A bi-annual national survey released by the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board has found that parental satisfaction with the accuracy of TV ratings guidelines for parents remains high.
The online survey, conducted by Hart Research Associates in August and September 2022, gathered the responses of 1,052 American parents of children between the ages of two and 17. The survey is part of the board’s ongoing tracking system of parental awareness and attitudes toward the TV rating system.
The survey found that parents find the TV ratings system a valuable resource when trying to determine the age-appropriateness of television programs, specifically finding that 90% of American parents finding that the system helped them determine whether to allow their children to watch a particular show.
Among the findings, the survey revealed that 92% of parents say they understand the parental ratings for television and most report that they use those ratings either “sometimes” or “often” when deciding if their child can watch a particular show.
When it comes to the ratings themselves, most parents who were surveyed said it is important to understand why content is rated within the existing ratings descriptors, noting that it’s particularly important to know about sexual situations in programing (referred to as the “S” rating descriptor) as well as violence (the “V” descriptor). In addition, most of the parents surveyed who have used v-chip parental controls say they are useful. Other important ranking monikers including those regarding suggestive dialogue, coarse or crude language and fantasy violence.
When asked if they can recall seeing a show they felt was rated inaccurately, 63% of respondents said they could not recall one they thought had an inaccurate rating.
The survey also found that digital streaming services remain the most common way that children watch TV programming, with 86% of parents reporting at the time that their children had used streaming services to watch TV shows in the past two weeks. When it comes to live programming, the survey found that 58% of parents say their children watched live shows through a broadcast, cable or satellite TV connection while 46% said their children had streamed through a live streaming service.
“The television landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years as more and more programming options have been made available to American families,” said Charles Rivkin, chairman of the monitoring board and chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association. “This survey demonstrates the value and trust that parents place in the TV Parental Guidelines to help them navigate the age-appropriateness of TV programs.”
The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board includes experts from the television industry as well as public interest advocates who are responsible for ensuring uniformity and consistency in applying parental guidelines. The board also reviews complaints about specific program ratings to help ensure accuracy.
