text: are mtv and bet dictating to our youth? are america's youth falling victim to what they see on television? (i.e... sex and violence) america's youth have been falling victim to what they see on tv, as well as other negative media images (advertisements, video games) for the past 10-15 years.  but it's not just mtv and bet.  mtv stopped playing music back around 1990, and kids stopped watching it around 1995.  bet lost any quality programming when they were bought out by viacom (who owns mtv) around 1996 or 1997, and black kids don't really watch bet.  the real problem is that parents rely on the television to raise their children for them!  parents aren't spending any quality time teaching their kids any proper values, such as respect or manners.  parents also aren't encouraging their childeren to either get up from the tv and go out and do things, or to pick up a book and read.  it's not the fault of television, or the schools, or the government.  if you are a parent, then these are your damn kids, so the only person responsible for how they turn out is you.