Should Books Have Age Classifications?

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

MICHELLE WAKIM, BTN REPORTER: We classify films and we classify video games, but should we have an age classification system for books?
VOX: I definitely agree with that. I know my little sister, she was reading some books that she shouldn't have been.
VOX: Hard ratings like 'you can't read this until you're 'X' age,' I think that that's limiting the, people being able to share ideas with each other.
VOX: Each book is different. The way it's written is different. So the way the themes presented are different as well. So I think it would be…it's a bit nuanced. It's a bit hard to make a definitive classification.
VOX: We have the young adult section, things like that, that's a great example that I think works well.
VOX: It's sometimes people are reading books that they probably shouldn't be reading just for like their health and wellbeing.
DR. EMMA HUSSEY, AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY: It's really important not to sanitise what we're going to be reading, it's just about increasing that awareness so that we can all be emotionally safe.
With the rise of book talk Booktube and Bookstagram, some experts like Doctor Emma Hussey from the Australian Catholic University are calling for an industry wide book rating classification system. Doctor Hussey's research looked at 20 books that are popular on BookTok, analysing them for domestic violence behaviours, other violence, including torture, murder and destruction of property, and sexually explicit scenes.
DR. EMMA HUSSEY: Of those books, 65% of them had these domestic violence adjacent behaviours on the page, so it really is about don't judge a book by its cover. There are cartoons on the front, doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be developmentally appropriate for a 12 to 17 year old.
UPSOT: We are different nonetheless
Doctor Hussey says part of the problem is the algorithm on these platforms is often based off popularity rather than reader safety, so it sometimes pushes adult fiction recommendations to young adult or YA readers. Young adult fiction is a category of its own in publishing. It's generally aimed at readers between the ages of 12 and 18, and focuses on the stuff many teenagers are going through, like themes around identity, self discovery, relationships, and the transition into adulthood. YA also has subcategories within it with lower young adult from 12 to 14 years old, which might include texts like the early Harry Potter books and upper Young Adult, which includes books like Wicked and the Fault in our Stars.
DR. EMMA HUSSEY: I know that there's a system that authors use to know whether their books are marketed to a younger young adult audience or an older young adult audience that's not made explicit or clear in bookstores or libraries.
In bookstores, do you find it easy to, like, differentiate between young adult fiction and adult fiction?
VOX: I do, but I'm like in there all the time.
TRACY GLOVER, DILLONS BOOKSHOP: Okay. So our YA collection is independent of hte rest of our collection, so it's standalone.
I paid a visit to a bookstore in Adelaide to chat with Tracy, who's worked in the area of children and young adult literature for decades.
TRACY GLOVER: We have a couple of elements. I think within the bookshop we have a fairly clear boundary just by geographically where the books are. So I think that there's a fairly clear delineation there about where our young adult sits against, where our adults sit.
Tracy says she has noticed a shift in the reading habits of young people since the rise of social media.
TRACY GLOVER: And the local students from the local schools, often when they come in, they come in with a specific request. So it might be something they've talked about or someone's mentioned. It might be something that's very current on Netflix or TikTok.
She also says that this bookshop, like many, has age recommendations on a lot of their YA fiction. These are based off staff discretion and databases such as common-sense media, which are designed with young people's reading and safety in mind.
TRACY GLOVER: It's very rare that we have to say to a reader "we're just not sure that that's going to be suitable for your age level." But if we felt strongly enough, we would just give that warning. The 12 to 14 year olds, we're very mindful with what they choose and what we would recommend for them. Once they hit about 15, then it is their decision. They're probably doing, you know, exposed to a lot of those things already, if not in literature in often, sadly, what they're watching.
DR EMMA HUSSEY: We don't actually have to look too far to see that we have implemented these sorts of classification systems across streaming websites across movies that you purchase in store. So it's not a new system. It's just about bringing that to this new medium that we've not previously considered before.
If there is classification similar to movies, do you see that as being a restriction on sale or borrowing?
DR EMMA HUSSEY: What I want to acknowledge is that for me, this is not about banning.
VOX: If it was enforced the same way that MA 15 plus is or something like that I'm not sure how great of an idea that would be.
VOX: Movies is a bit different cause it's very because obviously you're watching it play out, reading it's your imagination and you can just close the book if it's too much for you.
WILL KOSTAKIS, AUTHOR: I'm against this classification system because it's slapping the classification system of games and movies onto a different medium.
This is Will Kostakis, a young adult fiction author.
WILL KOSTAKIS, AUTHOR: The thing about books is you can actually go into the emotions of an action. You have a character's thoughts throughout, right? You would have the character reckoning with consequences afterwards. Thinking about it living in it.
Will says the way we experience books is very different to other forms of media and he's more concerned a classification system would lead to wider censorship.
WILL KOSTAKIS, AUTHOR: So who would choose? Would it be parents? Would it be politicians? Would it be booksellers? Would it be, you know, publishers? The thing is, publishers and booksellers already choose and engaged parents already choose. They are talking to their kids, so we already have rules in place to protect kids, but that can be exploited and so when we talk about classifications, I'm always worried about not just the next step, but the step 4 points down the road where it's like how can this be exploited? A lot of the authors that I've been talking to in librarians, the big thing they worry about is censorship.
VOX: I think it stretches, yeah, to a level of potential censorship. Whether it be unintentional or not. With films you have to pay to get it tested and see whether or not it's appropriate or not. So I think for like young independent authors that might stop them from being able to publish their books, which I don't think that's a great thing either.
VOX: When you classify anything into different ages, you are almost saying that some things are inherently inappropriate for kids, which I don't agree is true.
Could this lead to censorship in a way?
DR EMMA HUSSEY: So I think what's really important to understand is that censorship is about the denial of access, the stopping of access. This does not push or advocate for or the removal of access to content. It's more about giving respect to young adult readers, flagging content that may not be developmentally appropriate for them at that stage, or they may not be ready for.
But is the content in books causing that much harm that we need a new system of classification?
DR EMMA HUSSEY: I think it's more about making sure that your young adult readers know what's in that book before they pick it up, and whether it's something that they feel ready to explore.
TRACY GLOVER: I think it would be very difficult. I think it's more about educating the reader.
Let's expect more of our readers here. I grew up in the era of twilight, all the teen girls in my life weren't like "wow, I can't wait for a 108 year old who's posing as a teenager to sweep me off my feet." They are getting the feels and all of the tropes and being like "cool. This is a bit romantic. This is a bit spicy," but I don't think they're looking at these books as manuals on how to live their romantic lives.
VOX: I think, also parents need to play a role in that and like, okay, what are my kids actually reading?
VOX: When I was like 15 16 there wasn't any books, that I felt like the content would be super like different from what you just experienced in like your daily life. You're becoming an adult, so you should be exposed to like everything.