Date: February 7, 2012
To: English 1311 Students
From: Chris O'Leary
Re: Common Sense Media
Violence in the media and in video games have been exposed to children in the U.S. for quite some time now. Many parents are quite lenient when it comes to what their children watch on T.V. and what type of video games they play. They don't know what the violence in these sources of entertainment do to the children. The children are like sponges and they are going to absorb whatever they see which may sadly lead to violence. The United States' children spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their families or in school. This could really impact their social, emotional, and physical development.
The Common Sense Media is a non-profit organization; the main mission of the organization is to try to improve the lives of children by helping them and their parents thrive through the world of media and technology. The Common Sense Media organization offers age-appropriate and reliable information to parents about movies and video games. They provide movie and video game reviews to determine what ages are best suitable for the content. They don’t believe in censorship, they believe in media sanity. Parents need to know about the media their kids use and need to teach responsible, ethical behavior as well as manage overall media use.
The website provides a research tab which is information about the research program which is to provide parents, educators, health organizations, and policymakers with reliable data on children's use of media and technology and the impact it has on their physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development. They provide you with a phone number people can call to learn more about the program. Anyone can go onto their face book page which is on the bottom right of the home page and share the link they have to anyone. There is a contact us link at the bottom of the home page which goes to the page with the different locations and phone numbers of the organization.
Donations are available on the site. There is a Donate Now button on the top right of the home page so anyone can send donations. They offer a supporters link under the About Us tab. Anyone can become a supporter of this organization which all contributions will greatly help. 40% of the annual operating budget comes from their foundation support. They are willing to work with national, corporate, and family foundations.
People who want to become part of the Common Sense Media organization can apply for a job by clicking on the Join Our Team link at the bottom of the page. Anyone has the power to add or update information about movie/video game reviews. They provide programs in the educators tab to let teachers and or parents learn use certain curriculums that help guide students to make safe, smart, and ethical decisions in the digital world where they live, study and play.
The Common Sense Media organization may be contacted through the phone number (415) 863-0600. Their website ,http://www.commonsensemedia.org/, provides information and programs to let parents and/or teachers help guide students to improve their lives by helping them thrive through the world of media and technology.
