[mseebach]

> are solely meant for teenagers

Perhaps that's because the people campaigning for them are explicitly referencing protection of children as their motivation. The label on CDs says "parental advisory" and the MPAA film ratings system is explicitly indexed on age and parental guidance.

> Beyond that, if an adult doesn't want to listen to something or watch something, this helps them

So does the "stop" or "off" button. That's how I deal with most modern music which is indeed in many cases grossly inappropriate for my tastes -- but I guess actually I should lobby for a labelling scheme so I can be "helped".

[6stringmerc]

If you get down to the root of it, those labels are there so Parents don't actually have to watch / listen to / referee the material before allowing their children to see it. Or, they don't watch / listen to the material with their children to be there to provide context and guidance like an Adult.

They're a way to shift responsibility. "Oh this should be okay, it's PG!" is what happened with "Gremlins" and then it scared the shit out of kids. Now we have PG-13 because of that movie. True story.