In 2000 73% of youths ages 12-17 were reported to be Internet users, versus 87% in 2004. For adults, 56% reported to be Internet users in 2000, whereas 66% used it by 2004. Internet use up for young and old, USA Today, 7 September 2004.
73% of teens report they have a desktop computer, 45% report they have a cell phone, 18% say they have a laptop computer, and 7% have a personal digital device such as a palm pilot. Pew Internet & American Life Project survey. USA Today. 24 August 2005.
The portable porn market could grow to nearly $200 million a year here by 2009 Mini-Porn Could be Mega-Business, Mike Musgrove, www.washingtonpost.com, 2005
Sales of Apple’s iPod has soared over the past 3 years. During the October-December quarter, 14 million iPods were sold in 2005, compared to 4.5 million sold in the 2004 quarter and 733,000 during the 2003 quarter. Apple Computer, USA Today, 11 January 2006.
In a USA today poll, children ages 8 to 18 report what they are more likely to do at a home computer rather than at school: 35% say they would chat with someone they don’t know, 30% say they would download music without paying for it, 29% say they would go to websites they probably shouldn’t go to, 24% say they would give out their personal information online, and 22% say they would download software without paying for it. Youth Internet usage, Harris Interactive for Business Software Alliance, 2006
Approximately 23% of children in nursery school, ages, 3, 4, or 5 have gone online according to the Education Department ABC, WEB, Now I know my Internet, Ben Feller. Cincinnati Enquirer. 5 June 2005.
Fewer than 1 in 10 teenagers believe that music piracy is morally wrong The Barna Group, USA Today, 26 April, 2004. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=162.
DVD player from RCA allows parents to filter movie content deemed objectionable in four categories: violence, sex and nudity, language and other DVD players filter movies for content, Gary Gentile. The Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 April, 2004.
66 percent of Americans support an a la carte cable pricing, giving families the power to pay for only the channels they choose Poll adds to push for a la carte cable pricing, Michael McCarthy. USA Today, 5 May, 2004.
ClearPlay created a new $70 DVD player (available at Wal-Mart) that has built-in filters designed to skip over violence and nudity and to mute salty language in 100 movies; more than 600 titles are available for download Hollywood riled up over ClearPlay, Mike Snider. USA Today, 6 May, 2004.
“Senate agreed to boost maximum fine for broadcasters airing offensive shows to $275,000 per incident from $32,5000, to a maximum of $3 million a day.” Increased indecency fines pass Senate, Paul Davidson. USA Today, 23 June, 2004.
54 percent of young men ages 18 to 24 use instant messaging to communicate Survey: Young Men would do without video games before TV, Michael McCarthy & Dan Goodman. USA Today, 26 July, 2004.
Only 5% of parents say they are not concerned about their children viewing inappropriate content. Of these parents, 34 percent say television content worries them the most, 16% are worried most by the Internet, 10% by movies, 7% by music, and 5% by video games. Hot-button issues. USA Today Snapshots.
Sixteen percent of adults spend time visiting faith-oriented websites during the typical month. The Internet is the only mass medium among those tested whose audience share has grown during the past decade. The proportion of the population using the Internet for faith purposes has increased by two-thirds since 1998. More People Use Christian Media Than Attend Church. The Barna Update, 14 March 2005.
Thirty-five percent of adults read a Christian magazine during a typical month. One-third of all adults read a Christian book. More People Use Christian Media Than Attend Church. The Barna Update, 14 March 2005.
Radio
“Men’s magazine Maxim plans to announce a deal with Sirius Satellite Radio today to launch a ‘Maxim Radio’ network this fall.” Satellite radio to tune in ‘Maxim,’ Michael McCarthy. USA Today, 7 June, 2004.
Forty-six percent of all adults listen to a Christian radio broadcast in a typical month (down from 56% in 1992), and 16% listen on a daily basis. Christian radio has lost one-third of its non-Christian audience in the past 13 years. More People Use Christian Media Than Attend Church. The Barna Update, 14 March 2005.
Twenty-three percent of all unchurched Americans listen to Christian radio in a typical month, representing a nationwide audience of 17 million adults who do not attend a church. More People Use Christian Media Than Attend Church. The Barna Update, 14 March 2005.
Cell Phones
The Yankee group predicts the mobile adult-content business to be worth $1 billion worldwide by 2008, while Juniper Research has it at $2.1 billion by 2009. Putting Flesh on Phones, Daniel Terdiman, www.wired.com, 2005
Sexual content (pornography) over cell phones will generate over $1.5 billion in Western Europe, as the Vodafone Group introduces and provides “risqué” content to customers’ phones In Europe, Cell Phone Profits Go Up as Clothes Come Off, Jennifer L. Schenker. The New York Times, 4 May, 2004.
By the end of 2004, the number of wireless subscribers in the USA surpassed 180.5 million with revenue topping $102 billion, up 21.7 million subscribers from 2003, according to CTIA, the wireless trade association. Cell phone use booms, despite uneven service, Marilyn Elias. USA Today, 14 March 2004.
More than 60 percent of Americans are using wireless devices to talk, send e-mail, take pictures, watch video and listen to music. Cell phone use booms, despite uneven service, Marilyn Elias. USA Today, 14 March 2004.
Increasingly, cell phones are being used for more than just talking. Many cell phone companies are offering entertainment-oriented add-ons that allow people to watch TV, check their email, surf the Web and listen to music. Enter a whole new world through your phone, Jefferson Graham.USA Today, 13 May 2005.
50 million subscribers sent 4.4 billion text messages in Cingular’s first 2005 quarter. Enter a whole new world through your phone, Jefferson Graham.USA Today, 13 May 2005.
Dwango Wireless will develop Playboy-themed games, images, video clips, voice clips and ring tones, and deliver that content to 170 million cell phone subscribers throughout North America through agreements with major wireless carriers such as Cingular, Nextel, T-Mobile and Verizon. Enter a whole new world through your phone, Jefferson Graham.USA Today, 13 May 2005.
An independent study by IDC revealed that 33.2% of cell phone users in America, more than 55 million, are between the ages of 5 and 19. Pornographers Set To Go After Children With Cell Phones. OneMillionDads.com, 27 April 2005.
Video Games
92% of children between the ages of 2 and 17 are playing video games. Parents need our help, Rod Blagojevich, USA Today, 6 June 2005.
U.S. children are exposed to 8 1/2 hours of TV, video games, computers and other media a day, often at once. As a result, kids’ expectations are to be constantly entertained and, if they are not entertained, they quickly lose interest. So much media, so little attention span, Marilyn Elias. USA Today, 31 March 2005.
About half of kids have a video game player in their rooms; more than two-thirds have TV sets. So much media, so little attention span, Marilyn Elias. USA Today, 31 March 2005.
On average, 8-18 year old boys spend 1 hour, 12 minutes playing video games each day. Eight-18 year old girls spend 25 minutes per day. So much media, so little attention span, Marilyn Elias. USA Today, 31 March 2005.
Television
More shows are including sex-related scenes and more often. In 1998 67% of prime time shows had sexual talk or behavior, in 2002 it increased to 71%, in 2005, 77%. Among shows with sexual content, 5 scenes are shown per hour overall, 5.9 scenes are shown in prime time per hour, 6.7 scenes are shown in teen shows per hour. Sex and TV Kaiser Family Foundation. USA Today, 2005
The average 8-18 year old African American person will watch 4 hours, 5 minutes of television per day, Hispanics 3 hours, 23 minutes, and Whites 2 hours, 45 minutes. So much media, so little attention span, Marilyn Elias. USA Today, 31 March 2005.
According to 8-18 year olds responding about television environment at home, 63% say the television is “usually” on during meals, 53% say there are no rules about TV watching, and 51% say the TV is on most of the time. So much media, so little attention span, Marilyn Elias. USA Today, 31 March 2005.
Remaining unchanged from 1992, 45% of adults watch Christian television programming during a typical month. One-fourth of the unchurched—about 20 million adults—watch Christian television programming each month. More People Use Christian Media Than Attend Church. The Barna Update, 14 March 2005.
Nearly all parents (99%) have a TV in the home (including 62% who have three or more sets), 81% have cable or satellite, 73% have Internet access, 63% have a video game player, 32% have premium cable channels, and 17% have a TV or DVD player in their car, with another 5% saying they are “very” likely to get one within the next year. Parents, Media and Pubic Policy: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Fall 2004.
Ratings
Animated films rated G by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) received a significantly higher content-based score for violence on average than non-animated films rated G. Violence, Sex, and Profanity in Films: Correlation of Movie Ratings With Content, Kimberly M. Thompson, ScD and Fumie Yokota, PhD. Medscape General Medicine, 12 July, 2004.
Age-based ratings alone do not provide good information about the depiction of violence, sex, profanity, and other content, and the criteria for rating movies has become less stringent over the last decade. Violence, Sex, and Profanity in Films: Correlation of Movie Ratings With Content, Kimberly M. Thompson, ScD and Fumie Yokota, PhD. Medscape General Medicine, 12 July, 2004.
The MPAA tolerates increasingly more extreme content in any given age-based rating category over time; there has been a significant increase over years in violence, sex and profanity in PG, PG-13, and R-rated films. These data suggest that the MPAA applied increasingly more lenient criteria for its age-based ratings as a function of time over the last decade. Violence, Sex, and Profanity in Films: Correlation of Movie Ratings With Content, Kimberly M. Thompson, ScD and Fumie Yokota, PhD. Medscape General Medicine, 12 July, 2004.
A Parents Television Council (PTC) study shows that ratings do not accurately reflect program content, with many lacking descriptors (such as “V” for violent) Indecent or not? TV, radio walk fuzzy line, Paul Davidson. USA Today. 3 June 2005.
Fifteen percent of household used the V-chip, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study. Indecent or not? TV, radio walk fuzzy line, Paul Davidson. USA Today. 3 June 2005.
Entertainment
MTV plans to launch a network devoted entirely to its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender audience in February, 2005. The network is to be named LOGO. MTV plans network aimed at gay viewers, Michael McCarthy. USA Today, 26 May, 2004.
‘Young people are sexualized at an earlier and earlier age…Stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera have long been criticized for exploiting their sexuality for profit. The next generation can already be seen emulating its older sisters – literally.’ Mini-Britneys. The Washington Times, 3-9 May, 2004.
Advertising
Marketers are abstaining from sex as sales tool due to the after-shock of the Super Bowl half-time show; Anheuser-Busch, Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch are among the companies who are dropping risqué advertising Risqué may be too risky for ads, Bruce Horovitz. USA Today, 16 April, 2004.
Carl’s, Jr. adopts Hugh Hefner as a representative for the hamburger chain, claiming, “as a pop-icon, Hefner appeals to our target audience and credibly communicates our message of variety.” Christian Broadcaster Blasts Carl’s, Jr. for Ad’s Sexual Innuendo, James L. Lambert. American Family Association, November 2003.
