The FCC thought it had a brilliant idea when it introduced the V-chip to TV buyers. Little did it know it would be so ineffective. The question is why? The only thing that comes to me is that parents are simply too lazy to figure it out. Usually there aren’t big instructions for how to block programming on your TV. However, since 1999 all TVs more than 13 inches have had the device installed in them. I looked up instructions for how to use the V-chip, and was surprised to find that it was actually quite simple to do, despite being on the frequently asked questions list. A simple press of the button brings you right to the parental lock option.
It’s simple…too simple.
Kids are notorious for figuring electronics out before their older, dinosaur parents do. This causes somewhat of a problem when using the V-chip. Kids are going to figure it out. To combat this problem, there is a simple solution. A four-digit password is required to access and change the V-chip settings. So how hard is that for a parent to do?
Not very.
So why are so many parents not using this simple tool?
They’re lazy. The truth is that there are 10,000 possible choices for a password. How are kids figuring them out? Well, parents are usually older right? They think don’t have time to memorize more numbers than they have already taken in in their lives. Because of this, most people choose numbers that they already know…numbers that have some sort of meaning. That's if they choose to use the V-chip at all. Well kids aren’t stupid, they know the numbers parents know too. In my own experience, birthdays, anniversaries and parts of phone numbers usually work pretty well. An article on Slate.com talked about a study done in 2004 in which 110 families got new TVs with V-chips. After a year, only 8% reported using the device.
The FCC and TV networks have tried to focus on this even more recently. They are constantly reminding consumers of their TV’s capability through the use of new commercials. The newest ones are actually quite entertaining. But maybe that’s part of the problem, the ads aimed at using the V-chip make the shows being blocked seem cool or funny. How is that effective?
The FCC also made it necessary for TV programs to post a TV rating in the first 15 seconds of the show. But who actually knows what they all are? Or what they all mean? You would pretty much have to look them up to find out for sure. Plus, despite parents’ and the FCC’s efforts, there are always going to be times when parents aren’t home. When one TV might not have the V-chip activated. Then, inevitably, kids will be watching those taboo shows. Simple solution. Don’t care so much. If you want to ensure kids won’t watch “bad” shows, don’t buy a TV. Otherwise don’t complain if you can’t come up with a good enough password. I would bet that complaints to the FCC would drop considerably if parents were forced to use the chip instead of having it be optional. (See indecency post)