The Watershed is on Fire?

so i just recently discovered that watershed is a term used by the media to describe permissable times to display adult content. as a former telecommunications major and a current informaticist in training i am slightly bewildered by this notion, and yet am not at all taken back by its existence - even more so by the name trying to dismiss its role in its bland demeanor

i suppose this is nothing new as many of us are aware of the FCC and other satalite groups who support censorship of the media, *** is censorship a crime??? i would think so if you look at the constitution, but is it such a black and white scenario... or are we lost in the gray


but i guess what i wanted to ask, no what i wanted to pose was why do we need such an unregulated (its different depending on where you live) system? (check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watershed_%28television%29 yea i know its wikipedia, but just look)

it would seem to me that despite parents best intentions, there are too many pathways for children to find, or worse*?* be exposed to adult content... and its becoming more prevalent everyday as the internet culture continues to expand, and news media evolves (to what i dont really know) as well as television programming in general becoming more saturated with "strong themes" ... also, what good does it do by allowing the content your trying to keep off tv on later in the night? why not ban it? or why not allocate it differently?

if you think tv is the only source for this type of "content" dont forget schools and other areas like malls where children dwell, and what advertisers consistenly push (i'll leave the details of sex appeal, fitting in, and all that jazz to you)

i guess what i am quickly trying to get at is why do we enforce a practice that is becoming archaic becuase it can be so easily bypassed? almost anyone can access the internet, and we all know what the biggest facet of the net is inclined towards, a certain adult industry, this industry that even garnished a tv show on E (something like chics that are our neighbors), and industry that makes billions

(im not against the industry, im just using it as an example of what most would blatently consider adult material)



i understand there are steps being taken, v-chips, software programs, church rallies, and concerned parents doing their best the best way the know how, etc etc but is it really doing anything at all

also, this is a huge controversy, but what damage are we doing to our children by exposing them to adult circumstances or "themes"

i understand its probably for the best if you dont show a 3 yr old a slasher flick, but in some ways might we be limitting our children from partaking in the world they inhabit just as much as the rest of us "adults"

and what if we told the kids the truth? what do you think would happen? are we affraid of sharing the realities with children because we are ashamed of it ourselves, or do we do it to preserve a notion of innocence?

i for one feel that there needs to exist a healthy medium between sheltering a child completely and overdosing them on pop culture...

but how do we do this? is it even possible, is it the eternal struggle for parents and society?

we reap what we soe, but what crops are we going to need in the future

is it better to perhaps have a more educated and (experienced) youth that will be better acclimated for the future they are bound to inherit, or is it like ripping a band aid off or jumping into cold water, best to do it suddenly

we could loosely tie this to sex education and when is the appropriate time to gather the kiddies and tell them about the birds and the bees

actually im going to run with this for a min

i had a professor once who raised an interesting notion, what if we teach sex ed in kindergarten and get all the anxiety over it out of the way

for one, we are all human and even a child is somewhat familiar with their own body

why should we be ashamed of something that is completely natural and major part of life, why do we feel so compelled to hide the greatest gift god gave us (ok i dont want anyone ripping me apart for that, i do understand different religions and cultures have their takes on these type of issues)

do you think it would be easier to eliminate the sex ed question early on, and bypass problems like children ... well, being childish and snickering at words like pen.... (im doing my best to keep this as clean, and i am aware of the irony of censoring work about censorship, but im looking to raise attention... and not get banned for being vulgar in any sense)


In short, what good are we doing by preventing children from seeing the world as it really is?