Watch Your Mouth! An Analysis of Profanity Uttered by Children on Prime-Time Television

This study examines the frequency and types of offensive language spoken on prime-time television in 2001, particularly on programs rated acceptable for children and teenagers, and the use of profane language by characters under the age of 21. The findings are compared to similar studies conducted in 1990, 1994, and 1997 to determine whether the use of profanity by child and young adult characters has increased over an 11-year period. Age and content warnings inadequately protect children from profanity. TV-PG programs contain as much off-color language as TV-14 programs, and more coarse language could be found in programs not given an L warning. Further, the earliest hour of prime time, when children are more likely to be viewing, contains significantly more instances of profanity than the time period of 10 to 11 p.m. However, characters under the age of 21 rarely utter profane words, and they are just as infrequently spoken to with such language.