Do you consume media that contains vulgarities?

[mike]

With the discussion on "bad words," I was curious about whether any MNers regularly consume media that contains vulgarities. Please vote and select all options that apply, and discuss.

[Josh]

Now that I have an 11 month old, I’ve become a bit more diligent about this. It seems foul language or suggestive language is in basically anything:

- Late 1990s era video games - 1980s and early 1990s is not as bad.
- Many news reports now contain foul language
- Eyewitness news eg posted to TikTok or Twitter is virtually guaranteed to have bad language.
- Older TV shows are surprisingly bad. I went to a new coffee shop in town that is themed after the TV show Friends. It was a stream of suggestive filth in terms of language.
- Many popular podcasts (like the Joe Rogan Experience) casually take the Lord’s name in vain/use blasphemy. I am surprised at how many otherwise Christian people just accept this.
- Virtually any new pop song contains filth. My dentist is a rather conservative Christian but caved into her younger employees who want to play the country stream from Spotify. It’s an endless stream of filth, mostly glorifying fornication.

[temporal1]

Movies, social media (not listed, the internet, news, also).

It’s a great heartbreak, how it’s not only normalized, but so lucrative for so many - who could do so much better without it.
No one has to choose it. How to avoid it is the question.

My dear mil began teaching at age 16, a 1-room school house, must have been about 1932.
i’m sure she put her tender young heart into it, as such young ones do.

Those were lean times, even on farms, part of her tiny pay went to help her family survive. This was not at all uncommon, for children earning wages to help pay family expenses.

One bit of wisdom she often shared (and, she was NOT alone with this message)
“Use your vocabulary!” “You have an education! - Use it!” “Rise above.”

Teachers, families, leaders, urged others to “aim high,” to take the better path, etc. Messages the poorest of the poor could grasp and live by. Hope.

As far as media goes, i’ve concluded, there must be contractual requirements for vulgarity, decision-makers must have decided vulgarity sells, so it’s a must! i see no other explanation.

i do not believe it’s either spontaneous or accidental. If it were, people would be fired.

[steve-in-kville]

As far as media goes, i’ve concluded, there must be contractual requirements for vulgarity, decision-makers must have decided vulgarity sells, so it’s a must! i see no other explanation.

You're not far from the truth. There are censors that determine how much a movie and/or show can get away with and still maintain their current rating (G, PG, etc).

[temporal1]

As far as media goes, i’ve concluded, there must be contractual requirements for vulgarity, decision-makers must have decided vulgarity sells, so it’s a must! i see no other explanation.

You're not far from the truth. There are censors that determine how much a movie and/or show can get away with and still maintain their current rating (G, PG, etc).

i guess my current revelation is that vulgarity is no longer something decision-makers want to control, but something they want to use to profit. It’s no longer an occasional questionable word, it’s part of majority content!

It’s in books.
When my grdaughter was a toddler, my daughter asked, “mom, why are all these children’s books talking about underpants, toileting, foul bodily functions, etc.? She was right! i even found a children’s beginning chess book that centered on toilet habits, presumably to make chess more interesting. i do not trust public schools or public libraries. review everything.

When it’s in contracts, for-profit, it’s out of control. The “harness” is reversed.
People vote with their wallets.

[mike]

As far as media goes, i’ve concluded, there must be contractual requirements for vulgarity, decision-makers must have decided vulgarity sells, so it’s a must! i see no other explanation.

You're not far from the truth. There are censors that determine how much a movie and/or show can get away with and still maintain their current rating (G, PG, etc).

i guess my current revelation is that vulgarity is no longer something decision-makers want to control, but something they want to use to profit. It’s no longer an occasional questionable word, it’s part of major content!

When it’s in contracts, for-profit, it’s out of control. The “harness” is reversed.
People vote with their wallets.

And with their ears and eyes. If we are consuming the media that we are complaining about, then we are part of the reason for its existence.

[temporal1]

You're not far from the truth. There are censors that determine how much a movie and/or show can get away with and still maintain their current rating (G, PG, etc).

i guess my current revelation is that vulgarity is no longer something decision-makers want to control, but something they want to use to profit. It’s no longer an occasional questionable word, it’s part of major content!

When it’s in contracts, for-profit, it’s out of control. The “harness” is reversed.
People vote with their wallets.

And with their ears and eyes. If we are consuming the media that we are complaining about, then we are part of the reason for its existence.

Short of going to a monastery, how to avoid?
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3144

[mike]

i guess my current revelation is that vulgarity is no longer something decision-makers want to control, but something they want to use to profit. It’s no longer an occasional questionable word, it’s part of major content!

When it’s in contracts, for-profit, it’s out of control. The “harness” is reversed.
People vote with their wallets.

And with their ears and eyes. If we are consuming the media that we are complaining about, then we are part of the reason for its existence.

Short of going to a monastery, how to avoid?

It's fairly easy, really. The only type of media I consume regularly where I occasionally catch some language that I would consider coarse enough that I wouldn't use it (not sure if I would call it vulgarity - language such as "damn" or "Hell yeah") is some political commentary podcasts.

Don't watch TV or movies.
Avoid watching online commentary that frequently uses bad language.
Don't listen to music with bad words. Seriously, it is not that hard.
Don't listen to podcasters that frequently use vulgarity.
Unfriend or unfollow people on social media that use vulgarity.

You don't even close need to become a monk to avoid 99.99% of vulgarity in media.

[Neto]

"Consume" is not the word I would choose, but not sure what I would suggest in its place, perhaps "view".
re: "contains": I checked "social media" because I assume that's where forums would fit. I am a member on several old auto forums, where "disguised" vulgarities appear at times. These sites do not allow vulgarities, but other participants either purposely misspell them, or disguise them in some other manner. I don't know if you are talking about that sort of thing. Even reading some parts of Martyrs' Mirror, there are some records of interrogation where vulgarities were blanked out, but what I find is that the human mind will supply the missing words. (Living on the mission field, we raised our children in such a protected environment that they didn't know these words at all. But there can be a down-side to that level of protection. Once one of our children was just making up nonsense words that rhymed, and accidentally hit on a vulgar one. So I had to tell that that one is a bad word, being careful to not have this come across as a reprimand, or as scolding.)

[steve-in-kville]

Its all around us. We choose to absorb what we want. Children on the other hand are a sponge and that's where a lot of censorship needs to take place.