Watching what you watch!

God has been laying this post on my heart for a long time, so please bear with me.
6 months ago I was perusing Facebook and saw this video that one of my family members linked to their wall. It said something like this is why you shouldn't prank people. So my curiosity was peaked and I clicked on it. I watched in suspense as a guy with a face mask snuck up on a girl in her kitchen. She was then so scared that she ran out of her house into her back alley and then as her friend took of his mask, she violently got hit by a car. All of this was on video, she never got up and that was the end of it. This girl's life was over and I had just watched her last moments. I cannot tell you how many haunted dreams, day and night I have had over this 3 minute video.  The fact that this video was even on Facebook, is disturbing to me. How would this girl's family feel if they knew that people were watching this? Is there no decency anymore. I see titles of video's all the time that seem very personal and private moments that are strung up over the internet. Not good moments, nothing to be proud of, but then they have thousands of views.
Now I have talked before how I can't watch really scary movies without being affected. But real violence on the media is a real issue. Believe me I really have nothing to say about what should and shouldn't be watched on television. We are big fans of crime drama like NCIS, Criminal Minds and CSI. But the real crime and violence really affects me and I know that I can't be the only one affected. I am really a stickler about how much news and reality television we watch.  I also am very careful about how much television Joslyn watches. And its not for the reasons your probably thinking. Yes there are a lot of crummy shows out there that are posing as children's shows. But it's the commercials that I am actually trying to keep us from watching. Millions of dollars are spent deciding what the latest and greatest toys will be for each season. The toy makers and ad campaigns tell many of your kids what toys they must have. I hear people say how silly it is that people fight over the same toys at Christmas, but most parents are out there trying to get that coveted toy for a great price. It is amazing to me how many of the toys nowadays are useless for kids. The kids play with it for a week, a month maybe more but ultimately the toy ends up in the junk pile at the garage sale. I really love that Joslyn isn't attached to any characters yet. She does watch a few Barney video's but not very often. Most of her toys are balls and ABC toys and blocks. I don't mind her having dolls and a random toy that is a character, but I am not going to buy a specific toy because she saw it on TV. That is how I feel, like it or not.