Sixty-eight percent of American families agree that mass media contribute to the moral decline in the U.S., according to a study by the Culture and Media Institute (CMI).
But in spite of that result, people continue to be consumers of media. Brian Fitzpatrick, senior editor for CMI, said it represents a disconnect between perceptions and habits.
“It’s remarkable that people continue to absorb the media in such great amounts when they think the media is having a harmful effect on people,” he told Family News in Focus.
The survey found that people who watch less than four hours of television an evening are more committed to virtues such as honesty and charity. Those who watch the most TV are the most likely to be permissive on social issues.
Robert Peters, president of Morality in Media, said television is clearly the most habit-forming form of media.
“It’s not that people enjoy it that much, they just get into a habit of doing it," he said. "That habit robs all of us of opportunities to spend our time doing better things for ourselves and other people.”
Fitzpatrick said families must be vigilant.
"They have to pay attention to how much time they’re spending with the media, because greater media exposure is going to corrupt their values.”
