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Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.[1][2][3][4] It also funds research on the role of media in the lives of children[5] and advocates publicly for child-friendly policies and laws regarding media.[6][7]

Company type

Lobbying
Advocacy
Research
Entertainment Reviews
Parenting
Education

2003 (2003)

,
United States

US$25,452,329 (2018)

Founded by Jim Steyer in 2003, Common Sense Media reviews and allows users to review also, divided into adult and child sections. It has reviews of books, films, television shows, video games, apps, websites, podcasts, and YouTube channels and rates them in terms of age-appropriate educational content, such as "positive role models", "positive messages", diverse representation, "violence and scariness", "sexual content", "language", "consumerism" and more, for families and caregivers making media choices for their children. They have also developed a set of ratings to evaluate apps, games, and websites used in a learning environment.


Donations from foundations and individuals and fees from media partners finance Common Sense Media. Today, the organization distributes its content to more than 100 million US homes via partnerships with a variety of media and tech companies. Common Sense Media describes itself as "the nation's largest membership organization dedicated to improving kids' media lives".[1] By 2016, the organization had over 65 million unique users and worked with more than 275,000 educators across the United States.[8] Common Sense serves over 100 million users a year.[9] In 2016, Charlie Rose reported that Common Sense Media was the United States' largest non-profit dedicated to children's issues.[10]


In August 2020, CSM announced the formation of a for-profit subsidiary, Common Sense Networks, to create and distribute original media targeted at children.[11] Common Sense Networks then announced an OTT platform named Sensical, which launched June 29, 2021.[12]

Early history[edit]

After founding JP Kids, an educational media company for children, and Children Now, a national child advocacy and media group, Jim Steyer founded Common Sense Media in 2003. In an interview with The New York Times, Steyer said he intended to "create a huge constituency for parents and children in the same way that Mothers Against Drunk Driving or the AARP has done." The group received $500,000 in seed money from a group of donors including Charles Schwab, George Roberts, and James Coulter.[1]


To assess parents' concern about their children's media habits, Common Sense Media commissioned a poll, which found that "64 percent [of parents with children aged 2–17] believed that media products in general were inappropriate for their families. It said that 81 percent expressed concern that the media in general were encouraging violent or antisocial behavior in children." The polling firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, said that "only one out of five interviewed 'fully trusted' the separate industry-controlled ratings systems for music, movies, video games and television."[1]

Entertainment reviews[edit]

Common Sense Media reviews thousands of movies, TV shows, music, video games, apps, web sites and books. Based on developmental criteria, the reviews provide guidance regarding each title's age appropriateness, as well as a "content grid" that rates particular aspects of the title including educational value, violence, sex, gender messages and role models, and more. For each title, they indicate the age for which a title is either appropriate or most relevant. An overall five-star quality rating is also included, as are discussion questions to help families talk about their entertainment. In addition to CSM's traditional rating system, they also offer a set of learning based ratings, which are designed to determine complex educational values.[13][14]


CSM partners with a number of media companies that distribute the organization's free content to more than 100 million homes in the United States. According to their website, the organization has content distribution contracts with Road Runner, TiVo, Yahoo!, Comcast, Charter Communications, DIRECTV, Disney, NBC Universal, Netflix, Best Buy, Google, Huffington Post, Fandango, Trend Micro, Verizon Communications, Nickelodeon, Bing, Cox Communications, Kaleidescape, AT&T, and NCM.[15] The organization's current rating system differs from the system used by the Motion Picture Association of America and the Entertainment Software Rating Board. It has received positive support from some parents, and was singled out by US President Barack Obama as a model for using technology to empower parents.[16][17] Common Sense Media began allowing studios to use their ratings and endorsements in order to promote family-friendly movies in 2014. The first film to use the endorsement was Disney's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.[18]


Since 2021, the website charges for access to thousands of its media reviews to cover the organization's server expenses. Reading more than three media reviews per month requires a paid Common Sense Media subscription. The use of their mobile app to access media reviews also requires a paid subscription. This can, however, be circumvented by clearing cookies.[19]

Research[edit]

Common Sense Media's Program for the Study of Media and Children provides data relating to the developmental influence of technology on children.[45][46]