Growing up, I was always outdoors, running around playing with friends and the family. Nowadays a majority of children sit inside with their faces glued to the TV screen. It seems that entertainment now always occurs having electronics involved. Children's face to face playing has cut down a lot hindering the growing and learning to interact, talk and work with those around us. http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html# statistics says:
~two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day.
~kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs.
~kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games.
~kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs.
~kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games.
Too much time is being spent sitting down and zoning out into unproductive TV shows and video games. This takes away from a child's physical activity and social strategies they learn in play with other friends. TV now also has limited modesty on what can and can't be on screen. Now not all TV is bad, there are many learning opportunities in some TV shows that can be productive but there are definite negative effects. It is very common in video games and a lot of TV shows to show sexual behavior, drugs and especially violence. This necessarily doesn't cause a child to become aggressive but it could also hamper a child's view on the world as being a scary place and not a place of adventure, learning and opportunities.
I think you made a lot of good points! I also think using statistics was a good way of proving your point about the influence of media in younger children daily lives. The only thing I would disagree with is that there are good uses of t.v. and video games that actually help children to learn. You did mention that not all t.v. is bad and you’re completely right. The creation of Sesame Street really helped pave children’s programming which helped launch a lot of the pbs programming like word barn and the creation of Disney’s baby Einstein series. Also Nintendo’s Wii really capitalizes on these younger audiences making age appropriate games such as Pajama Sam, which include puzzles that flex children’s brains and help them, learn how to solve problems. I think these are two good examples.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think you are right that getting out and running about is important and that social interaction is key to a child’s development though, I have to ask. What do you think of households where both parents work? Many children live in a household where two parents earn the income. How do you think this factor in to the amount of t.v and media that children are consuming? Do you think this has an effect?
Thank you for the reminder that we use the TV to babysit our children way too much. Is it any wonder we have an epedimic of childhood obesity in America. Our children very seldom are seen outside playing and the schools have had to cut back on so many activities because of the budget. Music is another subject that has been almost eliminated in our schools.
ReplyDeleteTV is not reality. No wonder we continue to have racism and violence in our schools. The media is doing a great job at warping our opinions of others.