Home » Categories » Miscellaneous » Miscellany » 9 O'clock watershed - what a farce!

Posted Monday, February 25, 2008
View All Blog Posts submitted by Creative

In the UK, we have what is called a 9 O'clock watershed which means that programs aired before 9pm should not have content deemed inappropriate for children.

 

A very popular British soap Eastenders, recently got a rap over the knuckles for breaching the rules and displaying scenes of excessive violence. The show airs at 7.30pm and received 78 complaints.

 

For  more details on that see HERE.

 

I once complained to Ofsted the Tv regulator about a show aired at 10pm called Fonejackers. My complaint centred around the fact that a prankster was making real prank calls, some of them which contained threats and sexual innuendo and yet was sold to the audience here as a joke. Immediately copycat kids were doing their own fonkjacking. It was being discussed on forums frequented by kids who lapped up the drama they were creating for themselves.

 

The reply I had from Ofsted was fairly condescending and all centred around the fact it was aired at 10pm and as such all children should be tucked up in bed at that time and if they weren't, that was due to irresponsible parenting.

 

 

I am not so sure about this. I don't recall being in bed by 9pm when I was fifteen years old, neither do I recall ever being tired at that time. So what value does the 9pm watershed really represent? What age group are the regulators protecting? It's not young teens that is for sure. Toddlers perhaps?

 

Personally, I would like to see all excessive programming off the TV unless people pay to view. I can't risk my children watching TV unsupervised at any time of the day as with Sky, the adverts, trailers etc. Day time Tv shows often show inappropriate programming.

 

Take Jerry Springer as a typical example of daytime TV. Contestants swearing, stripping and fighting. I don't want my children seeing this and thinking that this is how people should behave. I am responsible at all times of the day when it comes to TV. But when it is not expected, such as is the case with Eastenders, then fair enough the program makers should be held responsible.

 

But why oh why do we have it at all?