Website Review: VBS.tv
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that although some of the site's videos
are OK for teens, there are others that are extremely explicit.
"The Vice Guide to Sex" has episodes about bestiality and
fetish porn and there's a disturbing documentary about teenage
circumcision rituals in Uganda.
Families can talk about which shows on the site look
interesting. Why do you think the site mixes lighthearted shows
about cute animals with ones about dark topics like war,
prostitution, and drugs? What audience do you think this site
is trying to reach? How is violence in news stories or
documentaries different from violence in TV shows or
movies?
began as an underground magazine and has evolved into a far-reaching media company. Its latest offering, the online broadcast network VBS.TV, embodies all the buzzwords of the Vice brand: hip, controversial, offensive, and shocking. With Spike Jonze as its creative director, the site features 40 shows of original content about art and music, news, travel, and extreme sports, as well as quirky offerings like "The Cute Show" (think kitties, bunnies, and cupcakes). There's also a lot of adult content.
Parents will probably not want their teens anywhere near VBS.tv because of content like "The Vice Guide to Sex," which ventures into very disturbing terrority -- like bestiality. It's a shame, because some the investigative pieces are fantastic -- like the environmental exposé "Toxic" and "The Vice Guide to North Korea," a 14-episode documentary that goes inside the notoriously press-shy nation. Too bad there's no VBS Jr.
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Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
