High Usage and Favorable Views of TV Parental Guidelines

A recent survey about TV Parental Guidelines (i.e., the TV ratings system) revealed that American parents continue to report high levels of usage of, and positive sentiment toward, the TV ratings system.

Among topline results, the survey found that:

•     Nine in 10 parents (90 percent) are aware of the TV ratings system.
•     Nearly 95 percent of parents remain satisfied with the accuracy of ratings for TV shows.
•     Nearly nine in 10 parents (88 percent) find the TV ratings system helpful.
•     Three in four parents report using the TV ratings often or sometimes.
•     Over 90 percent of parents are aware that the TV ratings provide guidance based on a child’s age.
•     Over 75 percent of parents maintain a favorable opinion of the TV ratings system.

The national online survey was conducted by Hart Research Associates on behalf of the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board in August 2018. Respondents included 1,018 parents of children age two to 17 in households with at least one television. The survey is a follow-up to online surveys conducted in 2011, 2014 and 2016, and is part of the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board’s ongoing tracking of American parents’ awareness, usage and feelings toward TV ratings.

Among other trends, the 2018 survey found usage of TV ratings varies by age of children and race/ethnicity of the parent. Fully 80 percent of parents with children ages two to five years old often or sometimes use the ratings compared to 63 percent of parents who use the ratings for their children who are 16 and 17 years old. Hispanic parents (85 percent) and African American parents (84 percent) use the ratings more than white parents (70 percent).

The survey also found that children’s use of mobile devices, particularly smartphones, to watch television programming continues to rise. More than half (57 percent) of parents report that their child has used a smartphone to watch TV programming in the past two or three weeks, a notable increase since 2016 (42 percent) and 2014 (37 percent). Usage of tablet devices like an iPad has increased slightly as well to 52 percent – up from 49 percent in 2016 and 38 percent in 2014. Viewing of TV content streamed from the Internet to a TV has also steadily increased from 47 percent in 2014 to 63 percent in 2016 to 69 percent in 2018.

The overall results of the study indicate that parents continue to value the TV ratings system as a source of information about the content and age-appropriateness of TV programs. The TV Parental Guidelines where developed two decades ago to help parents make more informed decisions about what programming their kids are watching on television.