The Effect of Mass Media on Children - Research Paper Example

? The Effect of Mass Media on Children The Effect of Mass Media on Children Introduction Elements of the mass media have grown to be an omnipresent factor in the lives of many children around the world. These elements include magazines, newspapers, the radio, comic books, movies, video games, and particularly television. Today, all these mass media elements are found in nations all over the world. There are many authorities such as parents and teachers who have expressed concern with the way children’s values are affected by all available mass media elements. Programs, stories or images that are presented through mass media elements such as situation comedies, soap operas, talk shows, cartoons, or sports programs can tremendously influence the way that children think of themselves. Thesis Statement; The proliferation of the elements of the mass media has positive as well as negative consequences. It is important for children to be taught how to make the most out of the more positive aspects in order to benefit their own intellectual development. Different aspects of the Mass Media One of the reasons why the mass media elements can be detrimental to the psychological development of children is because they present a reality that does not really exist. For example, television is not an agent that encourages viewers to be interactive (Strasburger, Jordan, and Donnerstein, 2010). Adults may understand this; however, children are easily deceived into imagining that they are interacting and not just consuming. This can be viewed as being a negative aspect because watching television will fill the social needs of the children without giving them the chance to acquire new social skills that will help them in real life situations with other people. According to Keating (2011) the average child in developed nations watches 4 hours of television on a daily basis. Given that the child will also have to attend school and possibly perform a few chores in the home, this means that the time for playing with other children and socializing with them is drastically reduced (Romer, Jamieson, and Aday, 2003). While reading newspapers and magazines or watching entertaining programs helps a child to develop good literary skills, it may also cause he child to acquire the values and principles that are extolled on his or her favorite programs. This is particularly likely if the child in question is isolated from other children and does not really communicate with others on a regular basis except in school. This is why there is a need for a balance to be struck between watching television, playing videos, or reading popular magazines, and playing outside with other real life people (Keating, 2011). There are different theories that seek to explain how elements of the mass media affect the way that children communicate. Some of these include: The Social action theory According to this theory, when engaged in the media, children form a part of a system of mediated communication which allows them to take new meanings from the content they are watching or reading about. The theory holds that communication includes aspects such as the receivers’ interpretation, the actor’s objective, and the inherent message (Meirick, Sims, Gilchrist, and Croucher, 2009). This means that the process of communication perceived by children when they are engaged in mass media elements is not about gaining meaning, but creating it according to an individual’s understanding. Many children today do not hone their reasoning abilities through engaging in rational discussions about platonic ideas, but model them according to what mass media elements say. Even by adults, the media is greatly trusted; and presumed to be saying the truth whenever they report on different things. For example, during campaigns leading to national or local elections, it is quite easy for a media station or major newspaper to subtly influence the decision of prospective voters in the choice of candidate to opt for by emphasizing on one candidate’s good qualities, or stressing on the bad qualities of all other opponents. Children ape their guardians or teachers’ reluctance to acquire information for themselves and start making decisions based on what the media says. The Cultivation theory According to this theory the mass media can cause people to believe in exaggerated qualities of minorities in society. For example, in most television programs or tales and storylines in magazines, it is always women, children, African-Americans, elderly people, Latinos, or the less educated who are shown as being victims of serious crimes (Gutschoven and Van den Bulck, 2005). In addition, it is members of these groups that are more likely to be cast as villainous characters. In essence, through such stereotypes, the mass media is presenting prejudice against these groups as being real truth to children. What children do not recognize is that television is not the real representation of the world. It is merely another person’s manipulation of it. However, after watching such programs, children will naturally form perceptions based on what they saw on television or read about in magazines. From programs such as dramas and soap operas, they will form ideas about what the world really is like. Apart from this, the repetitive way in which mass-produced messages are propagated by television, radio or magazines allows children to internalize the messages faster. This method also works where education is concerned, as children are made to repeat things such as multiplication tables until they are permanently etched in their brains. Knowing that they have to appeal to a wide section of the population in order to garner large followings, television programs are not likely to tackle taboo subjects such as racism in the present world or the treatment of illegal immigrants. They will instead create programs that can be watched by people from different ethnic backgrounds as well as age-groups. To appeal to the children’s demographic, programs or stories will be tailored to cover subjects that used to be the province of the parents (Seon-Kyoung and Doohwang, 2010). For example, there are many programs that seek to address concerns about the sexual lives of their teenage or child characters (Byrne, 2009). Many parents tend to shy away from speaking about sexual issues with their children. Children will thus faithfully tune in or purchase magazines that will address these subjects without leaving anything out and then accept what they read as the real truth as regards this subject. Media dependency theory According to this theory audiences are reliant on media information to meet their requirements as well as attain goals. This could be dependent on the social stability or instability of the individual. For children who want to learn more about the social world, for example, there will be a greater reliance on the mass media for information (Roberts and Foehr, 2004). In some ways, this can be a positive experience for children. For example, for children who wish to learn about other cultures in nations across the world, mass media elements can help them to acquire the necessary information while helping them to get rid of outdated perceptions about other parts of the world (Stettler, Signer, and Suter, 2004). Agenda- setting theory According to this theory, elements of the mass media can influence people by determining the subjects of importance that ought to be reflected on. This theory is in contrast to the selective exposure theory of cognitive dissonance, which seeks to assert that press power in choosing important subjects for its readers or viewers still allows individuals the liberty of making their own decisions on the subject of importance (Robinson and Sirard, 2005). Where children are concerned, the agenda-setting theory of mass media outlets could be viewed as being positive or negative. Today, in all nations, mass media influence is the only way through which people in different geographical locations learn about things outside their small circle of existence (Caraccioli-Davis, 2005). Children, just as the adults around them, are usually only familiar with issues concerning their own social or family circles. Through agenda setting, the mass media elements can bring to their attention the realities of things that are taking place outside of their social circles. While this is beneficial in that they learn more about things outside of their own lives, it could also be negative in the sense that children will form concrete assumptions based on facts that may actually not be the real truth, but simply an opinion of another individual who happens to work for a mass media station or magazine. Conclusion The mass media is today an integral part of all civilizations and is responsible for the dissemination of information. It is a factor that cannot be done away with, but needs to be monitored; particularly in regards to the viewing patterns of impressionable children. Children, as all other types of audiences, are reliant on media information to meet their social and other needs while also giving them ideas on how to set their own goals. It could be said that the mass media has successfully overtaken social interaction in many developed nations and has made children more aggressive and self –centered than was the case in previous ages. Moreover, the reality is that this was also achieved partly as a result of the ignorance or sheer laziness of authorities that were entrusted with the task of overseeing the mental development of children. As stated earlier, television programs, radio programs, and magazines among other mass media elements make their income by deftly analyzing society and catering to needs that may be missing. For children, mass media outlets will create programs that both entertain them while also addressing issues that their parents are not likely to. This is a reason why the popularity of the mass media elements developed so quickly. It is virtually impossible take away the mass media, given its world changing outcomes and abilities. What may be more appropriate is to find ways of discouraging the creation of negative media programs or supervising the programs that children view in order to ensure that they only benefit from elements of the mass media. References Byrne, S. (2009). 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