The Prevalence of Television and the Internet in Todays Society - Research Proposal Example

Professional Project Plan Name Institution Statement of the Problem The prevalence of television and the internet in today’s society is an undisputed fact. Technological development has ensured that there is a television in almost every home and a computer and internet connection (Ergun, 2012). Children today are exposed to the effects of TV for spending too much time watching TV. Research has shown that children today spend more time watching TV than taking part in any other activity (Ergun, 2012). The effects of TV on children are considered to be much stronger than those of adults. This is because adults mostly watch TV for fun while children watch it for purposes of learning. Cartoons or animations are the most common broadcasts watched by children on TV. Cartoons are mostly fantasised stories whose aim is to create an imaginative world in the mind of the viewer (Ahad, 2014). There are difference genres of cartoons such as comedy, educational and action. Although they have positive educational effects on children, cartoons also have negative effects on children which outweigh the positive effects. Cartoons can be used to pass down societal values to children where such cartoons are created to instigate positive learning in the children. Cartoons can, for example, be used to teach children to help the poor, speak in a polite manner and work in a group without feelings of hatred against other children (Habib & Soliman, 2015). Animations, on the other hand, have the potential to affect the children negatively. According to Ergun (2012), children identify with the characters in the cartoon films, and they tend to choose their role models and integrate them into their lives. This means that when children watch cartoons where the characters have violent and aggressive behaviours they emulate such behaviour. The time that children spend watching TV gradually increases in their childhood and starts to decrease at puberty. As the children watch the TV and the cartoons more, they become more susceptible to the content of the cartoons. This poses a risk to the development of children especially due to much commercialisation of the animation industry (Ergun, 2012). Cartoons, as discussed above, have a negative effect on the behaviour of children. As a teacher working with children every day, this issue is of concern since the negative influence on the behaviour of a child is reflected in school making it hard for a child to excel academically. Violent behaviour among students in school may also make it difficult for other children in the school to concentrate on learning. This paper presents an inquiry into the influence that animation TV has on children. The inquiry questions that will guide the inquiry are; 1. What influence does animation TV have on the behaviour of children both at home and school? 2. Do the positive influences of animation TV on children’s behaviour outweigh the negative influences? Focus of the Literature Review The above inquiry questions are meant to guide the inquiry into a discussion on the influence that animation TV has on the behaviour of children both at home and school. Since animation TV serves both educational and entertainment functions to children and adults, the literature review will be focused on weighing between the positive and negative influences of animation TV. The previous section of the inquiry has already established that children in the current society are spending a lot of time watching TV compared to children in the 1980s. Cartoons are the most common types of broadcasts watched by children. The inquiry questions will help in focusing the literature review to the effects that such prolonged watching of TV by children have on their behaviour. The first inquiry question is meant to guide the inquiry into literature or research that provides a general outlook of the influences that animation TV has on children. The second inquiry question further narrows the scope of the inquiry into finding literature that weighs the positive and negative influences of animation TV. This is to help determine whether animation TV is beneficial to the development of the child or whether it poses serious risks to children. Annotated References Related to the Problem Ergun, S. (2012). The influence of violent TV cartoons watched by school children in Turkey. Balikesir University. This article investigates the influence that violent TV cartoons have on school children in Turkey. According to the article, cartoons are aired on different television stations without any regard to their useful or harmful effects. Parents do not take the time to evaluate the cartoons watched by their children to determine whether they have any positive educational value. The author of the article notes that watching TV is the most common leisure activity among children. Ergun (2012) also notes that most of the popular cartoons among children contain violence. Further, children tend to identify with cartoon characters who they choose as role models and imitate their actions and behaviour. Children tend to get influenced by what they watch, and this increases the culture of violence as they see such behaviour as normal and acceptable. Ergun (2012) conducts a study on the influence of violent TV cartoons on school children. The results of the study reveal that male children were more influenced by the cartoon characters’ behaviours compared to female children. Female children were more influenced by the speeches of the characters and the topic of the cartoons. The research also finds that imitation plays a great role in shaping the behaviour of children. The exposure of children to violent cartoons leads them to imitate the characters hence making them adopt violent behaviour. The research also finds that one of the reasons that children tend to imitate the characters in the TV cartoons is because they have unrestricted access to such cartoons. The parents do not offer any guidance on elements such as violence and aggression which may end up becoming part of the behaviour of the children. The negative effects of cartoons on children are experienced because parents and guardians do not take the time to analyse cartoons to determine the ones that pose a risk to the children in terms of the disadvantages and harmful effects. The article finds that children need supervision in the choice of cartoons. The article is important because it contains evidence gathered through research that cartoons have a negative influence on the behaviour of children both at home and school. Children exposed to watching violent cartoons tend to imitate the behaviour of the characters. This affects their performance in school and their socialisation with other children both at home and school. Bellieni, C., Fontani, G., Corradeschi, F., Iantorno, L., Maffei, M., Migliorini, S., Perrone, S. & Buonocore, G. (2010). Distracting effect of TV watching on children’s creativity. European Journal of Pediatrics, 169, 1075-1078. This article presents evidence of the distracting effects of television on children. According to Bellieni et al. (2010), watching the television has serious effects on the behaviour and health of young people. The fact that watching TV is the most common leisure activity for children is a threat to the health of the children. Watching TV reduces physical activity and eventually leads to obesity. The article also states that watching television interferes with the development of certain skills in children due to the fact that TV watching modifies certain electrical activity of the brain. Young children are at an important stage in life where they experience cognitive development. The language in television broadcasts such as cartoons is meant to stimulate emotional reactions instead of reasoning. This is not healthy for the children as it affects their cognitive development. Watching TV can be beneficial to children in a number of ways. Children are socially endowed through watching TV depending on the programs they watch such as cartoons. These programs also have educational benefits for the children. There are cartoons and other TV programs that teach children to be responsible. These TV programs also teach the children on how to relate with others respectfully. These are positive benefits. However, due to the prolonged watching of TV, children are distracted from taking part in other activities that could have been more helpful in their development. At a young age, children need to be engaged more in activities that stimulate their reasoning to boost their development. The watching of TV stimulates their emotional characteristics which make them engage in impulsive behaviour. This article is important to the inquiry because it provides evidence of the distractive effects of TV and cartoons by extension. It shows that although there are some positive benefits of cartoons and TV watching, the negative effects outweigh the positive ones. Cartoons distract the children from other activities which can help stimulate reasoning in the children. Cartoons and other programs instead stimulate the child’s emotions which is one of the causes of impulsive behaviour in children. Ahad, A. (2014). Effect of cartoons on children’s behaviour. Forman Christian College. This article discusses the effects of cartoon programs on children and how these effects can be addressed. According to the article, watching cartoons has psychological and health effects on the life of a child. The article recognises that parents have a role to ensure that they regulate the content that the children watch. The article also recognises that cartoon producers also have a role to play by limiting the fantasies in the cartoons for the benefit of the children. Ahad (2014) argues that cartoons have a great impact on the behavioural and mental development of a child. As a result, all concerned stakeholders have a role to play in ensuring that cartoons do not cause negative effects on children. The author further discusses several negative effects of cartoons in details. One of these effects is the imitation of cartoons. According to Ahad (2014), children who spend a lot of time watching cartoons on TV tend to imitate the behaviour of the main characters. Such behaviour is reflected in the daily life of the child. The article notes that some of these behaviours adopted by the children may be a threat to their well-being and that of others. Children who watch violent shows repeatedly have a likelihood of repeating the same behaviour in their lives. This becomes a threat to their safety and that of others. The situation is further worsened by the fact that the children are not aware of the serious consequences that arise from imitating the acts they see on TV. The article also recognises the mental and emotional effects that cartoons have on children. The fact that children start watching TV at a young age means that such behaviour has an impact on their childhood development as well as their adolescent development. The amount of time spent watching TV and specifically cartoons usually translates to negative effects on the emotional and mental wellness of the child. The children are unable to discern fantasy from reality and they end up getting affected by the content of the cartoons. Other than the mental and emotional effects caused by cartoon watching, there are certain health effects on children. These include fatigue and adverse effects on the abilities of the brain precipitated by the long hours spent while watching TV. This article is important to the inquiry because it expounds on the effects of cartoons and provides solutions to these problems. The article further acknowledges that the negative effects of cartoons far outweigh the positive influences and, therefore, parents should limit what their children watch. Thompson, T. & Zerbinos, E. (1995). Gender roles in animated cartoons: Has the picture changed in 20 years? Sex Roles, 32(9), 651-673. Thompson & Zerbinos (1995) argue that there is so much that children learn from television. The article focuses on the lessons that children learn regarding gender roles from watching cartoons. The article notes that for a long time females have been left out and underrepresented on television programs and this is also reflected in the cartoons that children watch. In cartoons, commercials and television programs females play the lesser roles and they appear lesser knowledgeable compared to their male counterparts. The media is an important tool in the socialisation process of children. This means that the way they portray gender roles through the programs aired has a great impact on the understanding of gender roles among children. The concerns raised regarding the messages conveyed through television cartoons arise from the fact that children begin watching television at a very young age. Cartoons are their preferred television broadcast as they find them entertaining and educational (Thompson & Zerbinos, 1995). Despite the fact that cartoons are meant to create a fantasy in the audience's mind, children who are at the young age are unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality. This means that unless they are guided, they will adopt everything as reality. As a result, where cartoons portray females as the lesser sex, such a mindset is planted in the mind of the child and will guide them to their adulthood. The research presented in this article finds that while the portrayal of females has significantly improved over the years, there are still disparities in the presentation of male and female characters in cartoons. The fact that the cartoons have boys predominating them may cause stereotypes in children. The article notes that the gender portrayals in the cartoons and by the media, in general, is a cause for concern due to the important role that the media plays in the socialisation of children. Children learn more about socialisation from the media based on what they watch and hear. This means that the media should be careful to ensure that both male and female characters are portrayed as equal. Since children tend to imitate the characters of the same gender, these cartoons play an important role in modeling gender-specific behaviour (Thompson & Zerbinos, 1995). The stereotypes surrounding gender roles as presented by the media are the reason for the negative self-concepts among young women. Oyero, O. & Oyesomi, K. (2014). Perceived influence of television cartoons on Nigerian children’s social behaviour. Covenant University. This article is based on research done in Nigeria on the influence that television cartoons have on the social behaviour of children. The article notes that in Nigeria, just like in many other countries all over the world, children have developed a considerable interest in cartoons. Cartoons have become their primary source of entertainment. Social behaviour refers to the general conduct of individuals in society. Social behaviour determines how a person interacts with other people. As children watch cartoons, learning takes place. This means that whatever the children learn while watching cartoons they tend to imitate and therefore influences how they socialise with other children and other people in general. Since children begin watching cartoons at a very young age, the development of their social behaviour is heavily dependent on the content that they watch. This means that if a child is used to watching cartoons with violent characters, the child is likely to develop aggressive or violent behaviour which may affect how he socialises with other people. This also translates to the games that the children play. Children who play violent video games experience negative effects which may affect the way they socialise with others. Childhood is an important stage due to the growth and development that a child goes through. The environment in which the child grows in will have an impact on his or her development. This means that a child who usually watches cartoon programs with violence and bad language is likely to get influenced by such behaviour. In the end, such behaviour may adversely affect the social skills of the child making it hard for the child to interact or socialise freely with others. The evidence from the literature discussed above is important to this inquiry in many ways. First, this being an inquiry there is a great need for evidence to answer the inquiry questions presented above. The evidence in the annotated references provides the answers to the questions. This also helps shape the design of the inquiry which is heavily dependent on past literature to determine the influence that cartoons have on the behaviour of children. Design of the Inquiry The inquiry will use a qualitative approach to research which is exploratory in nature. The qualitative approach is applied when one is seeking to understand the underlying reasons, motivations or opinions (Patton & Cochran, 2016). In this case, the main objective is to understand the influences that animation TV has on the behaviour of children in school and at home. The inquiry will be conducted by gathering evidence through two ways. The first way will involve researching to find out what researchers have said about the inquiry questions. This will mean conducting a literature review to gather evidence of what previous studies have said about the influence that animation TV has on the behaviour of children. The evidence for the inquiry will also be conducted through carrying out interviews with parents and teachers (Patton & Cochran, 2016). The scope of the inquiry is to understand how cartoons affect the behaviour of children in schools and at home. This means that the people who have first-hand experience about the influences on the behaviour of the children are the parents and the teachers. The interviews will, therefore, shed light on the observations of the teachers and the parents. The two methods will also allow a comparison of the evidence collected. It is important to find out whether the data collected from the interviews is similar to the data collected through the literature review. The choice of the method of inquiry is based on the need to ensure that the results or the outcome are relevant to the problem and that the said results can be used to develop solutions to the problems arising from animation TV. The teachers to be interviewed are those teaching at the lower levels, that is, early childhood education. This is because this is where the changes begin as the children are exposed to new things. This is also an important stage in the life of the children due to the developmental processes that take place in the child at his stage. In order to proceed with this design of inquiry, I will need to learn the basics of conducting interviews and how to structure the interview questions. This is because every question asked during the interview should be geared towards answering the inquiry questions. It will also ensure that the questions asked and the answers given are relevant to the inquiry. I will also need to an understanding of proper research skills to ensure that the literature collected is relevant to the inquiry. Relevance also means up to date literature that can be relied upon in today’s society. The evidence collected from the literature review and the interviews will be of great help in deciphering the problem. The issue relating to the influence of animated TV on children’s behaviour is not a new thing. The research discussed above shows that there have been previous studies which have explored the same issue. This means that the evidence gathered from the literature review will help in understanding what other researchers have found out about the problem. This will also shape my research to ensure that the findings of my research add something new to the already existing evidence. The interviews will also provide evidence of the real life experience of the teachers and parents and will help in boosting the credibility, reliability and relevance of the findings of the inquiry. Some of the ethical considerations to consider in the inquiry will be acknowledging the sources of the evidence gathered through literature review to avoid instances of plagiarism. It will also be important to be transparent to the teachers and parents who will take part in the interviews regarding the nature of the inquiry and also seek their consent in written form before collecting such evidence. References Ahad, A. (2014). Effect of cartoons on children’s behaviour. Forman Christian College. Bellieni, C., Fontani, G., Corradeschi, F., Iantorno, L., Maffei, M., Migliorini, S., Perrone, S. & Buonocore, G. (2010). Distracting effect of TV watching on children’s creativity. European Journal of Pediatrics, 169, 1075-1078. Ergun, S. (2012). The influence of violent TV cartoons watched by school children in Turkey. Balikesir University. Habib, K. & Soliman, T. (2015). Cartoons’ effect in changing children mental response and behaviour. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 248-264. Oyero, O. & Oyesomi, K. (2014). Perceived influence of television cartoons on Nigerian children’s social behaviour. Covenant University. Patton, M. & Cochran, M. (2016). A guide to using qualitative research methodology. University of Alberta. Thompson, T. & Zerbinos, E. (1995). Gender roles in animated cartoons: Has the picture changed in 20 years? Sex Roles, 32(9), 651-673. Read More