Improve Media Content for Youth

Sustainability For Life

Improve Media Content for Youth

“We are what we see and hear every day”.

Henry W. Clearsky
sustainabilityforlife.com

Note: Communicating this information as news to others is free of charge.5

Follow this link for a printable .PDF version of this information

Introduction

  • Sustainability involves millions of people prospering for centuries…. because previous generations made wise choices.
  • Children and teenagers are impacted by what they see every day.
  • Children and teenagers in the U.S. are exposed to hundreds of hours of phone, internet, television and cable entertainment each month.
  • What if much higher content was included about environmental protection on a daily basis?
  • What kind of adults would result ?
Sustainability For Life

The Addiction of Media

  • There are literally hundreds of articles published on the mind-conditioning in children and teenagers resulting from dozens of hours per week of watching television, movies, video games, and computer-phone-internet media. (1)
Sustainability For Life
  • Psychologists and behavior experts have validated the “brainwashing” that
    occurs from repeated exposure to these examples: (2)

    • Violence
    • Racism
    • Pollution
    • Sex and Inappropriate Sexual behavior
    • Smoking and Dipping Tobacco
    • Drinking Alcohol
    • Taking illegal drugs or prescription medication
    • Gambling
  • Media influence is huge on a person’s behavior. This amount of
    negative example is already a large problem.

The Connection to Sustainability

  • How can we expect young people to grow into caring adults who actively protect the environment when they are repeatedly exposed to destructive behavior, with little emphasis on environmental protection ?
  • Example: Generational Sustainability means the current generation can prosper and meet their own needs, while enhancing the natural resources of the Planet Earth for future generations.
  • How much of this topic is included in current media programming ?
  • The Reality: Our United States economic and industrial systems are instead ruining the eco-systems of the planet… and protecting the natural world is not emphasized near enough.

What if, on youth media systems, environmental protection was emphasized and consistently included in the storylines?

Sustainability For Life

1a. Television and Cable Laws - Requiring Youth Networks be Available

  • Pass a nation-wide law that requires any cable company or media provider to provide a equivalent system for youth, as an available option for parents… i.e.. if a company is providing cable media content, they must provide a youth version in addition to the network intended for 18-and-over. This is achievable.
  • If the company wants a license to operate on cable, they must provide a youth network in addition to their 18-and-over network.
  • If they want a license to broadcast content, it must be only youth-approved.
  • Parents could lock in this system for their home television systems, i.e.. a youth network with 80+ channels, including entertainment, sports, news, movies, television shows and commercials that all have to meet new standards.
Sustainability For Life

1b. Television and Cable Laws – Regulatory Oversight

  • Each youth system would include a much higher level of environmental protection content in the regular programs and news, not just nature specials.
  • Examples:
  • Actors in a show installing solar panels or buying an electric car
  • Use of battery-electric yard tools
  • A family that has an electric heat pump system for heating and cooling
  • A family that has contracted to have electricity from solar
  • People with reusable mugs instead of plastic water bottles.
  • Every show or movie would have content related to preserving eco-systems in some way.
  • A person waging a campaign to stop someone who is harming the environment is already on some programming, which is positive… however…
  • … the examples above would be woven into each story.
  • For inclusion on the youth network, every television show or movie created over the past 100 years, would have to be evaluated to determine if it met youth regulatory standards.

1c. Television and Cable Laws – What the youth networks will promote

  • Peaceful behavior
  • Honesty
  • Healthy Living
  • Responsibility
  • Respect for parents and other people
  • Harmony
  • Inclusiveness
  • Treating all people with equality
  • Sustainability and daily environmental protection behaviors

Parents want their children to learn these values !

Sustainability For Life

2a. New Laws regulating Movie Theatres

  • Movies for youth would meet the same standards.
  • By law, movies for youth audiences could be shown in a buildings entirely separate from any building showing movies for 18-and-over.
  • How many 12-year-olds have attended an R rated movie (without their parents knowledge) by paying for a PG movie and quietly sneaking into another cinema in the 18-theatre facility?
  • What we currently have is close to no oversight at all.
  • Movies for youth audiences will meet the same regulatory requirements for television and cable (a previous slide).
  • Drivers license ID cards showing at least 18 years of age, would be required to see any movie intended for 18-and-over.
Sustainability For Life

2b. It’s a Matter of Survival

  • This entire presentation is about improving a parent’s ability to consistently pass on their principles and values to their children.
  • Two examples about “mind-conditioning”
  • 1 Across 80+ years, thousands of examples of smoking and drinking alcohol have been included in mainstream movies, often by the stars of the film. Does this “condition” youth to positively accept smoking and drinking ?
  • 2 Across 40+ years, many happy, positive examples of smoking marijuana were included in mainstream movies. Now, two generations of young people largely think it should be legalized, and this is being achieved. This may have happened later anyway. This just describes the speed of “mind conditioning”.
  • What if all movies included just as many (thousands) small and large examples of environmental protection into their stories? What would be the mind-set of young adults 30 years from now?
  • The point: This is not about gaining acceptance for marijuana…. It is now a matter of their survival that our youth ingrain environmental protection into their minds.

3. New Laws regulating Video games

  • By Law, all video games will be reviewed and labeled youth, youth14, and mature. Perhaps some other labels will be designated for younger children, to help parents selections.
  • By Law, all youth and youth14 video games will meet the youth content standards previously mentioned.
  • By Law, mature video games cannot be sold in any building where youth are allowed to enter.
  • This means video games for 18-and-over will be sold in buildings where only adults can enter with an ID.
  • All youth video games would be required to include some information on environmental protection.
Sustainability For Life

4. Important Options

  • Voters and Politicians could evaluate other negative behaviors, for possible exclusion from the youth network.
  • Violence
  • Racism
  • Pollution
  • Sex and Inappropriate Sexual behavior
  • Teasing-Bullying
  • Smoking and Dipping Tobacco
  • Drinking Alcohol
  • Taking illegal drugs or prescription medication
  • Gambling
  • This is a challenging option, but greatly reducing these examples would be very positive for our youth.

5. New Laws regulating the internet for youth ?

  • This is a large area of challenge
  • How much positive environmental protection example is included in what children and teenagers see every day?
  • Consideration should be given to a youth internet, and their devices would only access that internet, not the regular internet.
Sustainability For Life

Why do this ?

  • How many of today’s youth fully understand the danger environmental damage represents to their future?
  • How many have been educated on the positive steps for environmental protection by being exposed to these examples in media every day ?
  • All it would take is 70% of the American voting citizens to install this set of laws
  • It will take courage and commitment.
  • With this system, youth would see environmental protection on a daily basis in media, and take this example with them into adulthood.
Sustainability For Life

Citations

  • 1 University of Michigan, 2019, YourChild Development and Behavior Resources, Children and Television
  • 2 American Psychological Association, 2015, Psychology: Science in Action, Television and Video Violence

Henry W. Clearsky, born in America, resides in Texas