Effects of Media (Television) on the Childs Development - Research Paper Example

? Effects of media (television) on the a child’s development Introduction The increasing hours that young children devote towards television is one of the major issues within developmental sciences that have currently raised great concerns, since it has been found that media influences the process of development, especially among very small children. This issue is aggravated owing to an increase in percentage of television exposure, along with growing number of programs available for the children. Various researches have revealed that long hours of television exposure could affect cognitive and language development of children, give rise to attention disorders, and various behavioral problems, and result in child obesity and excessive aggression. From birth until age five, children show active growth, and develop various learning habits which shape their emotional and physical well-being (Papalia, Olds and Feldman, 2007). Since these five years are crucial for a child’s healthy development, any negative influence can produce a detrimental effect on the mind and body (Healy, 1998). Excessive television viewing has been linked with negative effects on brain development of very young children, along with other issues related to physical development. In this context, the paper will review available literature on the effects of media (television) on very young children, and derive that excessive viewing of television is detrimental for the mental and physical well-being of a child. Discussion Television viewing among children In the current socio-political context, television plays an important role in the lives of most people, since the technology of mass media is widely used for disseminating information to the public. Television is easily available through satellite or cable connections that provide viewers with all necessary information related to hobbies, leisure, work, amongst many more. When compared to other forms of mass media, television is the most popular media, owing to its easy accessibility and the range of diverse programs available, and it is especially popular among young children (Burton, 2006). The increased hours of television viewing among young children have raise worries and debates within scientists and organizations dealing with child health, owing to the large-scale access to different forms of information that could harm their processes of learning and development (Anderson & Pempek, 2005). For more than two decades, there have been many studies conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on the amount of time spent on television viewing among young children. From the various researches, the AAP prepared a guideline where it was stated that children less than two years of age should not watch television, and those older than 2 years can view quality programs on the television for around 2 hours, since the first 2 years are crucial for brain development in a human being (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001). Furthermore, AAP suggested that there should no television in the children’s room, especially when there are young children in the house. Despite these recommendations, the American households present a completely opposite scenario. In 1999, in a review by Roberts, Folour, Rideout, and Brodie, it was shown that there are television sets in the rooms of almost 32% children aged between 2-7 years and 65% of older kids aged between 8 to 18 years. The researchers further derived that at an average count these children view television for nearly 3 hours every day, and taking into consideration all other forms of media, such as the Internet, the children spend almost 6 and a half hours every day with the mass media (Roberts, Folour, Rideout and Brodie, 1999). In 2010, a study by the University of Michigan revealed that: “TV viewing among kids is at an eight-year high. On average, children ages 2-5 spend 32 hours a week in front of a TV—watching television, DVDs, DVR and videos, and using a game console. Kids ages 6-11 spend about 28 hours a week in front of the TV. The vast majority of this viewing (97%) is of live TV. 71% of 8- to 18-year-olds have a TV in their bedroom; 54% have a DVD/VCR player, 37% have cable/satellite TV, and 20% have premium channels. Media technology now offers more ways to access TV content, such as on the Internet, cell phones and iPods.  This has led to an increase in time spent viewing TV, even as TV-set viewing has declined.  41% of TV-viewing is now online, time-shifted, DVD or mobile. In about two-thirds of households, the TV is "usually" on during meals. In 53% of households of 7th- to 12th-graders, there are no rules about TV watching. In 51% of households, the TV is on "most" of the time. Kids with a TV in their bedroom spend an average of almost 1.5 hours more per day watching TV than kids without a TV in the bedroom. Many parents encourage their toddlers to watch television” (University of Michigan Health System, 2010). Looking at the current scenario, many researchers find it difficult to analyze why parents allow television and other media in the rooms of their young children, leaving them to watch by themselves with open access to all channels. One reason for this behavior, the researchers suggested that it could be that parents have a firm believe that television and other media could create a healthy learning environment, helping their children to develop some basic skills. This was suggested in a study conducted in 2000, where most of the parents having children in the age group 0-35 months, felt that television viewing improved language skills (Certain and Kahn, 2002). In the last decade there has a sharp increase in production of television programs for very young children, such as ‘Teletubbies,’ ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘Baby Einstein,’ which has led to an increased amount of television viewing among young children (Anderson and Pempek, 2005). In another survey conducted in 2004, revealed that children less than 2 years old were allowed to view nearly two hours of television, of which only 50% were infant programs, and the rest comprised of adult and teen programs, 40% and 1% respectively (Anderson and Pempek, 2005). Besides the home figures, researches also showed that in the US nearly 70% of the child care agencies use television every day, therefore every year, a child would have spent 1023 hours viewing television, and 900 hours spent in school (Dowshen, 2011). Therefore, at an average estimate a child would have viewed nearly 15000 hours of television by the time he/she graduates from high school. These figures shows the changing life-styles among young children, where television plays a significant role in daily activities, and this is more prevalent among families having low to moderate incomes (Dowshen, 2011). Various studies however revealed that common factors, such as maternal employment, divorces, single parents, or child care, are not related to the current pattern of increased television viewing in very young children (Certain and Kahn, 2002). Therefore, from these studies it can suggested that increased viewing pattern is more likely due to large number of television programs that are readily available for the children. Besides this, parenting style is another likely factor that affects viewing pattern among children, where parents find it is easier to allow excessive television viewing for ‘baby-sitting’ and calming children as they go around their errands (Certain and Kahn, 2002). Parenting style and increased television viewing has also been linked by various other studies conducted in the 1970s, therefore, the question remains why the twenty-first century ‘media educated’ parents still prefer television as ‘baby-sitters,’ when there are rising concerns about its detrimental effects. This concern is evident in the AAP’s stand where it stated: “It may be tempting to put your infant or toddler in front of the television, especially to watch shows created just for children under age two. But the American Academy of Pediatrics says: Don't do it! These early years are crucial in a child's development. The Academy is concerned about the impact of television programming intended for children younger than age two and how it could affect your child's development. Pediatricians strongly oppose targeted programming, especially when it's used to market toys, games, dolls, unhealthy food and other products to toddlers. Any positive effect of television on infants and toddlers is still open to question, but the benefits of parent-child interactions are proven. Under age two, talking, singing, reading, listening to music or playing are far more important to a child's development than any TV show” (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1999, 342). To rationalize the reasons behind the parenting style that allows for long hours of television viewing among young children, researchers suggested that this could be owing to an increasing number of working parents, financial issues, family problems, or it may be simply because the adult members have a habit of watching television regularly. Any one of these reasons would account for increased addiction to television amongst young children that eventually influences their activities, leading to unhealthy experiences and subsequently negative development of mind and body (Healy, 2004). The American Academy of Pediatrics (2001) from their various researches further derived that nearly 20% of violence perceived in real life can be attributed to have derived from the violence portrayed in media. In a 3-year study it was found that two-thirds of television programs show violence in some form or the other, wherein children’s programs portray maximum violence, and in such instances, violence is often glamorized and perpetrators are shown moving freely without receiving any punishment (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001). Furthermore, another research revealed that nearly one-fourth of all music videos as aired on the popular music channel Music Television (MTV) depict excessive violence and carrying of arms and ammunitions (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001). Besides this, along with the main programs, there are frequent advertisements that exclusively target children, and currently the advertisements have increased to an extent where there are nearly 16 minutes of commercials in a one hour television show. Therefore, under the current scenario it has is necessary that the parents practice restrained television viewing and promote media literacy among their children, as young children are extremely vulnerable to information being passed on by the various programs and advertisements in television that have a negative impact on their development, behavior and perceptions (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001). The developmental theories Human development can be depicted in two different ways. The first method depicts it chronologically, where life span is categorized into various stages and age is the categorizing factor; while the second one depicts it topically, where development at each stage is separated and followed from origin until maturity. Scientifically, however human development can classified as qualitative and quantitative development. Here the “quantitative change is number or amount, such as growth in height, weight, vocabulary, aggressive behavior, or frequency of communication; [and] qualitative change is a change in kind, structure, or organization” (Papalia, Olds, and Feldman, 2005: 9). Developmental behavior reveals different stages of stabilities based on the personality and attributes of the subject, which are modifiable to a large extent through various external influences, such as media influence, especially in very young children. Child development covers the entire growth phase starting from infancy until maturity, which is approximately 20 years of a person’s life. The developmental process is mainly associated with three aspects: cognitive development, psychosocial development and physical development. The three forms are interlinked and play an important role during one’s childhood. Physical development is related to development of physique, brain, sensory skills, motor skills and general health, which are evident during early childhood where “children grow rapidly between age 3 and 6, but less quickly than in infancy and toddlerhood” (Papalia, Olds, and Feldman, 2007: 251). This physical growth continues, into adolescence, until the child attains adulthood. Cognitive development is the growth in mental faculties, comprising of speech, thought processes, memory, concentration power, and reasoning skills. Physical and cognitive developments are closely related, which is evident in the fact that a child’s speech skills depend on the physical growth of mouth and brain. Psychosocial development relates to the change in the personality of a child, emotional developments, and his/her relationship forged with friends and family. It is necessary to comprehend the different development theories, since these provide an insight into the behavioral traits and differences within children, which helps focus on achieving the maximum potential and remove the various problems. The theories also help us to make use of the developing stages, in order to provide the best environment for growth and development. Discussed below are three main developmental theories. Freud’s psychosexual theory: the theory states that “development is a conflictual process and as biological creatures we have basic sexual and aggressive instincts that must be served; yet society dictates that many of these drives must be restrained” (Shaffer and Kipp, 2009: 42). It is during childhood that the manners in which parents use various processes to channelize sexual and aggressive urges, so common during formative years, which establishes the foundation for a child’s personality and defines his/her development as an adult. As Gullotta, Adams and Ramos suggested, “Freud proposed that human beings come to balance instinctual demands with social sanctions…when an imbalance between individual demands and societal pressures occur, the individual becomes anxious and the ego must deal with this discomfort. To deal with this anxiety an individual uses defensive mechanisms” (2005: 4). Therefore it is essential that parents promote other activities instead of passive television viewing, for a better personality development of the child. Erikson’s psychosocial theory: Erikson’s theory is similar to Freudian theory, with deviations. It categorizes the development into 8 steps, where “Each stage involves... a crisis in personality- major psychosocial theme...particularly important at that time and will remain an issue...throughout the rest of life” (Papalia, Olds, and Feldman, 2005: 33). Each issue must be dealt with, in order to allow the child to create a healthy ego. The theory conceptualizes that while positive tendencies must necessarily be developed, one must also be made to learn the negative ones too. However at the end, parents must see that a child develops predominantly positive tendencies, without losing awareness of the negative ones. Ericson’s theory relies primarily on socio-cultural influences in the effective development of a child (Papalia, Olds, and Feldman, 2005). The cognitive theory of Jean Piaget: this theory stipulates that a child’s development depends on his/her perspective of the surroundings, and Piaget theorized that “children try to use assimilation to absorb new events into existing schemes, and when assimilation does not allow the child to make sense of novel events, children try to modify existing schemes through accommodation” (Rathus, 2007: 188). According to this theory there are four stages in the development process. The first stage comprises of ‘sensory motor’ (0- 2 years age) where a child learns to adapt activities as per his sensory and motor skill development. The second stage (from 2 to 7 years) comprises of the ‘pre-operational stage’ where a child starts using symbols for representing incidents, places, and people. Third is the ‘concrete stage’ (from 7 to 11 years) where logical thought processes and reasoning develop, however the child still cannot think in an abstract manner. The fourth stage is ‘formal operation’ (from11 years to adulthood), where abstract thinking starts and the child starts grasping hypothetical positions (Papalia, Olds, and Feldman, 2007). From the developmental theories it is clear that the crucial period in a child’s mental and physical development is between 0-6 years of age, wherein his/her brain and body show maximum development. Therefore, it is essential that children within this age group do not view television excessively, to avoid a stunted mental, emotional and physical development. Brain development and television viewing Neuroscientists have derived from their various researches that experiences gained from the surrounding environment play an important role in brain development, owing to the resilience of neuron connectivity. Therefore, long time exposure to any particular stimulus within the surrounding environment could have a significant effect on the emotional and mental development of a child by creating ‘habits of mind’ or by removing other experiences from the brain (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001). While positive stimuli, such as, caring parents or guardians, interactive and intellectual environment, outdoor games, and effective age-suitable academic motivation all work towards improving a child’s brain development. On the other hand, a passive environment and violent behavior deprives a child’s effective brain development. Besides these, enforcing age-inappropriate academic learning styles on young children often leads to bypassing important stages within brain development. Excessive television watching, especially at the crucial ages when learning manipulative playing and language development take place, can have a negative effect on the minds of young children in various ways: a) Increased television viewing is linked with poor academic performance, especially in the context of reading grades. This is owing to the fact that reading is replaced by television viewing, where intensive visual stimulus hinders the left-brain development, affecting linguistic skills. A child’s brain molded by flashy visual stimuli cannot focus on acquiring language skills. Furthermore, the ‘two-minute mind’ that develops due to excessive television viewing, cannot concentrate and becomes easily impatient, lacking the mental depth necessary for analysis and processing (American Academy of Pediatrics, February 2001). b) The nature of the visual stimulus may cause attention problems in some children. Besides the stimulating violent or sexual matter, attention-grabbing and fast paced movement that are so evident in children’s programs is specially designed to engage the brain in an involuntary manner, which in turn does not allow the child’s brain to function independently, as in social interactions, hobbies and games (Healy, 1998). c) The pre-frontal cortex in the human brain is responsible for attention, organizing, planning, judging, and showing self-control. These centers show development until adolescence, and persistently playing video or computer games or watching television, which are passive in nature, makes pre-frontal cortex idle, thus arresting its development, leading to improper mental, emotional and physical growth in a child (Dennison, et al., 2002). Effects of television viewing Attention deficit disorder: television exposure during the early formative years is now a common occurrence, and even new born babies are often exposed to television. Christakis (2006) in his study reported a link between television viewing during early childhood and attention deficit disorder in the later years. There was also a report of 9% rise in risk of suffering from attention disorders, for every hour of watching television. In another study conducted, there were no reports of close links between number of hours spent on television viewing and behavioral issues in children of any age group (Obel, Henriksen, Dalsgaard, Linnet, Skajaa, Thomsen, and Olsen, 2004). However, the study reported that children (around 3 years old) who viewed television for a period of one and half hours or more, were at a greater risk of developing ADHD at a very young age. Learning disorders: Various studies on the effect of television viewing on academic performances that include cognitive development and language skills of a child, showed a small but consistent link between excessive television viewing and poor school grades (Zimmerman and Christakis, 2005). Some of the studies have revealed that television viewing, while promoting some degree of positive learning in younger children, showed negative effects on older children (Anderson and Pempek, 2005). In their study, Anderson and Pempek (2005) found that background sound from the television may cause poor cognitive development in very young children. This is because children, less than 18 months of age, are sensitive to linguistic and sequential understanding of the moving images, and they cannot comprehend the use of symbolic representation of information, thus making viewing of television for infants unnecessary. Increased aggressive behavioral traits: another worrying trend noticed among young children is their inherent tendency to show aggressive behavior. Television shows currently tend to interject aggressive behavioral pattern in many scenes, including rapes, kicking, and murders. In the early nineties, The National Association for the Education of Young Children had voiced concerns regarding an increase in violent acts directed at children through various media, especially television. As per the American Psychological Association, young children by the time they graduate will have viewed nearly 8,000 murders and 10,000 acts of violence on television, and some experts believe that there is a link between excessive television viewing and increased aggressive behavior in children (Chang, 2000). Advertisements: With an increase in television viewing in the past few decades, there has been a sharp rise in number of advertisements that display products for viewers of all ages. As for example, during programs for children, advertisements specifically targeting children are aired, which is mostly related to toys and food. Experts have expressed worries regarding the negative impact of advertisements on children’s behavior, often rising from a lack of comprehension of the advertisements. In 1997 it was found that $7 million was spent on food advertisements specially targeting children that focused on high-sugar food and junk food, and as a result, there has been a sharp rise in obesity (54%) within children in the age group 6 -11 years (Christakis, 2006). The rise in obesity is owing to an increase in the consumption of junk foods, advertised regularly on television. Besides this, children who view television excessively show low levels of physical activities, thus having low metabolic rates when compared to children who spend less hours viewing television. Conclusion In the current context, excessive television viewing and subsequent developmental problems in children are a major issue that health workers and parents are facing. The negative effects of television viewing, which can be broadly divided into two different categories are direct effects from the viewed content (as for example, advertisements and violent programs), and indirect effects, which involve more serious issues like developmental disorders. Therefore, more hours spend on watching television by young children instead of playing outdoors, translates into increased vulnerability to developmental disorders and physical problems, such as obesity. It is for this reason the parents must refrain from using television as a baby-sitter, and instead devote more time in planning various activities for the children. Time must be limited for television viewing, irrespective of what channel the child is viewing, and outdoor activities must necessarily be encouraged. Good viewing habits must be developed at an early age, and planned viewing of specific channels and programs must be allowed, and parents must take care that television does not become a substitute for outdoor activities. Parents must encourage more book reading, and co-viewing television with children is preferable, so that they can explain and discuss the programs watched. Thus, teaching a child to be selective in viewing television will help to cut down the risk of developing mental disorders, while encouraging outdoor activities will help to solve the issue of child obesity. References American Academy of Pediatrics. (February 2001). “AAP policy statement: Children Adolescents, and Television.” Pediatrics 107:2, 423-426. American Academy of Pediatrics. (1999). “Media Education-Committee on Public Education.” Pediatrics 104:2 341-343. Anderson, D., and Pempek, T. (2005). “Television and Very Young Children.” The American Behavioral Scientist 48(5), 505-522. Burton, L. 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