But more than eight out of ten parents who use the ratings say there are improvements that would make the ratings more helpful, and many do not have a good understanding of how the current system works. The survey also finds that parental concerns about television content are rising. The TV ratings system was designed to help address concerns about television content by giving parents assistance in monitoring what their children watch.
Many Children Also Use Ratings.
The survey indicated that many parents could use more information about how the ratings system works, including what kinds of shows are rated, who rates programming, and what the different rating symbols mean. The new ratings, which combine both age-based ratings and content descriptors, were implemented in October 1997 as the result of an agreement among advocacy groups, policymakers and representatives of the television industry. NBC and BET have declined to use the content descriptors. The ratings are designed to work in conjunction with the v-chip device, which will allow parents to block shows with certain ratings from their homes. The Kaiser Family Foundation, based in Menlo Park, California, is an independent national health care philanthropy and not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.