Culture Change

At night before bed, or sometimes in the morning before we head out, my wife likes to watch reruns on Nickelodeon or TV Land. They're shows from our childhood like "Full House" and "Boy Meets World." It's sort of a reminder of a different era, but that got me thinking.

I was born in 1981. I grew up in the 1980s and the 1990s. I have some recollection of the shows I used to watch on TV. There were a lot of sitcoms and shows about family. "The Wonder Years," "Full House," "Family Matters," "The Cosby Show," "Family Ties," "Growing Pains," all these shows were in prime time on network TV, and all of them looked at families. The shows had issues that were relatable to families and family values.

When you watch re-runs of these shows — which are prevalent at night on cable — you are transported to a different era of TV. But then I think about our modern network lineups. Forget cable, where edgy and different have helped shows stand out, think about the big four networks.

8 p.m., the first hour of prime time Monday through Friday, used to be considered the family access hour. Networks put family friendly shows on at that time. In the Central and Mountain time zones, where I live, that is actually at 7 p.m. But think about the shows that are on at that time now? Not exactly family friendly.

CBS, the No. 1 network by rating, has nothing you'd consider family friendly in its first hour of prime time during the week. Last season it offered a comedy block on Mondays of "How I Met Your Mother" and the split duo of "Partners" and "Rules of Engagement." None of those shows would rank high with the Parents' Television Council. Tuesday nights it aired the crime drama "NCIS" at 8 p.m. and Wednesday it was the reality hit "Survivor." Again, neither screams family values. Then there were Thursday nights, with the comedy block of "The Big Bang Theory" and "Two and a Half Men." Again, nothing that would rank high with parents groups.

Of course CBS isn't alone. None of the big networks are airing family friendly shows at 8 p.m. or really at any time during the week.

When we think about how culture is changing, how the nuclear family is changing, and how morality is shifting in our country, you can't help but wonder if our changing entertainment values have a role in that. I'm not someone who thinks the media wields all the influence over culture, but it does wield some. When you look at a typical network lineup from 1988 and one from 2013 it's easy to see things have shifted, and not for the better when it comes to family friendly entertainment.