More Than Half of World Population Not Living with Full Freedom
Feb 1st, 2010 • Posted in: Statline
For more information, see this week’s Research Report.

For more information, see this week’s Research Report.
by Rushworth M. Kidder
If you’re a parent, you may think your kids spend their whole lives surfing the web, watching TV, or listening to their iPods. Turns out you’re right. A recent report from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, based on its 2009 survey of media use by children from ages 8 to 18, finds that:
These are jarring numbers. Yet it’s all too easy for parents to tumble into the ain’t-it-awful syndrome, writing off every encounter with the media as a corrupting and unethical force. But parents themselves use a lot of media — listening to radio news, watching sports on TV, using the web to plan trips. If media isn’t automatically unethical for their parents, why should it be so for kids? Even multitasking may have a silver lining: Children accustomed to multiple inputs may learn to work comfortably in environments that, for adults, would be impossibly distracting.
Still, the report (“Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds,” by Victoria Rideout, Ulla Foehr, and Donald Roberts) hints at enormous ethical issues behind these findings. The video-gaming 14-year-old who shrinks inward and loses human contact with his peers, the 13-year-old who sends a nude video clip of herself via cell-phone to a friend and finds it lodged forever on YouTube, the heavy TV user who searches out ever more violent and abusive programming to satisfy his thirst for excitement, the texting teenage driver who kills herself and others on the highway — all of them cry out for attention. What can parents do?
First, be alert to heavy use versus ordinary consumption. The Kaiser report finds that heavy users of media — the one-fifth of all kids who are exposed to more than 16 hours of media content each day — get lower grades in school and report lower levels of personal contentment. (A caution, however: This report doesn’t examine whether kids perform poorly and feel discontented because they immerse themselves in media, or whether they seek solace in media because they aren’t happy and can’t hack the schoolwork.) By contrast, the survey suggests that “heavy readers” who “spend an hour or more a day with print media” are more likely than light readers to get good grades. Wherever media and children interface, it seems, lighter correlates with better.
Second, recognize that while you can’t turn back the clock to a simpler age, you can manage this interface. Kids raised in homes where parents leave the TV running in the background all day (45 percent of all households) or turn it on during mealtimes (64 percent of all households) become much heavier users than other children — as do children whose parents let them have TVs in their bedrooms. By contrast, “children whose parents make an effort to limit media use — through the media environment they create in the home and the rules they set — spend less time with media than their peers,” report these authors. Although the Kaiser study doesn’t say so explicitly, setting such limits probably affects children’s performance in school. Nearly one-third of these kids admit they multitask while doing their homework, a habit that rises in proportion as kids have easier access to electronic devices.
Conclusion? “Kids whose parents don’t put a TV in their bedroom, don’t leave the TV on during meals or in the background when no one is watching, or do impose some type of media-related rules spend substantially less time with media than do children with more media-lenient parents.”
Media-lenient parents. The phrase ought to send a shiver down the parental spine — in part because becoming “media-lenient” is so easy to do these days. Parents don’t usually see media as a conditioner of life or a moral influence. Media is just … well, there. Like a morning drizzle or the sound of distant traffic, it’s a fact of life — a mild annoyance at times and a slight comfort at others, but nothing you can do much about.
Or so we often think. As it turns out, it’s more than a mere annoyance — and it’s not beyond our control. The increasing willingness of young people to marinate themselves in the media reminds us that parents have a moral obligation to help them resist the stuff they’re soaking up.
©2010 Institute for Global Ethics
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“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that.”
– South Carolina lieutenant governor Andre Bauer, speaking about poor people receiving government assistance at a town hall meeting last week. Bauer, who is running for the governor’s seat being vacated by disgraced philanderer Gov. Mark Sanford, later said he regrets his choice of words, reports the Associated Press.
Source: AP, Jan. 25.
Toyota continues massive recalls, buffeted by claims it moved slowly on safety issue; Ford hires new workers, but at about half typical wages
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES
Toyota last week weathered a public-relations disaster amid questions related to business ethics, including whether it cut corners to meet demand and ignored safety red flags.
Industry analysts say that the recalls of millions of Toyota vehicles stem from compromises on quality control, reports the Canadian Press.
“The recalls for gas pedals prone to sticking and faulty floor mats that can entangle the accelerator are a devastating blow to an automaker that had prided itself on a reputation for quality. The safety doubts have also forced Toyota to suspend U.S. and Canadian sales and production of eight models including the Camry, America’s top-selling car,” writes the Canadian Press.
While many say the auto company acted responsibly and in a timely manner when it halted sales, critics contend that Toyota acted too slowly when complaints started coming in.
The high-profile death of four people in an out-of-control Lexus last August put the autos’ flaws in the spotlight, But as the Los Angeles Times reports, the August 2009 accident was “at least the fifth fatal crash in the U.S. over the last two years involving runaway Toyota and Lexus vehicles made by Toyota Motor Corp. It is also among hundreds of incidents of sudden acceleration involving the company’s vehicles that have been reported to Toyota or the federal government, according to an examination of public records by The Times.”
In an editorial, the Times contends: “Toyota’s response to this issue has been too slow and conservative for its own good — or its customers’. The number and variety of reports about sudden acceleration in the years leading up to the [fatal car] crash in August pointed to broader problems than the automaker was willing to acknowledge. Instead, it shrugged off complaints, arguing that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (whose methods were also suspect) had found no cause for concern.”
Two congressional committees have begun inquiries into Toyota’s handling of the accelerator problems, according to Bloomberg.
On Sunday, Toyota engaged in its first direct communication with the public by taking out full-page newspaper ads to explain why it suspended sales, reports USA Today.
In related news, Ford Motor Co. was expected to announce that it would begin hiring workers at lower wages — about half the amount that current union members earned when they started, reports the Wall Street Journal. The new second-tier wage was a major union concession, reports the Journal. The move raises an ethical issue relating to treating employees equitably, as well as the dilemma of short-term employee pay issues versus the long-term health of the company.
Sources: USA Today, Jan. 31 — Bloomberg, Jan. 31 — Los Angeles Times, Jan. 29 — Wall Street Journal, Jan. 29 — Canadian Press, Jan. 28 — Los Angeles Times, Oct. 18, 2009.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 4 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 14, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 31, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 24, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 9, 2009.
Suicide raises concerns about cyberbullying; IT professionals say they increasingly are concerned about hacking attacks and the damage to their employers’ bottom lines and reputations; EU sets sights on producing laws that catch up to privacy concerns
VARIOUS DATELINES
The pace of evolving technology raised a variety of ethical issues last week. Among the stories:
Sources: BusinessWeek, Jan. 29 — PC World, Jan. 29 — UPI, Jan. 26.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Aug. 24, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 15, 2008 — Related Newsline story, May 19, 2008 — Related Newsline commentary, Dec. 3, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 3, 2007.
British agency says doctor who started vaccination scare acted unethically; new and improved “morning after” birth control pill raises moral objections; ethicists debate whether doctors’ role in producing weapons is unethical — or an ethical obligation because “medicalized” weapons can prevent suffering
LONDON and NEW YORK
Medical-ethics stories received coverage around the globe last week. Among the pieces:
Sources: Telegraph, Jan. 29 — TIME, Jan. 29 — AFP, Jan. 29 — ABC, Jan. 29.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 4 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 21, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 7, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 16, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 2, 2009.
Essayist ponders whether journalists in disaster area help or just report; activist who went after ACORN in trouble over phone tampering incident; CBS set to change policy and allow controversial ad in Super Bowl
VARIOUS DATELINES
A range of media ethics stories made headlines last week. Among them:
Sources: Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 29 — Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 29 — NPR, Jan. 27.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 25 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 11 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 4 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 4 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 21, 2009.
Columnist says the state of the union is “angry”; two members of U.S. Congress back out of “tea party” convention, citing ethics concerns; Tony Blair testifies about legality of war in hearing overflowing with emotion; New York State still struggling to come up with ethics legislation; Georgia considers “loser pays” provision in ethics bill
VARIOUS DATELINES
A mix of stories last week examined the role of ethics in deliberative democracy. Among them:
Sources: Reuters, Jan. 29 — Politico, Jan. 29 — AP, Jan. 29 — Washington Post, Jan. 29 — NBC New York, Jan. 29 — New York Times, Jan. 28 — Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jan. 26.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 25 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 25 — Related Newsline Research Report, Jan. 25 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 11 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 4.
USC gallery examines whether something legal is necessarily right
LOS ANGELES
An ethics institute at the University of Southern California (USC) teamed up with the university’s fine arts school to produce an exhibit featuring art with an ethical element.
USC News, an official publication of the university, reports that Lyn Boyd-Judson, the director of the Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics wanted the university to enjoy the art while ruminating over the ethical questions that each piece raised.
“The question is, ‘It may be legal, but is it right?’” Judson said, according to USC News. “What does that mean to an engineer, a teaching assistant, a pre-law student, a member of the Greek system here at USC? Public art seemed a terrific way to get students thinking about the question as open-ended and provocative.”
One sculpture, for example, examines whether it’s right to air a constantly negative and depressed demeanor — which, like second-hand smoke, affects those around you. It depicts a man slumped over in despair.
“Life is full of agony,” the work’s creator, undergraduate Junxian Poon told USC News. “Nobody can fulfill all of their desires because of different reasons: family, social norms, peer pressure. Is it right to ruin the happiness of others by showing our negative emotion, even though we’re legally able?”
Other works deal with racial stereotypes and war.
Source: USC News, Jan. 28.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Mar. 2, 2009 — Related Newsline Commentary, Dec. 4, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 27, 2006 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 29, 2007 — Related Newsline story, June 21, 1999 — Levan Institute.
Watchdog’s assessment: “For the fourth consecutive year, global declines in freedom outweighed gains”
From Freedom House:
“For the fourth consecutive year, global declines in freedom outweighed gains in 2009, as measured by Freedom House’s annual survey of political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World 2010. This represents the longest continuous period of decline for global freedom in the nearly 40-year history of the report.
“In a year marked by intensified repression against human rights defenders and civic activists, declines for freedom were registered in 40 countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union, representing 20 percent of the world’s total polities. Authoritarian states including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and Vietnam became more repressive. Declines in freedom also occurred in countries that had registered positive trends in previous years, including Bahrain, Jordan, Kenya, and Kyrgyzstan.
“‘The news for 2009 is cause for real concern,’ said Arch Puddington, Freedom House Director of Research. ‘The decline is global, affects countries with military and economic power, affects countries that had previously shown signs of reform potential, and is accompanied by enhanced persecution of political dissidents and independent journalists. To make matters worse, the most powerful authoritarian regimes have become more repressive, more influential in the international arena, and more uncompromising.’
“Published since 1972, Freedom in the World examines the ability of individuals to exercise their political and civil rights in 194 countries and 14 territories around the world. The survey analyzes developments that occurred in 2009 and assigns each country a freedom status — Free, Partly Free, or Not Free — based on a scoring of performance on key indicators.
“In this year’s findings, five countries moved into Not Free status, and the number of electoral democracies declined to the lowest level since 1995. Sixteen countries made notable gains, with two countries improving their overall freedom status. The most significant improvements in 2009 occurred in Asia.
“The Middle East remained the most repressive region in the world…. Africa suffered the most significant declines, and four countries experienced coups.
“This year’s findings reflect the growing pressures on journalists and new media, restrictions on freedom of association, and repression aimed at civic activists engaged in promoting political reform and respect for human rights….
“Key global findings include:
“Free: The number of countries designated by Freedom in the World as Free in 2009 stands at 89, representing 46 percent of the world’s 194 countries and 46 percent of the world population.
“Partly Free: The number of Partly Free countries declined to 58, or 30 percent of all countries assessed by the survey, comprising 20 percent of the world’s total population.
“Not Free: The number of countries deemed to be Not Free increased to 47, or 24 percent of the total number of countries. Over 2.3 billion people live in societies where fundamental political rights and civil liberties are not respected. China accounts for half of this number….
“Worst of the Worst: Of the 47 countries ranked Not Free, nine countries and one territory received the survey’s lowest possible rating for both political rights and civil liberties: Burma, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Tibet, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Eritrea was downgraded to this level in the past year….”
For more information, see: Full release from Freedom House, Jan. 12 — AP, Jan. 12 — Reuters, Jan. 12.
“Happy the man who has learned the cause of things and has put under his feet all fear, inexorable fate, and the noisy strife of the hell of greed.”
– Virgil (Classical Roman poet, 70 BCE – 19 BCE)
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