The Parents Television Council has released a report condemning MTV for peddling sex to kids. The report, titled MTV Smut Peddlers: Targeting Kids With Sex, Drugs And Alcohol, claims MTV consistently goes over the line. PTC President L. Brent Bozell said, “MTV is blatantly selling raunchy sex to kids. Compared to broadcast television programs aimed at adults, MTV’s programming contains substantially more sex, foul language and violence and MTV’s shows are aimed at children as young as 12. Theres no question that TV influences the attitudes and perceptions of young viewers, and MTV is deliberately marketing its raunch to millions of innocent children.”
Upon viewing 171 hours of programming, the group found MTV reality programming to contain 13 sexual scenes per hour and its music videos to contain 32 utterances of foul language per hour.
And so goes the argument. Some say parents should just turn the TV off.
Others say MTV, because it is part of basic cable, does not allow parents to decide whether or not it comes into the home. Bozell asks, “Given a choice, how many parents now being forced to take and pay for MTV as part of a basic cable package, would continue to do so?”
