Media & Childhood: Examining the Impact and Role of Parents - Essay Sample

Introduction

There is an extraordinary impact of media on childhood development. All along, it has been a concern that parents should get involved to engage children towards the influence of media. By talking about media, it comprises television, radio, internet, video games, and even music. Researchers have not come clear to point out the direct effect of media on behavior. However, societies are raising children with different behavior, some wired, and all these are acquired through mass media. This review will elaborate much on both effects as well as beneficial of media or general behavior towards children. The result can be either psychological or mental and the impact it has on society.

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Television

The article first outlines the impact of television on children's behavior. Child development is an essential factor in determining the kind of effect media will cause on their lifestyle. The influence can be of a negative or positive effect on children's behavior. Not all televisions are wrong; some channel has organized productive teaching, which can change the behavior of most children (David, 2018). Some television stage discussions and lessons on how children should behave with their parents or even between their age mates. What they should speak or the type of games they should involve in. The same will stimulate their behavior as they grow up and shape their characters within the community.

However, some televisions have exposed children to funny behavior. They spend much time watching movies involving fights and arguments which install violence feelings in the mind of many children (Cheong, 2019). They raise from childhood with an idea of the only way to solve an issue is through the fight. When these children approach adolescents, they find themselves in violent situations that that is deep into their character, and they find it uneasy about changing from the same. There is an excellent connection between watching programs on television with violent films and the dangerous, violent behavior of a child.

There's as well a relationship between education and parental involvement concerning media to children. Some schools ensure media is beneficial to their student. They ensure children can understand how media can affect the social life of these students. They stage intensive media literacy to ensure students understand the benefits as well as the adverse effects of media. Parents involving the type of channel to get turned on is essential to life if children in a family.it is as well crucial for parents to monitor the habit of their children.

Similarly, television has cropped the behavior of sexuality in children. Some channels show programs involving romantic films. Children who are addictive to such channels develop with a mind of passionate characters; these children grow up, knowing that sexual behavior is one of the everyday things that should be taken lightly. They develop their mind with the mentality of intimate relationships. They spend too much time during the adolescence stage, watching pornographic channels that satisfy their desire for the sexual act. All these television channels with the same topic have altered the mind of most kids that they could no longer concentrate on Christian values.

Nevertheless, television watching has limited critical activities that children should involve in during every development stage. These activities include reading, learning, communicate well, and even playing. These children cannot spend time with family members because they take much of their time watching television. The same limit moral teachings or guides children acquire from parents as well as elder siblings. Moreover, participating in exercise and even storytelling will no longer feature in the mind of these children because they are addictive to watching television. The child development level will also be affected by frequent watching television.

Television as well has exposed children to habit of alcoholism and smoking. An advertisement which takes place regularly in between different programs shows children different bears as well as types of the alcoholic brand being imported inside the country with time. There are some funny messages in these adverts of alcohol that real men drink beer. A child will grow with a mentality that taking bear is one of the most gradings of a gentleman. The consequences of this behavior make children addicted to drug abuse within society. The same interferes with their education progress and even tamper with their future ahead.

Music Video

The music video is as well another type of media that has influenced the life of many children. These teenagers watch music videos with different artists having funny dress codes and lyrics, which alters the behavior of many children. They will grow up trying to cope with the characters of some habits, following entertaining artists in terms of the dressing style and even mode of communication. Some artist formats their video while smoking or drinking alcohol, making children develop the character of loving the same. Some artists as well will always have romantic behaviors, including the dressing code, which imposes children to sexuality.

Children who concentrate on the lyrics of these video songs will grow up failing to mind their language and what they speak. The same happens because they admire the life of these music artists, and they would wish one day to be like one. The same incident tampers with the Christian behavior of these children more so the ones who give attention to secular music rather than gospels. The behavioral effect mostly affect these children while approaching the adolescent stage because they would like to practice everything they watch or hear from the music video (Imterat et al. 2019)

Video Games

The tendency to play video games is one of the most sectors of media, which has influenced the behavior of many children. Some are beneficial to children, while others have negative impacts. When the involvement of video games by a child is controlled well, it will boost the child's skills as well as coordination. The same enhance the creativity of a child and can cooperate to gain much interest in a dream. A parent needs to monitor the behavior of the child while involving in video games and control the exposure to the same.

Concerning the negative part of these video games, some have got violent features that make children concentrate on intense fights and even learn how best one can fight each other. When the time of exposure to violent games is not controlled, children will develop the mentality of engaging each other into brutal practice. It is important to note that parents should expose their kids to a variety of games, which can only improve their skills but not to divert their attention to immoral issues.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the media, as a whole, has influenced the behavior of many children. They grow up with altered characters since they spend much of their time on media, practicing immoral actions; hence they cannot achieve their bright dreams. It is, therefore, necessary for parents to be close to their children and monitor how frequently they associate with media and what type of teaching they experience from these media groups.

References

Cheong, W. Y. (2019). The Perceived Influence of Social Media in Children Behaviour (Doctoral dissertation, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College).

David Gauntlett; Ten things wrong with the media 'effects' model http://davidgauntlett.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Ten-Things-Wrong-2006-version.pdf

Imterat, M., Wainstock, T., Moran-Gilad, J., Sheiner, E., & Walfisch, A. (2019). The association between gestational age and otitis media during childhood: a population-based cohort analysis. Journal of developmental origins of health and disease, 10(2), 214-220.