Age ratings

Following on from an article recently published on the Guardian about the Governments new initiative to "protect children from unsuitable online content" I decided to blog about age ratings on UK music videos. It is important that we take this into consideration when targeting our desired audience. Here is the article...

full article: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/18/age-ratings-uk-music-videos-youtube-vevo-miley-rihanna-dizzee-rascal

Themes such as violence, drug use and sexual content are prevalent in modern day music videos. Children who hear the song currently have easy access to the video accompanying it via YouTube and Vevo - big names in the music industry such as 'Rihanna' and 'Beyonce' have a wide global reach due to their fanbase and are therefore regularly played on the radio, in shops and even in schools where children are likely to hear their songs, two recent examples being...



It can therefore be argued that younger audiences are not protected from the explicit content in their videos, as videos are often more memorable than a set of lyrics and are often easier to understand.

Most popular music videos are available for public viewing online unless parental control/ restricted view mode is enforced. However, according to stats from pewresearch.org only 50% of the parents of online teens say they have used parental controls to block, filter or monitor teens’ online activities.

Whilst YouTube currently tags videos as (Explicit) most videos can still be seen with an account therefore these tags are easily dismissed. The "clear age ratings" will hopefully make it much clearer to younger audiences that some videos are unsuitable for certain viewers. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) rating music videos, as they do films, should also help make it easier for parents to understand and control what their children watch.

This scheme may mean that less children are exposed to

• The glorification of drug use

• The objectification of women 

• The use of vulgar language 

and other mature themes/ adult content, which will positively influence their stance on 'bad' behaviour and perhaps help to create more social awareness and better moral standards for the next generation.