Are kids nowadays being led down a path to their dooms? A few months ago, I read an article in which the activities of kids were being studied in respect with movies. In it, younger kids were starting to watch films meant for older people and as a result, film makers started to get approval for films on a lower rating. What I mean is, if for example, a movie was meant to be R rated, it was actually rated for teens, thus expanding the market for films to earn money from.
The article also showed a comparison between movies from the ‘60s to ‘80s and modern day films. The comparison proved that movies from then which had been rated R for too much violence are actually being marketed nowadays as G (general) movies which everyone can watch. I found this truly shocking. How could that much change take place over a course of merely a few decades? Today, I saw an article on Teen Ink by someone who described the deteriorating quality of programs on Cartoon Network.
This got me thinking. Not only movies or t.v shows but things ranging from toys to games are negatively influencing the younger generation. Those who are in their teen years still belong to this generation but they have a stronger mind than those younger than them. Kids nowadays are being exposed to all sorts of new technology. The internet provides them with many facilities but it can be enticing for these same kids to do the wrong thing. Television, toys, games and movies help in promoting this in the modern world.
As an example, take a look at Adventure Time, the popular Cartoon Network show. Now, back when I was a kid, like 6 or 7, cartoons were very silly and childish like their meant to be. I thought that the same case applied today so I let my two year old brother watch Adventure Time, having no clue what it was about. A few days later, I read a Yahoo article which suggested Adventure Times to adults, saying that since it dealt with a lot of adult issues, it could be entertaining to watch for older people. Once again, I found myself shocked. I’m sure, in most cases, parents or older siblings allow the younger members of their family to watch such cartoon filled channels but the problem is, in today’s world, these are bad for these kids.
The problem doesn’t end at movies and shows either. Toys like plastic guns and action figures are being used by little kids like boomerangs. Now, given, they were there when we were young too but movies like Transformers only existed in cartoon form back then so television was relatively harmless for the young at the time. Now, when these movies influence kids, they in turn use their toys violently, at least as far as I can tell. Games, not all but most, help to aid in violence and give kids the illusion that something which is wrong could be right. Even music videos produced by famous child loving celebrities have some racy scene or clothing in them.
The worst of all, perhaps, is the internet itself. Internet safety is a priority for most parents in order to take care of their kids but with the increasing dependency on technology in the modern worlds, young people use their computers more often. This can lead them to shady websites or users that may encourage wrongdoing such as piracy or hacking. Right now, I think that it is or should be of serious concern to people what exactly is happening to the next generation. They are in trouble. They are being exposed to wrongdoing and it is high time that we all take notice and help them get past this phase. Please share your comments about whether you agree with me or not.