By Gavin Boyle
A study from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) revealed that more than two in five young people aged 12 to 21 have had their mental health negatively affected by a TV show or movie they watched.
“It’s saddening that more than two if five young people have had their mental wellbeing negatively impacted by film and TV. Of those affected who were unaware of the content issues ahead of watching, 70 percent said the impact would have been lessened if they’d known about these in advance,” said David Austin, a chief executive at BBFC. “This clearly shows that young people want to make informed decisions about what they watch. Clear, transparent age ratings and content advice are essential tools that empower them to do so.”
The study comes as the BBFC is working to update its rating system to better inform audiences what to expect from a movie or TV show before they begin to watch it. In March of 2024, the BBFC updated its classification rules to provide more clarity on what is acceptable for certain ages in regards to nudity, sexual content, self-harm, and foul language.
Related: Congress Orders FCC to Reevaluate TV Content Ratings System
Streaming services like Netflix has long skirted the rating systems, cramming offensive content into shows and movies with ratings that suggest they are acceptable for child audiences. For example, in 2020, Netflix released NEVER HAVE I EVER, a show loosely based on the life of comedian Mindy Kaling. Beyond extensive references to false religion, the show featured excessive sexual content and foul language despite its TV-14 rating.
Despite being ordered by Congress in 2019 to reevaluate the ratings system, the FCC continues to allow this sort of content to be rated for young audiences – which Hollywood loves because older viewers are not often turning to these shows.
Unfortunately, even when shows and movies are rated for mature audiences the often time still target younger viewers because of how easy it is to access them through streaming. In the past HBO Max has targeted kids with its shows EUPHORIA and THE IDOL which, among other things, include extremely violent sex scenes which normalize abuse.
“EUPHORIA has normalized these destructive behaviors and marketed them to impressionable teens and children. No doubt HBO will do the same with THE IDOL. Young viewers will stand to lose the most by yet another program that will desensitize them to glamorized sexually exploitative content. Parents must be aware and take action to protect their children, both on the HBO streaming platform and from content marketed to them by HBO on social media,” Melissa Hanson, Vice President of the Parents Television and Media Council, said in 2023.
The study from the BBFC reveals just how destructive these shows are when they reach a young audience. It is clear that the ratings system needs to be updated to better warn audiences what they are about to view.
Streaming services also need to be held accountable for how easily they allow young viewers to engage with mature content. Until then, parents, and viewers of any age can continue to rely on Movieguide® to inform them about the content inside of a show or movie going beyond the rating to provide specifics about topics like foul language, violence, sexual content, or nudity.
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Read Next: HBO Continues to Target Children with Immoral Content With Upcoming Drama THE IDOL
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