Turning Off TV Shows Won't Deter Teens

If you try to force your teenager to tune out of certain television shows, there's a good chance they'll tune into them somewhere else.

A new American study says teenagers who say their parents restrict them from watching certain television programs are likely to watch that forbidden show at a friend's home. Those same teens also reported less positive attitudes towards their parents.

In this Ohio State University study, 159 college students were asked about their television viewing habits during their high school years and about their relationship with their parents. They were questioned about their attitudes towards violence and sexual content in TV shows, how often they joined their friends to watch TV shows containing violence and sex, and about their attitudes towards their parents.

The study also asked 138 parents of these college students about how they tried to control their children's TV viewing habits during high school.

The study found that students whose parents restricted them from watching objectionable content on TV shows had less positive feelings towards their parents than other adolescents.

That group of students also reported watching more objectionable TV shows with their friends than students whose parents didn't try to restrict their TV viewing.

More information

The American Psychological Association has information about television violence.

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