13.5% of commercials on kids TV channels contain some form of violent, disturbing, or sexual behaviour.

A recent study Commercials on Children’s Television: Not So Child Friendly looked at the association between viewing commercials with aggressive and violent content on children’s television with violent and antisocial behaviour later in life.

Researchers looked at the content of all morning and afternoon commercials on the following children’s networks over a 3 month period:

  • Disney Channel
  • Nickelodeon, and
  • Cartoon Network

During this timeframe 1,681 commercials aired on these channels. Although the majority of these commercials were coded as neutral, the following content was found:

  • 13.5% of commercials had negative content
  • 4.5% violent behaviours
  • 4.9% disturbing behaviours, and
  • 5.5% negative modelling.

Researchers looked for negative content (violent behaviours, disturbing behaviours, negative modelling, and sexual behaviours), positive content (positive role modelling and interactions, encouraging statements, and health benefits), mixed content, and neutral content.

The study also showed that commercials on the Cartoon Network had the most negative content, while those on Disney Channel had the least. Within the individual channels, program ratings did not relate to the presence of negative content.

Recommendations included:

  1. The entertainment industry and advertising companies should take some responsibility for commercials on TV.
  2. Commercials should be rated for child-appropriate content; parents should be informed that content of commercials can positively or negatively affect their children’s emotions, behaviors, and attitudes.
  3. TV time should not be unsupervised. TV has become a significant factor in children’s development. As a society, we need to discover ways to optimize the benefits and limit the detrimental effects.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.
Source: Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, December 2010