As an avid movie and tv show watcher, Common Sense Media has been a godsend when it comes to choosing what I watch. Although the website is suited for the safety of children, as its organization “provides education and advocacy to families to promote safe technology and media for children,” I use it primarily to ensure that the movies or TV shows I’m watching don’t have too much gore or too much sex, as I’m sensitive to that material. The great thing about the Common Sense Media website is that it describes the kinds of gory or sexual scenes that are present in that form of media so that you know exactly what you’ll be consuming. It’s also completely run by parent and teenage reviews. Especially for movie nights with my family, Common Sense Media has helped me a lot in choosing appropriate movies to watch with them. It’s also a much plausible option compared to reading the plot on Wikipedia and getting the movie/show potentially spoiled for me.Â
According to the website, I could only look at the reviews for more than 3 movies if I signed up for a Plus account. This meant I would be paying $30 a year to access this website. I thought that this way of accumulating money was unfair, especially considering that many other people like me rely on Common Sense Media to prevent them from consuming media that may contain various triggering topics.Â
