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March 18, 2005

Americans: Too Much Sex and Violence on TV - But Government Over-reacted to Janet Jackson "Malfunction"

By Tara Regan


More than half of Americans say that there is too much violence (66%), cursing/sexual language (58%), sexual content (50%) and reality programming (65%) on broadcast television. However, most Americans would not ban this content.

When asked in retrospect about the controversial Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, most (66%) said that the government "over-reacted," according to this week's Time Poll.

When asked about another recent television controversy, the November Monday Night Football skit featuring Desperate Housewives' star Nicollette Sheridan and Philadelphia Eagles player Terrell Owens, among those who saw the incident, most (76%), were not offended.

A vast majority (94%) have never written to or called a television or radio station or government agency to complain about indecent content on broadcast TV.

And yet,

  • a majority (68%) say the entertainment industry and television producers are not "in touch" with their moral values.
  • a little more than half (53%) believe the FCC should be stricter in controlling the amount of sex and violence on television

Should Explicit Content Be Banned?
Where do Americans stand with regard to decency standards and television? Although many say there is "too much" explicit content on television, fewer would go as far as to say the government should ban it.

Too Much on TV?
 
Too Much
Yes, Ban
Violence
66%
36%
"Reality" TV
65%
18%
Cursing
58%
41%
Televised Plastic Surgery
51%
21%
Sexual Content/Nudity
50%
41%
Homosexuality
50%
35%
Drug/Alcohol Abuse
46%
33%

What's considered suitable for television is often determined on a case-by-case basis.

  • Most feel that nudity and sexual situations are not suitable for a primetime audience (before 10PM).
  • The public splits though, on whether some explicit sexual content and nudity is at all suitable for broadcast television particularly homosexual intimacy (45% say it should not be allowed even after 10PM), and frontal nudity (49% say never ok).
Allowed Before 10 PM?
 
Ok, Anytime
Ok, After 10PM1
Never, OK
Implied fictional sex
34%
73%
24%
Kiss between same sex couple
24%
52%
45%
Advertising/reference to sexual potency drugs
21%
63%
34%
Bare buttocks
19%
58%
39%
Bare breasts
11%
50%
47%
Frontal nudity
8%
49%
49%

1"OK after 10PM" is a combination of "Ok, Anytime" AND "Only ok, after 10PM"

And What About Advertising?
More than 1 in 4 Americans, 27%, say that they've been offended by television advertising, such as the ads for sexual potency drugs. About 1 in 3 Americans (34%) want these ads totally banned. However, most Americans would be satisfied if the ads were banned just from prime time television.

Demographics and Decency
Age, gender and religious beliefs play a role in tolerance for explicit content on television:

  • Women - Women are much more likely than men to say that the government should ban violence (44% - 27%), cursing (50% - 32%), nudity (50% - 31%) and drug and alcohol abuse (38% - 28%). Interestingly, women are less likely to say there is "too much" gay lifestyle content on TV than men (46% - 54%).
  • Adults 55 and older - Compared to those 18-34, adults 55 and older have less tolerance for cursing on television (71% - 46% say there is "too much"), violence (78%-56%), nudity (63%-43%) and gay lifestyle content (61%-43%).
  • Born Again Christians - Born Again Christians are much more likely to think gay lifestyle issues (54% - 19% not born again), nudity (56% - 28%) and drug and alcohol abuse (48% - 21%) should be banned by the government.
Should CBS Be Fined for Janet Jackson Incident?
 
  Total  
  18-34  
  35-54  
55 or Older
Republican
Democrat
Fined
28%
19%
28%
36%
42%
22%
Over-reacted
66%
77%
67%
55%
51%
74%

V Chip Technology
The Time Poll found limited use of "v" chip technology to monitor television programming:

  • Only about half (52%) of Americans overall and 58% of parents with children under age 16 are even aware of the term "v chip."
    • Once explained that a "v" chip is a blocking mechanism to allow viewers to monitor programming only about 31% of Americans and just 39% of those with children ages 16 or under, report having it on their TV or cable box.
    • However, among those with children who report having the v chip, 42% report using the "v" chip or other blocking mechanism to monitor television content.

    Television Habits
    The average American reports watching between 12-14 hours of television a week. Although, network and cable news broadcasts (75%) are among the most widely watched television programming, about one-third (35%) watch reality programming such as The Apprentice and Fear Factor. Age is a factor in the kind of programming that is watched. Only about one-in-five (18%) age 55 or older watch reality TV compared to half (55%) of those age 18-34.



    Methodology

    This Time Magazine poll was conducted by telephone March 15-17, 2005 among a random sample of 1,010 adults, age 18 and older throughout America.

    The margin of error for the entire sample is approximately +/-3 percentage points. The margin of error is higher for subgroups. Surveys are subject to other error sources as well, including sampling coverage error, recording error, and respondent error.

    Schulman, Ronca, & Bucuvalas (SRBI) Public Affairs designed the survey and conducted all interviewing. The full Time questionnaire and trend data may be found in the related links below.

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