Media: F word loses the shock factor

Media: F word loses the shock factor

Television viewers have become less sensitive about the F word, it was revealed yesterday. It has slipped from the top of the rankings as joint worst swear word to third, according to audience research for the Broadcasting Standards Commission.

Although viewers were becoming more used to swearing, nine out of 10 adults are still concerned about bad language on television when there are children around.

There had been little change since 1994 in the ranking of words as commented on by 753 adults interviewed last year, the report said.

"The exception (and the change is slight) is the word `f***' which was considered less severe than the other two words ranking higher. In the pre