Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Letter to a Senator

Senator Hatch:

I am a graduating senior at Brigham Young University and expecting my first child this October.  As I contemplate my future, I realize that media plays a large part in my life and will play a large part in the life of my child.  In gaining an education, I have learned a lot about the media and especially the confusing nature of our rating system.  I feel the need to work to clarify these issues in order to create a safer world for my growing baby.
Media ratings are extremely confusing.  There is a different system for every type of media.  This creates confusion and difficulty in understanding what it is that the viewer will actually see or hear when the media is viewed.  Because of this, it is extremely difficult for parents to monitor the media that their children view.  Due to the difficulty in deciphering media ratings, parents often will simply not monitor their children’s media intake because they don’t know where to start.  If we were able to clarify this, parents could be much more confident and effective in monitoring the media that their children view.

We need a universal rating system that can be used for all types of media.  We need a system that allows parents to read the rating and understand immediately what it is that they or their children are going to view.  It needs to be content based instead of letters and numbers that are hard to understand.  It should be widely publicized so that parents can easily find the information on the ratings and make more informed choices.  These changes can change the lives of parents and children in America.

As a U.S. Senator you are in a position to start the discussion and to lobby for a change in our rating system.  You can help make a clear and easy way for parents to protect their children from harmful media through creating a universal rating system. Any effort on your part to accomplish this would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Maddie Bills

No comments:

Post a Comment