9-year-old boy had hung himself trying to imitate a
scene from a popular series that depicted a killing by hanging of a victim (Lemish 71). The social
cognitive theory is especially relevant to tween and teen age groups because they are old enough
to watch television both actively and selectively, and most times observational learning is
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relevant to the way they learn. This theory also suggests that when one observes and then
imitates the actions and behaviors of a person on television that they admire, then the learned
behavior could be even stronger for them.
In a study conducted by 10 university professors, they each looked at the effects violent
television had on the brain of eight children ages 8 to 12. Each child was shown 3 minute violent
and nonviolent video sequences as well as two visual fixation condition video sequences, all
presented to them in succession while in the MRI scanner. The results showed that television
violence viewing in children is emotionally arousing, can lead to the activation of a network of
regions involved in attention, arousal, and salience. It is followed by the activation of premotor
regions that are possibly involved in the programming of motor plans, fight or flight (Murray).
Even though children may not be aware of the threat that television violence poses at a conscious
level, and even perceive it as arousing and interesting, some systems in the brain may not be able
to sort out the difference between real violence and entertainment/fictional violence.
With all of the lewd, violent and provocative material emblazoned on TV screens across
our country, this begs the question as to who exactly is responsible for regulating what is allowed
on television. In 1934 the Federal Communications Commission was established and entrusted
with the responsibility of regulating all programming transmitted over radio, television and wire.
Eventually as technology evolved, this was expanded to include satellite and cable transmissions.
The FCC is comprised of five members who each are appointed by the President of the United
States (Guides). Since the 1930s, it is undeniable that there has been a seismic shift in what is
construed as appropriate programming. Recent history has seen monumental changes in what is
transmitted to Americas television sets with programs becoming dramatically more profane,

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violent and sexual. All of these changes lead to the overall increase of the maturation of
American television.
In 1996, the United States Congress in conjunction with the FCC introduced a new
content rating system (Cantor). This system was used to rate television content in order to
provide parents with a resource to use when deciding which programming their families should
view. The ratings are broken down into six different categories TV-Y (youth programming,
ages 2-6), TV-Y7 (youth programming, ages 7 and up), TV-G (general audiences), TV-PG
(parental guidance suggested, some programming may not be suitable for younger viewers), TV14 (programming for adolescents age 14 and up), and TV-MA (programming designed for
mature audiences). For our study, we focused primarily on the use on the TV-14 rating and its
effect on adolescents. Ultimately, it has been demonstrated that the flaws contained in the
American ratings system essentially negate its effectiveness in providing proper guidance to
families as they strive to decide what is appropriate for the countrys youth to watch.
One critic of the FCCs rating system is Joanna Cantor, a professor of Communication
Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In an article published on the website Parenthood
in America, Cantor analyzes how effective TV ratings actually are in preventing young children
from seeing unsuitable programming. According to Cantors article Protecting Children from
Harmful Television: TV Ratings and the V-chip,
Both the MPAA ratings and the TV Parental Guidelines are "age-based" systems in that
they generally recommend or discourage viewing based on how old viewers are. In other
words, the rating TV-14 suggests that a program should not be viewed by children who
are under the age of 14, while the rating TV-G suggests that a program is suitable for
viewers of any age. Neither rating system provides any indication of what kind of
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material or content is in a given movie or television program or why it might be

inappropriate for viewers of a certain age (Cantor).
This highlights one major flaw in the FCCs ratings system. In the last few years, the
Commission has claimed to be more hands off in regards to the regulations of television
programming. Due to this, TV programming is growing more profane and more sexually
explicit. According to the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission does not currently
regulate the broadcast of violent programming (FCC). This being said, technically there is no
limit to the amount of violence depicted on television. Ultimately this means that children of all
ages are being exposed to extreme levels of violence, which has been proven to affect many
facets of childhood learning and growth.
One study examined this phenomenon in great depth. In Daniel Johnsons article entitled
Parents Television Council Targets The Walking Dead Over TV-14 Rating, Johnson focuses
in on AMCs infamous zombie themed TV series and its heightened usage of violence to advance
its story line. In his study, Johnson explains how
Throughout its run, the AMC program The Walking Dead has featured some of the
most graphic and brutally intense violence and gore imaginable. In the current season
alone the show has depicted hundreds of scenes of grisly murder both of living and
undead, but human, characters. Clearly, this is content appropriate to an adult-only
audience, but AMC has rated every single episode of The Walking Dead as suitable for
a 14 year old child (Johnson).
Using The Walking Dead as an example, this exemplifies the flaws within the FCCs rating
system. Boasting a TV-14 rating, The Walking Dead practically invites impressionable young

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teenagers to expose themselves to the violent programming of the drama series. Clearly a
program designed for mature audiences, this misuse of the ratings system calls into question its
overall effectiveness. If the ratings that are being used today prove to be incorrect or invalid,
what use are they to parents who are trying to find suitable programming for their children? With
little to no regulation of the material that is being broadcasted, children across the nation are
being exposed to graphic material, which in turn may be affecting them in adverse ways more
and more with each passing day.
Another area of controversy regarding the regulation of television programming comes
from the invention of safe harbor hours. Less common today, safe harbor hours were introduced
in 1978 in an attempt to clean up the television airwaves for children. To do this, the FCC
implemented the concept of safe harbor hours, where between 6am-10pm, programming was
required to be inoffensive (FCC). This essentially limited the amount of sexual content
featured on TV between those hours. After 10pm, there is no regulation regarding the content
that can be broadcast. While a good concept in theory, the safe harbor hour regulations are so
vague, that they essentially proved to be ineffective. This further exemplifies how as time
progresses, the FCC is becoming increasingly laissez-faire in regards to the regulation of
television programming, which is ultimately leading to more adult content being allowed on TV.
Today, there is a plethora of research available regarding the explosion of perverse
material that is currently being broadcast on television. One of the most prevalent examples of
this phenomenon is the increased usage of profanity on television. For example, according to the
Parents Television Council, the use of profanity has skyrocketed by more than 500% in the last
decade. The words people are willing to say in public and what they are willing to watch on
television have become more explicit (Kaye). To show this evolution, for example, in 1990
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viewers were stunned when a 6-year-old character on Uncle Buck exclaimed "you suck." Today,
programs such as HBO's The Sopranos, MTV's The Osbournes, and Comedy Central's South
Park are infamous for their use of profanity. One study conducted by The Media Research
Center
examined 4 weeks of "family hour" (8-9 p.m. EST) programming on six networks in
Fall 1995 and again in early 1997.' When examining swear words and program ratings, it
was found that 52% of PG-rated shows contained words such as "ass," "bastard," "son of
a bitch," and "suck," and one PG-rated program even included two incidents of "fucking"
(drowned out by the sound of a power drill; Johnson, 1996, 1997). (Kaye)
The use of profanity is merely one example of the progression of the downward spiral with
regards to standards of television, exemplifying how Americans are becoming more and more
accepting of adult language and themes depicted on television programs as time evolves.
Through the increased depictions of sex, violence, profanity on television, children are
becoming more and more exposed to adult themes every day. Ultimately, this is leading to a
more adult version of American television, with media becoming overly saturated with hypersexualized images and portrayals of graphic violence. This relentless progression to an under
regulated broadcast system can be dangerous to the psychological development of Americas
youth, which will be examined further later on.
Another large component regarding the adultification of American television is the
impact that reality television has on young audiences. Although some do not care to admit,
reality television plays a guilty pleasure role in many of our lives. The genre airs in multiple
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forms including talent, home improvement, hidden camera, and competition. Media researcher
Kevin Bliss from Livestrong explains reality television as programs which purport to showcase
people appearing as themselves in a variety of different contexts (Bliss). These programs are
edited and produced purely for entertainment purposes and more often than not portray very little
of real life. While reality television shows provide a great deal of effortless entertainment,
they generally demonstrate forced adult content. This poses a problem as more and more children
are becoming exposed to these reality television programs. As children, younger audiences may
lack the ability to separate true reality and scripted reality, therefore placing them in jeopardy
of believing that the graphic, often explicitly sexual reality is anything but real.
According to researchers such as Kevin Bliss, children who watch reality television
shows are prone to suffer ill effects. Bliss utilizes one particular Australian study to highlight the
effects that reality television can have on young audiences. The study
revealed that children who watched reality programming were significantly more
likely to associate wealth, popularity and beauty as factors that contribute to happiness.
It's no surprise that these are values frequently held in high esteem by many participants
of reality shows (Bliss).
In most cases, children learn behaviors through observation and replication. The main stars of
the reality television shows children learn behaviors and values from usually portray stuck-up,
inappropriate, and/or raunchy characters. This observe/replicate concept explains why the young
viewers who are watching these programs associate wealth and beauty with happiness. Reality
television negatively effects children through four distinct categories under adultification:
Sexualization, Diva-ization, violence, and exploitation of child participants.

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Media in general is becoming increasingly sexual in content as time goes on. Reality
shows, in particular, are casting more physically attractive actors and encouraging the increase of
sexually explicit language and behaviors in an attempt to rapidly grasp the attention of its
audience. MTV, a popular television channel among young viewers, airs several controversial
reality television shows such as The Jersey Shore, 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, Are You the One,
and The Real World. The casts in these types of shows generally show a lot of skin, interact in
sexual ways, and consistently boast an inappropriate vocabulary, littered with expletives and
sexual innuendos. In particular, The Jersey Shore, Are You the One, and The Real World
specifically film several scenes each episode that practically portray pornographic material
without quite crossing over the line.
As reality television becomes more prominent in our society, the amount of
hypersexualized content that is accessible to younger audiences has grown tremendously.
Jennifer Shewmaker, the author of Sexualized Media Messages and our Children argues that
reality television is adept at drawing viewers in, and it also powerfully influences sexual
attitudes and behaviors in adolescents (Shewmaker). Becoming engaged in reality television
shows such as The Real World ultimately causes children to think and behave more sexually
than children who do not engage in similar programming. The Parents Television Council
expresses concern in this area, arguing that with MTV reality stars as celebrity role models,
teens are learning that outlandish behavior is rewarded, and that degrading, sexualized language
is not only accepted, it is encouraged (PTC). A young audience watches Snooki from The
Jersey Shore act provocatively, which ultimately earns her male attention and praise. Children
learn that by dramatizing their sexuality and acting in a more sexual matter, they will ultimately

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receive more attention. However, what reality television does not portray is that this attention
may come in very negative forms.
In her book, Shewmaker discusses a study that was conducted to assist media research
regarding the effects that reality television has on young audiences. The 3-year study included
498 adolescents, some of whom tune into reality television regularly and some who rarely watch.
One of the most relevant discoveries found by the study found that children who reported to
watch reality television regularly experienced changes in sexual norms among their peers. For
example, among the participants, it was found that the girls talked more about sex with their
peers and the boys experienced a heightened perceived sexual experience level. Shewmaker
explains how through her research, it has been demonstrated that watching romantically and
sexually themed television programs such as The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Jersey
Shore and similar programming is related to permissive sexual attitudes (Shewmaker). This
exemplifies how when children watch sexually explicit material through reality television, they
are more likely to incorporate it into their everyday lives.
In addition to the heightened levels of sexualization in reality television, the concept of
Diva-ization has spread over the nations adolescent girl demographic. Reality shows such as
Toddlers and Tiaras and Little Miss Perfect have resulted in a sky-rocketing number of young
girls spending time in beauty salons, makeup retailers, and tanning salons. These types of shows
and the children that are casted define over-the-top. Jessica Bennett, author of Generation Diva
explained how these girls are maturing in an age when older women are taking ever more
extreme measures, from Botox to liposuction, to stay sexually competitive (Bennett). Programs
such as Toddlers and Tiaras teach girls at a very young age that every aspect of the body is a
candidate for upgrading and that their beauty can always be improved upon or enhanced,
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whether through airbrushing, wearing false teeth or spray tanning (Bennett). To exemplify this
phenomenon, Bennett describes Marleigh, a Toddlers and Tiaras participant. Bennett explains
how reared on reality TV and celebrity makeovers, girls as young as Marleigh are using beauty
products earlier, spending more and still feeling worse about themselves (Bennett). In addition,
the average age of girls who purchase beauty products has dropped from age 17 to age 13
between 2005 and 2009; exemplifying that these young girls are taught that they can never be
completely satisfied with their physical appearance, and that makeup can solve any insecurities
that they may have about themselves.
The third theme represented in a majority of reality television is the incorporation of
violence. Regardless of the medium, violence usually plays a role in some way or another in the
media. Cyberbully Hotline opens its Reality TV article with the posed question, is there a link
between physically, mentally and verbally aggressive reality TV shows and bullying? (Reality
on MTV). Many reality television shows that are intended for younger audiences include a
handful of strangers living under one roof and occasionally include competitions for reward
scattered through the season. More often than not, the roommates end up disagreeing on
multiple occasions, creating physically and mentally violent scenes. These shows are usually
packed with woman-on-woman viciousness and violence caused by public drunkenness to spike
entertainment. This incorporation of violence, under the veil of reality exemplifies the trend of
the adultification of television, incorporating mature and adult material and attempting to mask it
as everyday life. Ultimately, when asked whether there is a link between aggressive reality
television and bullying among young viewers, studies prove that there is in fact a connection.
The Cyberbully Hotline article explains that studies have shown that girls who watch these

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violent realty TV shows have a higher incidence of bullying, cyberbullying and other bad
behavior than girls that do not (Reality on MTV).
To further exemplify this, the Girl Scouts conducted a study on a similar subject matter.
The womens organization surveyed more than 1,100 girls across the nation. Results showed that
of girls surveyed, regular reality TV viewers differ dramatically from their non-viewing peers in
their expectations of peer relationships, their overall self-image, and their understanding of how
the world works (Real to Me). Although the study uncovers multiple important points, one of
the major key findings focused on the idea that the participants believed being mean to others
leads to success. For example, 37% of regular viewers believed you have to lie to get what you
want over 24% of non-viewers. The idea that being mean earns you respect was believed by 37%
of regular viewers as opposed to 25% of non-viewers. Lastly, 28% of regular viewers versus
18% of non-viewers reported to believe that you have to be mean to others to get what you want
(Real to Me). Considering the adolescent viewers brain has yet to fully develop when being
exposed to this violent content, they are not completely able to use reason and logic. Therefore,
the drama between cast members shown in the reality programs appear to be a normal part of
relationships and societies social structure. The children are unable to identify the overdramatization portrayed in the reality scenes.
Lastly, the exploitation of the child participants of reality television must be addressed as
it relates to the genres harm to adolescences. According to researcher Benjamin Shmueli,
children are supposed to bring greater emotion and identification, attract audiences, and
increase ratings (Shmueli). CBSs Kid Nation presents a perfect example of child exploitation
portrayed on reality television. The program aired in 2007 and included a cast of 40 children
ranging from ages 8-15. These children were pulled out of school and dropped off at an
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abandoned town where they were required to manage each other through an elected council. The
council delegated chores to the rest of the children such as cleaning, cooking, and babysitting.
Upper and middle classes were determined by competitions held weekly. Participants of Kid
Nation were paid a stipend of $5,000 - however the legal and ethical issues the program rose
outweighed the cash paychecks. The show raised issues including those of privacy, freedom of
expression, and child labor. For example, one of the young girls severely burned herself while
cooking a meal for herself, while another young boy became ill after drinking out of an
unlabeled bottle of cleaning product Prior to filming, parents were required to sign a contract
which prevented them from suing the network. The show only lasted a single season.
Kid Nation is not the only reality show that has proved to exploit its child participants in
order to grasp viewers attention. Reality shows focused on talent and programs involving the
lives of a single family such as Keeping up with the The Kardashians and 19 Kids and Counting
also put children at risk. Families that allow their lives to be taped generally use this as an
opportunity to solve their own family issues through semi-scripted film days. Shmueli explains
how participants, regardless of age, suffer from high psychological participation costs. However,
the costs generally have a greater impact on the developing children. Talent based reality shows,
such as Toddlers and Tiaras, which is based off young girls competing in beauty pageants, also
put extreme pressure on child participants. Shmueli discusses the psychological pain and
humiliation children suffer when they fail in a competition He states, when the camera stops
following them, one cannot know what damage they have sustained from their public failure and
from their brief appearance for which they may have labored for many months" (Shmueli). When
a parent forces a child to participate in a reality show competition for a chance at brief camera

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time, the pressure that is put on the child may be enough to damage them emotionally and
physiologically.
Reality television provides entertainment through a variety of interests. However, some
of these interests may not be suitable for children. As already mentioned, the government does
very little to regulate the sort of material being broadcasted on TV, so young audiences can be
subjected to any sort of adult content. From the graphic portrayal of sex in episodes of The
Jersey Shore to the argumentative acts of violence portrayed on The Real World televisions
portrayal of reality can negatively alter the way adolescents behave. Today, children do not
know how to read the media messages that are being fed to them, which is why they are even
more susceptible to the lure of reality television. It is essential to break through the glamour of
reality TV and see it for what it is trash TV that does not represent any facet of life.
Another key topic that we focused on throughout the study was the concept of sexual
socialization. Sexual socialization is often described as the process by which knowledge,
attitudes, and values about sexuality are acquired. Several theoretical and practical circumstances
explain why television and other media are likely to play a critical role in educating American
youth about sexuality. Sexual content is pervasive in the media. From primetime sitcoms and
dramas to feature films, the media present adolescents with countless verbal and visual examples
of how dating, intimacy, sex, and relationships are handled the media are often forth- coming and
explicit about sexuality when others are not. The media are more supportive of sex, typically
focusing on the positive possibilities of sex rather than its problems and consequences. This is
especially seen in todays most popular American music videos.
Music entertainment television is one of the most growing industries today. Channels
such as MTV, BET, and VH1 are known for their broadcasts of popular and trending music
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videos, in addition to their slews of reality television programming. These music videos pose just
as large of a risk as their counterparts on reality TV. In music videos, women more frequently
than men are presented in provocative and revealing clothing, are objectified, and typically serve
as decorative objects who dance and pose and do not play any instruments. Media content
responds to demand and is a reflection of culture, but it also contributes to it. Throughout U.S.
culture, and particularly in mainstream media, women and girls are depicted in a sexualizing
manner. Girls are major consumers of media and receive and engage with these messages every
day. According to Nielsen Media Research, the average child or teen watches 3 hours of
television per day, and the numbers are higher for Black and Latino youth (1998 Report on
Television). Massive exposure to media among youth creates the potential for massive exposure
to portrayals that sexualize women and girls and teach girls that women are sexual objects.
Content analyses indicate that 44%81% of music videos contain sexual imagery (Ward).
They are often displayed in ways that emphasize their bodies, body parts, facial features, and
sexual readiness. R. C.Vincent, Davis, and Boruskowski found that 57% of the videos featured a
woman portrayed exclusively as a decorative sexual object (Ward). More recent analysis of the
most popular music videos on Black Entertainment Television found sexual imagery in 84% of
the videos; the two most frequently occurring sexual behaviors were sexual objectification and
women dancing sexually 71 %women in these videos were dressed in mildly provocative or
provocative clothing or wore no clothing at all, compared with 35% of male characters.
Music videos convey information about female sexuality not only through the images and
story lines of individual videos but also through the changing personas of the artists themselves.
One of the distinct ways in which sex is used is as a metamorphosis. They show how teen artists
exploit their sexuality to establish a more mature and edgier version of their former selves as
22

they cross the threshold from teenage icon to adult musician. These transformations likely drive
home the point that being a successful sexual object is the way to be perceived as mature and
successful in the music industry.
In addition to sexual messages in music videos, violence has become a prevalent theme in
most of the videos. Exposure to sexual violence in music videos and other media desensitizes
male viewers to violence against women and heightens a sense of disempowerment among
female viewers. The young minds being exposed to these scenes aren't always capable of
separating fiction and reality, they may see violence as an easy way to settle conflict or relieve
stress. The media doesn't show the consequences, and the adolescents after watching don't think
about them. Out of 518 videos examined, 76 videos, or roughly 15% of them, portrayed acts of
interpersonal violence. Violent videos showed a mean of six acts of violence per 2-3-minute-long
segment - a total of 462 shootings, stabbings, punchings, and kickings in the 76 videos
(American Academy of Pediatrics).
In study performed to assess the reactions of young males exposed to violent rap music
videos or sexist videos, participants reported an increased probability that they would engage in
violence, a greater acceptance of the use of violence, and a greater acceptance of the use of
violence against women than did participants who were not exposed to these videos (American
Academy of Pediatrics).
The extent of adolescent exposure to music videos is drastic especially in the digital age
we find ourselves in currently. The 3 popular music video networks are Black Entertainment
Television, Music Television (MTV), and Video Hits-1. A study of 100 fourth- to sixth-graders
revealed that 75% of them watched music videos, with 60% of them self- describing their
frequency of viewing videos as a lot. Of these children, 62% watched music videos every
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day, and 7% watched them even before going to school (American Academy of Pediatrics).
MTV is watched by 73 percent of boys and 78 percent of girls in this age group for an average of
6.6 and 6.2 hours each week 13-19.
Self-objectification in a culture in which a woman is a good object when she meets the
salient cultural standard of sexy leads girls to evaluate and control their own bodies more in
terms of their sexual desirability to others than in terms of their own desires, health, wellness,
achievements, or competence. The sexualization and objectification of women in music videos
appear to teach girls that as women, all they have to offer is their body and face, and that they
should expend all their effort on physical appearance and also on sexy dances. If girls and
women are seen exclusively as sexual beings rather than as complicated people with many
interests, talents, and identities, boys and men may have difficulty relating to them on any level
other than the sexual. This could dramatically limit the opportunities boys and men have to
interact intellectually with girls and women, to compete with and against them in sports or
games, to create art or make music with them, to work together for higher causes (e.g., volunteer
work or activism), or to enjoy their company as friends (Wallis).
Sexualization and objectification undermine confidence in and comfort with ones own
body, leading to a host of negative emotional consequences, such as shame, anxiety, and even
self-disgust. For girls as young as 12 and 13 years of age, viewing oneself primarily from the
perspective of an observer and emphasizing features like attractiveness and sex appeal with
respect to ones body lead to higher levels of anxiety about appearance and feelings of shame.
Sexualized and violent music videos often lead to the glorification of acts such as
twerking, a sexually suggestive dance style, and popping mollies, the act of ingesting the
synthetic drug, ecstasy. According to researchers, very young children are highly susceptible to
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marketing they have difficulty distinguishing between commercial and regular programming on
TV, and only after they are approximately 8 years old can they recognize that the purpose of
advertisements is to persuade them to want to purchase something or behave a certain way. Girls
understanding of sexuality is also limited by their cognitive development (Turner). How is a 7year-old supposed to understand the plastic sexuality of Britney Spears? How should 10-yearolds cope with the pressure to dress and act in sexually provocative ways? How are adolescents
supposed to understand that gang violence isn't cool? The answer to all of these questions rely
on media literacy and teaching kids the consequences of the fantasies portrayed in music videos
especially those related to sexualization of women and girls and violence.
Media content responds to demand and is a reflection of culture, but it also contributes to
it. Throughout U.S. culture, and particularly in mainstream media, women and girls are depicted
in a sexualizing manner and violence is painted as the answer to all conflicts no matter the
severity of the consequences for the parties involved. Ultimately, the hyper sexualization of
women in the American music entertainment industry illustrates yet another way that young
children are being exposed to adult themes.
As previously described, the most important tool that can be used to combat the effects
that the adultification of American television is having on Americas children is through the use
of media literacy. Media literacy is defined as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create
media (Baran). Media literate students have a responsibility to educate those who lack the
ability to analyze or evaluate the media taken in subconsciously every single day. Stanley Baran,
a professor at Rhode Islands Bryant University, is an expert regarding the effects that media can
have on society today. In his text, Baran discusses seven media literacy skills that can be applied
directly to the topic of the phenomenon of the adultification of American television. These seven
25

skills are outlined below along with explanations of their importance when decoding certain
types of media. The education of media literacy continues to be one of the most important skills
for young people today, especially with the continued increase of mature and adult programming
that is prevalent today on television.
To begin, Baran identifies the ability and willingness to make an effort to understand
content, pay attention, and filter out noise as one of the most important media literacy skills
(Baran 24). Becoming a media literate individual requires the constant effort to pay attention to
the media in all aspects, whether be it the television, social media updates, or radio. However, for
the average TV owner, this may be easier said than done. Television has evolved from a way for
families to bond, to casual background noise. In order to prevent children from watching
television programs that are not suitable for them, parents need to monitor what they are
viewing, or more importantly, watch the television with them so they can better understand what
is going on. With parental feedback, children have a better understanding of what is right and
wrong, what is age appropriate, and why.
Baran describes this importance as an understanding of and respect for the power of
media messages (Baran 24). There is no doubt that the media is the most powerful form of
communication in this day and age. It can alert people of world news or important events going
on, and be the most useful and effective tool. Because content is relatively free and easy to
obtain, anyone with access to it is subject to influence. The third-person effect is relevant to this
particular skill because we tend to believe that while others are influenced greatly by messages
from the media, we are not. To obtain this media literate skill means that we need to disregard
third-person effect and accept that anyone with access to media is influenced by it. Adolescents
with access to a television without parental controls are subject to adultification, just by watching
26

one episode of the wrong program. While on the surface, certain programs may seem harmless
for adolescents to watch, in reality the deeper media messages are what sticks with the child.
Another media literate skill that Baran emphasizes the importance of is having the
ability to distinguish emotional from reasoned reactions when responding to content and act
accordingly (Baran 24). Clearly, there is media content that is designed for the sole purpose of
pulling on the heart strings of the audience. While this is an effective way to grab immediate
attention, it is also an effective way to trick the audience by using emotionality to block the
deeper meaning behind the message. Of course reacting emotionally is natural and appropriate,
but we cannot forget to take a step back and think about what the message is really telling us. For
example, Sarah McLachlan is infamous for partnering with the American Society For The
Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and creating commercials used to pull on the
emotions of viewers. By utilizing persuasive emotional appeals, the goal of those commercials is
to cause the viewer to feel a certain emotion, and ultimately persuade them to donate to the
ASPCA. This is one example of programming that utilizes emotional appeals to target the viewer
to hopefully elicit a desired outcome.
Additionally, Baran discusses the importance of the development of heightened
expectations of media content (Baran 24). As consumers, we must set high standards and
require that the media that we consume on a day to day basis meet those standards. Most
Americans have a guilty television pleasure, whether it be the Keeping up with the Kardashians,
the Jersey Shore, or the Bachelor. However, by believing that any of these television shows are
below consumer standards yet still buying into them, consumers are feeding into the hype, and
ultimately allowing for the production of more and more content in this genre. Becoming a
media literate individual ultimately means having the wherewithal to distinguish between trash
27

TV and quality programming, and therefore teaching our children the difference between real
life and reality TV.
To be a well-equipped media literate student, one must possess a knowledge of genre
conventions and the ability to recognize when being mixed (Baran 24). Conventions are defined
as certain distinctive, standardized style elements of a type of genre (Baran 25). These
conventions are evident, even without having prior knowledge of them. For example, we know
that a comedy usually begins with upbeat music and a colorful screen, whereas a thriller chooses
eerie or suspenseful music and a darker screen. Awareness of genre conventions is important to
deciphering quality and trustworthy programs versus useless and unreliable ones; like the
difference between credible and non-credible sources of news. In an effort to maximize profits
(sometimes in the expense of children), content producers can mix genre conventions (Baran 25).
Baran also emphasizes the ability to think critically about media messages, no matter
how credible the source (Baran 25). Whether or not you can determine what is credible is one
important media skill, but whether or not you have the ability to think critically about any media
message regardless of its credibility is another; the latter, being a skill more difficult than it
seems. It is just as important to think critically about the daily news and its bias, as it is about the
various TV-14 programs you are thinking about letting your child watch. While the two are
unrelated in content, they are related in the fact that each need to be viewed with the same
amount of judgement. We should not necessarily believe everything the news reports, nor should
we necessarily believe in the messages behind those TV-14 programs. This does not go to say
that even the most credible media sources are bias or wrong in any means the skill itself is just
a reminder that every piece of media content should be looked at with a critical eye, for that is
one of the biggest parts of being a media literate individual.
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A knowledge of the internal language of various media and the ability to understand its
effects, no matter how complex (Baran 25). Media language can vary from hashtag usage,
choice of lighting, special effects, tone of voice, location on a page, and the placement of
punctuation. To become fully media literate is to have a grasp of the internal language used by
the media in all its various forms. This is important because it helps us put together a complete
picture of the medium, thus becoming more critical and less negatively affected by it. Learning
the vocabulary of media is one of the easiest ways of becoming media literate without even
trying. For example, by understanding the concept of third-person effect (stated above), we have
a better understanding how media affects all of us, not just a select few.
Especially in todays day in age, it is incredibly important to be media literate. Every day,
millions of Americans are bombarded with all different types of media persuasion. A media
literate person is able to distinguish and decipher media into a meaningful way, and is ultimately
more critical about the messages that they are receiving. Ultimately, with society becoming more
and more adultified, as exemplified through the heightened exploitation of children and the
increased usage of sex and violence depicted on TV and in the music entertainment industry, it is
vital to harness these media literacy skills. As shown, Americas values are changing, and the
media is attempting to keep in stride with this seismic change.

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