Is the TV for the family or not?

The Western world is embarking on a pilot to destroy families through their idiot box right in the living room, it seems. It used to be possible when families can relax before a family oriented program and laugh together at some of their episodes. Nowadays, the TV has become so pervert and sexually oriented that parents are embarrassed to even watch the prime time programs together with their kids. A constant flood of sexual overtones fill the home entertainment center in the pretense of comedy, drama, soaps, crime etc.

Yes, you may say that many TV program suppliers are rating their shows and by installing a V-chip, you are able to set parental controls or unsupervised access to these adults-only programs.

But how do you stop sexually explicit advertisements that are broadcasted in the intermission of family oriented shows. How do you set ratings for ads bought by advertisers to push their products? Nowadays it is not uncommon to find commercials using sex to sell everything from clothings to shampoo to detergent. Lately, when I was in China, I noticed from their English daily that the government authorities declared a complete ban on advertisements selling push-up bras, women's undergarments and men's briefs because their advertisement clips are showing too much cleavage, that does not need much imagination to see the sexual overtones.

Similarly in our Asian cultured society, we may ban shows like "Sex in the City" and other sexually explicit shows on family TV time, but we have yet to take action on sexually explicit ads. Some of these ads include impotence drugs describing the "before" and "after" effects. How do you explain to a six year old kid the meaning of "ED"? Or ads that promotes abusive lifestyles such as alcohol, smoking, non-committed sexual relationships, one-night stands etc.

There is a Levi's jeans commercial in US currently shown that screens a couple wearing their jeans is able to speedily get in and out of their jeans for sexual encounters, and in the process reveals their naked butt. What kind of message do you think this is available for our kids when shown in between shows like "Lost" or "Prison Break"?

What are you going to do about this type of intrusion into your family time?