Should magazine content be censored?
Over the past few months I have become aware of the barrage of unwanted and often really shocking information. Newspapers headlines scream out at us from supermarket shelves and newsagents stores. It got me thinking that so much of the information is wildly inappropriate for a younger audience. The supermarket shelves are like a wallpaper of overly sexualised images and strap-line. Tabloid headlines shout about sex, violence or both, often next to their pictures of sexualised women or ‘girls’. Additionally, because so much of it is in the headlines without any context it can really frighten the viewer.
An organisation of child’s eye line UK is trying to encourage legislation to stop images being displayed in places where parents are not able to censor them. Child’s Eye Line UK is campaigning to reduce the amount of sexualised images being displayed at child height in shops and public spaces. It is wrong and children have been exposed to the horrors that they should not have to see.
Moving on from that in the last few years there have been a lot of violent scenes displayed in newspapers due to terrorist and the increase in knife crime. The tabloids and the broadsheets display horrible and graphic images from the scenes of the attack. I think that this is rather intrusive on the persons live and is not really appropriate. When we are advised to carry on as normal the newspapers have the opposite effect as they terrify people. It is difficult to explain to little kids how random these events are but the media’s obsession with graphic images is adding to the fear and upsetting many. This has led to the idea that there should be a change of law. For example, either the content and images is kept inside or a lot of thought goes into those front pages. Additionally, non child friendly content should be kept of the lower shelves in supermarkets and shops.
By Tanishya Kapila
