Why is the PTC worried about the make-believe sex and violence on prime time, since it has no influence on real-life behavior or attitudes?
Advertisers pour billions of dollars annually into commercials, because of the proven power of 30-second ad spots to influence consumer attitudes and behavior. If the networks accept the money on that premise, it is unreasonable and hypocritical for them to then assert that the rest of the programming, which is what the public is actually viewing by choice, has no influence. To argue this point, defenders of offensive entertainment often set up a straw man to knock down — the image of an otherwise perfectly normal and well-adjusted person watching a program and turning into a killer. No one is suggesting that it works that way, nor does the PTC believe that people are not responsible for their own actions. That again begs the question of what responsibility the entertainment industry bears for its own product. There are numerous instances where the media clearly does influence behavior. Another way is through desensitization. A person who regularly views positive portrayals of adulter
