ARE KIDS WATCHING MORE VIOLENT CONTENT ON TV?

Have television shows that British children watch become too violent over the past decade?” The British broadcasting regulator OFCOM said on Monday that it will commission a study to find out. It noted that there has been a lack of detailed studies during the past year about the level of violence on programs that are televised before 9:00 p.m. the so-called watershed hours when children are likely to be watching. “The protection of under-18s from potentially harmful content is a key area of concern for OFCOM,” said Tony Close, the regulator’s director of content and standards. At the same time, OFCOM ruled that the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks broke broadcasting rules when it aired scenes of a violent death on March 19. It noted that 15.7 percent of the audience for that program was 4-15 years old and 10 percent was 4-9 years old.