The Influence of Media on Children - Term Paper Example

The Influence of Media on Children Our children are growing up in a world increasingly impacted by what they see and hear on television. Asparents and educators, it is our duty to assess the positive and negative effects of their exposure to various media outlets such as television, radio, and other forms of media. Just like all other activities, exposure to media outlets have both a positive and negative effect on the children and teenagers. This paper hopes to shed more light on the positive and negative aspects of the media influence on our children and what we can do to help regulate that power that the mass media holds over their mental, emotional, and social development. The Influence of Media on Children Our children are being raised in an increasingly media dependent world. From the day they are born we use the silencing melodies from the radio to hush them to sleep. As toddlers and preschoolers we rely on television to help us teach them their basic counting and reading skills. Once they hit grade school, television is one way by which we hope to keep them occupied long enough for us to get other work done around the house before helping them with their studies and assignments. We get them on the internet in order to do research that is necessary for the completion of their homework. They stay in touch with their group study and class project team mates via twitter and Facebook. Obviously mass media has become a very important tool in the mental and social development of our children. The question is, how much of this influence that we allow them to be exposed to is positive? And when does it cross the line towards the negative? We have to admit that media is something that we can no longer do without in our lives. It is the greatest mover, shaker, and shaper of our cultural values and social identities. The impact of media over our lifestyle can easily be seen in the way our attitudes and beliefs change over time. This is also a change that is reflected in the way our children are growing up. (Oak, “Positive Effects of Media”). Experts have coined the term “Viewtrition” in order to describe the method by which parents should oversee the quality of the television that their children are watching ( Durrani, “TV Is Positive Influence On Child Development”). When questioned as to whether television delivered any positive impact on their childs lives, parents responded that: “Despite the negativity often associated with children watching TV, eight out of 10 parents questioned believed it has a positive effect on their childs development, including helping them to expand their imagination (63%) and broaden vocabulary (60%). ( Durrani, “TV Is Positive Influence On Child Development”) One might therefore assume that television is no longer the “boob tube” that our grandparents called it in the past. It is no longer delivering mindless hours of programming that is not designed to do anything but sell advertising to people that dont really want the things being hawked on their screens. Our television programming for children has come a long way since Sesame Street and The Electric Company first hit the TV screens. It is important to note that television shows, those that are geared towards education or information dissemination, help to raise the awareness of children about the world around them and the variety of subjects that they can explore and develop an interest in (Bryson, “TV Can Be Good For Kids!). These days, shows such as Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues, even Teletubbies, encourage children to experiment and learn something new. Be it a new activity or a new language. This is why we are seeing an increase of children gaining an interest in subjects with an almost adult understanding of what they are doing. Television manages to explain things to them in such a way that their young minds can grasp. Discovery Channel, History Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Kids, these are all channels that cater to the young developing minds of our children. They all open up the world to them in such a way that is fun and interesting to learn. Lets not forget that media such as television is the fastest way to get information exchanged between people young and old. For the young people, it encourages them to ask questions as part of their learning process. Television news spurs the emotions within a child due to the images being shown onscreen. It makes them feel emotions that parents can then help them analyze and understand in order to help them better develop as human beings and members of our society. Channels such as the Cartoon Network with its kid friendly programming allows children to keep a happy disposition throughout their young lives while also teaching them new words, geography, and other historical information that they will not normally be interested in reading or watching. Their exposure to child friendly game shows on the Nickelodeon Channel also helps them develop their thinking power and attitude towards team sports and activities. (Chitracs, “Positive and Negative Effects of Media”). Such activities help foster the positive sense of competition and play within the child. More recently, there has been a rise in the percentage of children who read books. This is because most of the blockbuster films being shown that are geared towards kids and teenagers such as Harry Potter and the Twilight series are all based on books. Most parents, use the challenge of reading the book as a dare for their child to spot the difference between the book and the movie versions. Two different medias yet one positive result. So, it is hard to say definitively that television has only a negative impact on children. Granted that the children are also exposed to negative programming while watching television, that does not mean that there is no good to be gleaned from it as evidenced by the above studies and results. But, that is not to say that we should discount the negative influence of television and media on the children either. For when there are good things to be had, there are also some bad things to be encountered in any situation. Take for example the negative impact that television advertising has on children. Children who can barely say their names now own Ipads of their own. 10 year olds have their own laptop. Television, with its aggressive marketing approach towards adults have actually created a new consumer sector among the children. This sector is known as the “I want this, I want that” sector. (Naomi, “Impact of Media on Children”). Media also tends to promote blind imitation among the kids. The Kardashians, The Osburnes, The Hasselhofs, these are all dysfunctional families that make their money by promoting the wrong kind of image on television. They do not bother to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong provided that they get what they want in the end, regardless of the means it was achieved by.(Oak, “Medias Negative Influence”) It does not help that the media outlets tend to hype up the wrong message rather than the positive actions of these celebrities who cant all be as bad as they are portrayed to be on their television shows. As parents and educators, it is our duty to help the children discern the difference between reality and reality programming. We need to make their young minds understand that reality programming has nothing to do with reality at all and what they are viewing is merely an act. However, parents can manage to get around the negativism that sometimes explodes on the TV screen by simply being responsible adults and sorting the programs that their children can and cannot watch. In fact, it may even be possible to use the negative effects of television in a positive manner later on. That can be achieved by having the child analyze the advertising that they saw and claim that they need to have at this very moment. By asking them to discover for themselves if they truly need the item being advertised, then we help them become more analytical and discerning individuals of the future. According to Clark, Renee Hobbs contends that (“Influence On Children of Media) : “Just because our students can use media and technology doesnt mean they are effective at critically analyzing and evaluating the messages they receive. Students need a set of skills to ask important questions about what they watch, see, listen to and read. Often called media literacy, these skills include the ability to critically analyze media messages and the ability to use different kinds of communication technologies for self-expression and communication.” Television and its like media all promote the learning and intelligence quotient development of children via topics such as these. However, not all children are capable of discerning what is right and wrong for themselves. Most of the time, they still need the parents or educators to help them sort out the mixed messages that they are receiving from various media outlets such as television. Television has also been attacked from helping to promote an unhealthy lifestyle among children due to the junk food advertising that they are constantly being bombarded with on television. While we get advocacy advertising for “Dont drink and drive” we dont get any asking us to lay off the junk food for the benefit of our health. Children who do not realize the difference will be affected by such as they continue to advertise foods that these children cannot seem to say no to. (Oak, “Negative Influences of Media”). Television can also manage to promote self hatred because the feel that they come up short when compared to their television image model counterparts. Most specially since they are portrayed as being bullied and frowned upon for not being in style. Thus television, when left unchecked, can actually promote low self esteem and lack of self confidence if a child is left to her own devices. Because we now have books, movies, and television programs geared towards influencing our children at very young ages, the important aspect of media influence has to be the way they think and act in public. As children mature, we will see a sense of this media influence becoming an even stronger factor in their lives. While some aspects of the media influence may be positive, it is important to note that the negative aspect cannot be avoided. The children will be exposed to stereotyping that reinforces the racial profiling of images and experience in life. Television shows will dictate that certain types of people are automatically good or bad. This type of problem can be resolved by an open discussion with the child regarding the truth and fiction in the shows they are watching when compared to reality. It is easier to explain that there are no perfect people who are either all good or all bad. People are instead, a balance of the two. The problem with our society right now is that we have somehow managed to turn over the raising of our children to the mass media sector. Television, radio, the internet, these media outlets seem to be the ones educating and raising our children these days. That is why the media outlets have an overwhelming sense of influence over our entire society, most specially over the young ones. Thus the demarcation between right and wrong has become a blur for them. The kids now tend to bring their reality show knowledge to real life, thus making it a real part of their lives even though what they are turning into an influence is actual a fictional account of life that does not exist. This is a clear example of the monkey see, monkey do attitude that the television media promotes among the young. In such cases, how does one react? How can one decide what is a positive influence or a negative influence of media on a child? Maybe there is no way to do that. Children will be exposed to the world through media programming, That is the wave of the future and it shall never be changed. It is a way by which our children will grow up to be not so sheltered individuals who can stand up for themselves and understand what is going on around them. Parents should always opt to sit with their kids while they watch television and ask them questions such as if they are really enjoying the program and if it has made them think of doing something else with their lives. One may be surprised by the answers one gets. Apparently all children dream bigger in order to make a difference in their world. By helping children balance the delicate relationship between parental supervision of the media content being watched and allowing them to make decision for themselves regarding what they want to do, watch, or wear. The parents and educators must continue to be guiding lights in this instance in order to further help balance the positive and negative effects that television media has on children. After all, children are a blank slate that is ready to be written upon. As parents and educators, we need to make sure that the right message is eventually delivered and lived by as a code of conduct by the students. Sources Barbour C. (2012). Children and Media. education.com. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/media-influence-children/ Bryson, C. (2012). TV can be good for kids!. about.com. Retrieved from http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/healthytvhabits/a/tvgoodforkids.htm Chitracs. (2008). The positive and negative effects of media. saching.com. Retrieved from http://www.saching.com/Article/The-Positive-and-Negative-Effects-of- Media/873 Clark, L. (2012). Influence on children media. stateuniversity.com Retrieved from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2212/Media-Influence-on- Children.html Duranni, A. (2008). TV is positive influence on child development. MediaWeek. Retrieved from http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/863137/TV-positive-influence- child-development/ Oak, M. (2011). Positive Effects of Media. buzzle.com. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-the-media.html Oak, M. (2012). Negative influences of media. buzzle.com. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/negative-influences-of-media.html Sarah, N. (2012). Impact of media on children. buzzle.com. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/impact-of-media-on-children.html Teresa. (2012). How the media influences children. TheCuteKid. Retrieved from http://www.thecutekid.com/parenting/children-media-influence.php Read More