Living in North Carolina, a state that’s constantly in the political spotlight, I’ve grown used to seeing a barrage of political ads whenever an election is near. But lately, it feels like something has changed. Our votes have always mattered more here because we’re a swing state, but now, the content of these ads is beyond extreme.
It’s nothing new that political ads flood every commercial break, but what shocks me is how graphic, violent, and downright disturbing they’ve become. As a parent, I’ve found myself frantically reaching for the remote, trying to mute the TV before my kids hear about murderers, aliens, and women bleeding out in alleyways. And, unfortunately, these are not abstract concerns—these are the words my 9- and 7-year-old have picked up just by watching TV.
Recently, my 9-year-old son told me he wanted to vote for a woman one day. He said he wanted his sister to see a woman president, and as a parent, I was proud of that. A few days later, though, he came to me and said he’d changed his mind. He wasn’t going to vote for that woman because, apparently, she was letting “bad guys out of jail who run over people’s heads with cars.” This wasn’t something he heard at school, or even from adults. It came from a political ad that aired on TV.
On another occasion, I walked into the room to find my daughter, wide-eyed, watching a woman on screen talking about “bleeding out” due to an abortion. As much as I try to shield my kids from inappropriate content, this wasn’t some late-night R-rated movie they’d accidentally seen. This was in the middle of the day.
I’d love to blame myself for not keeping a better eye on what they’re watching, but how can I when these kinds of ads air all day long? We’ve all heard it before—kids shouldn’t be watching TV unsupervised, they should be in bed earlier, or we should limit screen time. But this isn’t a matter of poor parental judgment. These political ads are constantly on during commercial breaks, no matter the time of day, on channels that are otherwise kid-friendly.
What shocks me most is that we have FCC guidelines in place to protect against violence and inappropriate language on TV, yet somehow, political commercials seem to get a free pass. How is it that the same regulations that restrict violence, sex, and profanity in programming don’t apply to the advertisements we’re bombarded with during campaign season? Why are we allowing this kind of unfiltered content to reach our living rooms, where young children can easily absorb it?
It’s not just the content that’s disturbing—it’s the psychological toll it’s taking on our kids. Campaigns are supposed to inform and persuade voters, but at what cost? When my 9-year-old son switches his views based on a misleading, fearmongering ad, I start to wonder: what are these ads really doing to our democracy?
I understand that political speech is protected under the First Amendment, but does that mean we can’t hold these ads to some standard of decency? Other forms of media are required to meet certain guidelines. Why should political ads be any different? If TV networks must adhere to rules about what kind of content they can show to children, then political ads should be no exception.
I’m not saying we should censor political messaging or suppress free speech. But there has to be a line. It’s time for the FCC and lawmakers to take a hard look at the content in political ads, especially as they become more aggressive with every election cycle. There’s a way to inform the public without resorting to scare tactics that traumatize our kids in the process.
At the end of the day, political ads shouldn’t be exempt from common-sense standards. If we can regulate what children see during their favorite shows, we can certainly regulate what they’re exposed to during the commercial breaks.
I’m sure every bag of twigs on the web will chime in about the First Amendment, protected political speech, and how my kids should be outside after school. We probably agree on most of that. I guess I just wanted them to learn those things from me or good movies watched in secret on a Friday night with friends. This stuff isn’t even good.
Maybe I hoped they’d make it to middle school before I had to explain to them what we as a nation have become.
