Our Mission


Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families.

We exist because media and entertainment profoundly impact the social, emotional, and physical development of our nation's children. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, we provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.

Our Beliefs

Media is fun and our kids love it. We also know that kids now spend so much time absorbing its messages and images that it has become "the other parent" in their lives. We started this organization because we know families need trustworthy information to help manage their kids' media lives. We're posting our beliefs here so that all our users can know the underlying principles that guide our philosophy and mission.

Ten Common Sense Beliefs

  • We believe in media sanity, not censorship.
  • We believe that media has truly become "the other parent" in our kids' lives, powerfully affecting their mental, physical, and social development.
  • We believe in teaching our kids to be savvy media interpreters -- we can’t cover their eyes but we can teach them to see.
  • We believe parents should have a choice and a voice about the media our kids consume. Every family is different but all need information.
  • We believe that the price for free and open media is a bit of extra homework for families. Parents need to know about media content and need to manage media use.
  • We believe that through informed decision making, we can improve the media landscape one decision at a time.
  • We believe appropriate regulations about right time, right place, and right manner exist. They need to be upheld by our elected and appointed leaders.
  • We believe in age-appropriate media and that the media industry needs to act responsibly as it creates and markets content for each audience.
  • We believe ratings systems should be independent and transparent for all media.
  • We believe in diversity of programming and media ownership.

 

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You'll see the movies, games, books, shows, music, and sites our editors select just for them. As your children get older, our picks will grow with them!
Why we ask for this
We never display your children's names, (or nicknames) to anyone, but you. Providing your children's ages allows us to personalize information on our site, so you get better information, faster.
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