Primary Sources of Media and Youth - Report Example

Primary Sources of Media and Youth Primary Sources of Media and Youth The media and the influence it had on the youth, especially in the 1950s, was one issue that raised concern in the society. Guardians, religious leaders as well as moralists felt the need to control the way modern life affected the lives of youth. When referring to the media, we look at a broad picture, which involves radio programs, western movies, phonographic films, and comic books. All these forms of media encouraged what was apparent to be youth oriented, popular culture. In this paper, we examine how the media influenced the behaviours of youth and how the society dealt with this issue. The Colliers’ magazine, in the 1950s, addressed a crucial issue, which involved the medias effect on the modern schoolchild. It reported that the modern child faces distraction from his education by the noisemakers, which include the radio, western movies, and pornography. It shows a comparison to a student of the 1850s, where candle light served as the source of light and no noise interfered with the study environment. The conclusion was that the children of the 1850s had better attention to their education. The teachers had eased when imparting knowledge upon the students; therefore, the students of the 1850s, according to colliers Dr. Wagner, were better-educated (Collier Magazine, 1950). The media in the 1950s excited the youth; entertainment was part of what made their life fascinating. The youth had to balance between media entertainment and education, and only the smart kids could do this. However, teachers, parents, church leaders, and society at large play a significant role in assisting the children who need a push in order to concentrate on their studies. The parents, according to Collier Magazine have many at times expressed their concern regarding the comic books and other forms of entertainment that were distracting their children from their education. On the other hand, specialists advise parents to accept the current generation with their environment, which is noisy, busy, and an endless variety (Collier magazine, 1950). In 1955, a study on juvenile delinquency was carried out in response to parents complains concerning the deleterious effect that the media had on their children. The committee elected tried to find the relationship between juvenile delinquency and the media. The rise in juvenile delinquency, in the states, was alarming, and parents blamed the media (Coville, 1954). The committee reported that delinquency was rising because of many factors. According to the committee the media were contributing to a significant factor. The children of the 1950s had a wider exposure to the printed media that included periodicals, comic books, as well as the existence of the radio and television. This exposure to the children can be a source for ethical as well as evil (Coville, 1954). The interim report focused on the comic books. The comic books linked to crime were those of the genre of crime and horror. The report stated that in 1954, over 30 million copies of the crime and horror copies made print and an estimate of 50% copies sold out. The crime and horror comics focused on subjects such as courses on murder, robbery, rape, and mayhem. The comics tackled every other crime. True to the parents concern, all these issues are what their children encounter, and this was what they fed their minds when they were not reading their schoolwork. The link between child delinquency to comic and horror books showed when children confessed that the acts of violence they portray were ideas from the comic books (coville, 1954). Some experts suggest that when a law-abiding child reads the comic and horror books, he or she tends to be lured in adapting what the book advertises. The comics’ crime and horror do have an effect on both the emotionally abnormal child as well as the emotionally normal child. The state could not afford the risk brought by the crime and horror comics, so this led to the enactment of laws that saw the ban on the sale of crime and horror comics. The elimination of these comics from the newsstands also became a forceful action in local communities. Parents also assisted in guiding the children from making the purchase on the comics (Coville, 1954). Rydin looks at the television as a media, and it effects on the growth of children. The study looks at how media violence shown on television affects the reading culture of the youth. Too much television watching tends to turn someone to an inactive person. This has led to many young people having to battle with conditions such as obesity because they just sit around watching TV and do not involve themselves in active lifestyles. Although the TV can have educative programs for the young in society, it also airs programs that corrupt the minds of the young (Rydin 2002). Rydin states that the researchers concluded that violence is among the many factors propagated by children who focused so much on the programs that aired on television. However, they emphasised that the violence had another source that was triggering the act of violence. This factor could be socially related or a personal issue. Rydin reports that the globalization of the television did also lead to a significant rise in the airing of violent programs (2000). The television would be the most preferably media for the youth when compared to the radio. The television programs range from educative to dramatic while some of the programs are violent. Although these programs are entertainment to the youth, some of them offer lessons on how to fight. To others, the programs are a means of learning how to use obscene mode of speech. In the 1950s, racism was at its peak, and this could be noted in every aspect even in the media programs. The violent program to the youth was a dangerous exposure and parents and the society needed to control what their children heard or watched. The television, being a medium of communication, does reflect and create public realization. The public perception is put across through the images and information transmitted through the videos. The role of television in the 1960s supported meaningful reforms by televising the protests against racial injustices. The Kerner commission report raised concerns of the society in the 1960s. Its greatest concern was the peak of racism, in which America appeared as two societies, the black society and the white society. The report called for the integration of the black community into the white community by creation of jobs, allowing the blacks to access education in the schools for the white people only, among others. The president was not happy about the report since one of his advisors reported to him that the report addressed violence and did not recognise his efforts against racism. The Kerner report was the beginning of the new America since ten years after its publication progress could be noted in the American lifestyle. There was acceptance of the black community in every sector of the American economy the blacks and whites could attend same schools, and the blacks could now work in an environment dominated by the whites. The report also looks into the role of the media in addressing the issue on racism back in those days. The media aired all sorts of conflicts that occurred during the violence that erupted because of racist actions. The violent scenes aired could be the instigator of change. However, some came out negatively and only fuelled the acts of violence among the youth. The parents had a bigger role in regulating what their children could access during those hard times in the history of America. This paper has given as an overview on how the media, in as much as it supports change; it is also a source of evil in the society especially when the youth emulate the negative things portrayed in the media. The media had both the positive side and the negative side. The evils noted include the violence, vulgar language, and the distraction from the studies whereas the upstanding side include the extra knowledge pertaining current affairs and other educative information. References Collier Magazine. (1950, January 28). Boy studying. Retrieved March 26, 2012, from History Matters: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6253/ Coville, J. (1954). Comic Books and Juvenile Delinquency. West Virginia: United states Judiciary. Kerner Commission. (1968). Communication media, Have Failedto Communicate. Washington: Government Printing Office. Rydin, I. (2000). Television. Retrieved March 26, 2012, from Faqs: http://www.faqs.org/childhood/So-Th/Television.html Read More