Causes and Effects of Media on Children and Youth - Coursework Example

Your full full April 3, Causes and Effects of Media on Children and Youth In today’s world, media has a strong influence on the life of every person. In case of youth and children, the influence is even stronger. People make use of media for entertainment and informational purposes. These days, a number of media technologies are available to children and youth. Some of the main types of media that children and youth use include television, networking websites, radio, news channels, newspapers, magazines, and web services. Although there are many benefits of media technologies for youth and children, such as, ease of access to information, good way to spend free time, and intellectual development, its negative effects cannot be left out of consideration. “The primary effects of media exposure are increased violent and aggressive behavior, increased high-risk behaviors, including alcohol and tobacco use, and accelerated onset of sexual activity” (Villani 392). Media has both positive and negative effects on children and youth. For example, television is one of the widely used media, which plays a considerable role in shaping the behaviors of children. Some television programs are good for children and some are not. For example, quiz shows and physical activities related programs improve the intellectual and physical health of children. On the other hand, programs with sexual orientation and violence put a negative impact on the behaviors of children. In this paper, we will discuss the causes and effects of media on children and youth. Media Improves Social Interaction Level of Children and Youth Media definitely plays a considerable role in shaping the behaviors of children and youth. For example, television is one such media that helps children learn the way to communicate with others. The age range of three to twelve is very important from the aspect of learning. Whatever a child learns during this age has a strong impact on his/her overall personality. Children love to watch television in their free time. When they watch public television programs, such as, dramas, quiz shows, and they learn the way to talk, as well as the way to behave in different situations. Sesame Street is a perfect example of how valuable television is for children to shape their behaviors and actions. For example, they learn from the program the value of harmony and friendship. Moreover, they also learn alphabets and basic mathematics from that program. It is the responsibility of the parents of children to show such television programs to children that are aimed towards behavioral learning instead of being focused on sex, violence, and inappropriate themes. In case of youth, media plays a slightly different role as it plays in case of children. The reason is that youth are at the stage of life at which a person has learned most of the social behaviors. Therefore, media hardly plays any significant role in shaping their behaviors. However, it does influences their perceptions and thoughts about different issues. Youth tends to enjoy what they have learned from their past and get practical experiences rather than focusing on learning. They are at the stage of life at which the feelings of love surrounds most of the issues. Movies and reality shows shown on television can influence the emotions and feelings of youth. Moreover, media also creates religious awareness among youth through different religious programs. Similarly, sports and creative shows are also shown on television which are a good source of entertainment for youth. Media Shapes the Thoughts and Actions of Youth and Children In today’s world, the role of media is very important in shaping the behaviors of youth and children. If media projects the importance of peace, harmony, and tranquility, children and youth adopt peaceful behaviors because they watch such stuff that promotes harmony between people. On the other hand, if media projects violence in the form of violent movies, violence based news, and accidents, the audience incorporates violence in their behaviors (Rothenberg). Aggressive thoughts, aggressive behaviors, and aggressive emotions are just some of the many outcomes of television violence (Anderson et al. 81). It is the responsibility of the bodies governing different forms of media to ban violent stuff because media violence has a direct relationship with real life violence. Violence in popular media causes aggression among youth. The reason is that media influences minds very deeply. It is fact that a person watching violent actions or movies is more likely to show violent behaviors as compared to a person who watches the opposite stuff. However, the effects of violence shown on media are more negative for children as compared to young adults as children are at the stage of learning, whereas young adults have already the sense to differentiate between right and wrong. They can also differentiate well between reality and actions being shown through the media. Children growing up watching violent shows and action movies show aggressive behaviors in their childhood, as well as in later stages of life. The age of childhood is very critical for a person because the traits and behaviors learned in this stage affect whole life of the person either positively or negatively. If a child watches educational and entertainment stuff in this stage of life, he/she tends to develop a creative and supportive personality. On the other hand, if a child watches more of a violent stuff instead of recreational stuff, the element of aggression injects in the personality of the child. Not only television, violent games also play a significant role in this regard by injecting aggression in the behaviors of children. Media-Portrayed Heroism Changes Audience’s Concepts The changing concept of heroism is a major factor that increases aggression among children and youth. The concept of hero shown in movies represents an action-oriented and aggressive type of person who can do everything using force. Youth and children watching such movies also adopt the same behaviors and try to achieve their goals using force because they see their favorite actors doing the same thing. Media Causes Obesity in Teenagers Media also affects the well-being and health of children and youth (Strasburger 756). For example, it plays a significant role in increasing the medical problems of obesity and anorexia in children and youth, particularly teenagers. This happens because these days a lot of advertisements about junk food and related businesses are shown on internet and television causing a significant change in the eating habits of young adults and children. Such advertisements cause eating disorders in children and youth that ultimately ruins their health. There is hardly any nutritional program on television that attracts the attention of children and youth. On the other hand, advertisements about junk food draw the attention of many children and acts as the first step in increasing the number of obese children in a society. Media Increases Sexual Interest among Children and Youth Another negative effect of media is that it increases the level of interest about sexual activities among children and youth (Escobar-Chaves et al. 303). Children are likely to start sexual activities at an earlier stage of life. The more sexual stuff they watch on television and internet, the more they get involved in sexual experiences, which leads to teen pregnancies which is a very alarming and critical issues related to teens these days. Summing it up, media has both positive and negative effects for children and youth. Media creates awareness among audience about different issues, as well as improves their communication and social behavioral skills. On the other hand, it also plays a significant role in building negative behaviors, aggressive personality, and sexual orientation in children and youth. It is the responsibility of parents to observe the media related interests of their children in order to do prevent them from watching harmful stuff. Moreover, it is also the responsibility of the government and media regulating authorities to regulate the activities of all forms of media in order to prevent the social and behavioral collapse of children and youth. Works Cited Anderson, Craig, et al. “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth.” Psychological Science in the Public Interest 4.3 (2003): 81-110. Escobar-Chaves, Liliana, et al. “Impact of the Media on Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors.” Pediatrics 116.1 (2005): 303-326. Rothenberg, Michael. “Effect of Television Violence on Children and Youth.” The Journal of American Medical Association 234.10 (1975): 1043-1046. Strasburger, Victor, et al. “Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents.” Pediatrics 125.4 (2010): 756-767. Villani, Susan. "Impact of Media on Children and Adolescents: A 10-Year Review of the Research." Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 40.4 (2001): 392-401. Print. Read More