Abstract The paper presents the view that television often acts as an uncomplaining and constantly available free babysitter in homes with very young children. The paper explains that parents often find that by putting their children in front of the television for entertainment purposes, they can find a few minutes in their busy day to relax and unwind. This paper examines the viewing habits of three mothers with pre-adolescent children: Stacey, mother to Holly; Pam, mother to Eryn and Ellie, mother to Mark.
From the Paper "In the 1950s and 1960s children's programming abounded. There were shows like Romper Room and Captain Kangaroo, The Shari Lewis Show and Howdy Doody, all of which were designed to shape children into well-behaved members of society through entertainment. Later on, programs like Sesame Street and Wishbone made their debut, providing entertainment almost inextricably linked with education. In between and even afterward were a plethora of other shows that focused on children, often with a mixed bag of redeeming value. Television often acts as an uncomplaining and constantly available free babysitter in homes with very young children. Parents often find that by putting their children in front of the television for entertainment purposes, they can find a few minutes in their busy day to relax and unwind. This paper will examine the viewing habits of three mothers with pre-adolescent children."
Abstract This paper looks at the issue of increased violent tendencies found in increasingly younger children in today's society. The author reviews several different studies that have been conducted on the subject and substantiate the thesis that violence on television has a profound impact on younger children. Television has become more violent and children are, watching more of it, which in this author's opinion, has contributed to the increase in violent behavior in children. Several studies and their results are presented in order to help the reader understand the possible roots of the problem, to present possible solutions to present and future problems that plague society because of the increasing influence of television in our lives.
From the Paper "Children are much smarter these days than children of the previous generation. Children are bombarded with images on TV, the Internet, etc. and parents have less time these days to filter out any negative or adverse images and experiences. And with the exponentially-advancing technological age, in many cases children derive their education, not just from school or their family but through nameless, faceless CEOs who want to sell a product, service or form of entertainment any which way they can. Children are expected to digest and analyse a lot of information thrown at them everyday. In that sense, children today are more streetwise and discerning than the children in previous generations. Therefore, it stands to reason that effects of media violence on younger children would be more pronounced than for children who are in their pre- or post-adolescent years."
Abstract In this paper, the author uses various examples to demonstrate the impact television has had on youth violence. The author discusses the problems associated with television viewing, identifies violence on television, portrays the effects of television violence on younger people, and reveals ways to reduce violence on television. This paper explores these topics by using multiple statistics, by including the views of several public officials and authors, and through the author's views as well
From the Paper "A study by Leonard Eron began in 1963 and was one of the longest termed studies to take place. Eron began his study by assessing the development of aggression in third graders, eight year olds, in a small upstate New York Town. In the course of the study, he asked children to report on their television viewing and other things they liked to do, as well as their ratings of aggression of other children."
Abstract This paper presents a look at children, television and American values. The writer collects and reviews empirical evidence about the way television affects American values in the children of the nation. The writer uses a survey approach and conducts a study of children age 5-10 year old and combines the results in this paper.
From the Paper "American values are as American as apple pie. When one has children one of the things they hope for is that they can raise those children to have strong American values, which might include respect for others, hard work and the ability to accept diversity. Often times the lack of American values is blamed on the things that children watch on television. Experts claim that the television shows that are popular today with children send a message to the children that they do not have to have values to be well liked and successful in life. Research is firmly divided on the issue and the debate continues. American values can be confusing for anyone who has to depend solely on television to attain them. Television shows today target audiences of children not only with the content of the show but with the commercials that are supporting the show. Even when the age bracket in question is not being targeted they watch and they learn from the messages that are sent."
Abstract A discussion of the negative and fewer positive effects that television has on children and their language skills. Several propositions seem undisputed by all the researchers such as: children are the largest audience for television, television is a continuing interest for most children, and television can provoke a response in children. This paper concludes that television can invigorate the vocabulary of children, encourage their reading, and inspire their writing.
From the Paper "Without doubt, television influences the mental processes and speaking habits of young people who may develop their language skills in the family den as much as they do in the classroom. Indeed, statistics abound on the television habits of children. High school seniors will have watched about 15,000 hours of television by the time they graduate (1986 Nielson Report as cited in Powell 41). To gain perspective, Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet put it this way: "By the time the vidkids matriculate at their favorite institution of higher learning, almost one-half of their waking life will have been spent being Superseted, Chromacolored, and Colortaked" (22-23). Sister Rosemary Winkeljohann reports this incident: A few seasons ago, on an episode of "Happy Days," Fonzie got a library card as a small part of the overall story. The producers thought nothing of it until they later learned that librarians all over the country were swamped the next day with children coming to the library. Children who had never used the library facilities now wanted library cards! (100) "
Abstract This paper looks at children's television and its negative influence on children today. The first section starts off the paper with a view into the positive side of children's television. Television isn"t entirely evil, so this section helps the reader understand that you aren"t completely against television. The second section describes how children are emotionally and mentally influenced by television shows. The third section relates how a child's increasing violent nature could be the result of the violence that they view every day in their shows. The fourth section discusses how the media is involved, primarily on a consumer basis. The fifth and final section refers to what the parent can do to in a world that is surrounded in television.
From the Paper "Televisions shows that are directed primarily towards a child audience are to a large degree responsible for the controversial decline in development that is visible in today's youth culture. Through this medium children are exposed to vast quantities of violence and negative themes. These shows contribute to the breakdown of family as well as the lessened emotional development of children. Not only has television proven detrimental on a child-to-child basis, but in addition has greatly influenced the overall standards of our consumer culture and quite possibly made us more so. While children's educational television shows are given high notoriety for making a positive contribution to a child's education and development, the problem lies in the fact that parents oftentimes neglect to research or take an active interest in their children's viewing. Due to the fact that they consider the programs directed mainly towards children to be either education or purely for the basis of entertainment parents do not seriously scrutinize them. In effect they fail to suspect these shows as being a major contributor to the upbringing and future of their children and the younger generation."
This paper evaluates research reported in the "Journal of Abnormal Psychology" on February 1, 2004, in the article, "Difficulties in Comprehending Causal Relations among Children with ADHD: The Role of Cognitive Engagement," by Elizabeth Pugzles and assoc
915 words (approx. 3.7 pages), 1 source, APA, $ 32.95
Abstract This paper explains that the overall conclusion of this research is that children with ADHD are no less capable of comprehending information from stories presented in television shows than non-ADHD children; however, if there are distractions present, ADHD children will not pay as much attention to the television and, therefore, will not have as complete of an understanding of the story presented as non-ADHD children who did not become distracted by the toys. The author points out that one of the reasons children with ADHD, as well as adults with ADHD, do not keep their visual attention fixed in one place for as long as non-ADHD children is their inability to maintain attentional inertia, which is linked to cognitive engagement. The paper raises some questions criticizing this article: (1) who wouldn't be distracted by toys rather than watching television, and (2) does the withdrawal from the medication skew results?
From the Paper "The results show that without the toys as a distraction, ADHD and non-ADHD children have very similar test results; 90 percent visual attention is paid to the television by all children if there is not a source of distraction. These children also had similar test results when asked questions to show their understanding and recollection of the show they watched. However, when toys (distractions) were added to the experiment, there was a very measurable difference between the ADHD children and non-ADHD children in their ability to understand causal relations and understanding of factual events from the TV show."
This paper reviews and examines Carlos Cortes' book "The Children are Watching: How the Media Teach About Diversity" which focuses on the impact of television on children.
Abstract This paper analyzes the quality of the television programming content currently geared towards younger audiences while focusing on the lack of cultural diversity in both film and television. This paper discusses the stereotypical manner in which minorities are often portrayed in film and television and its negative impact on young viewers. This paper examines the author's contention that professional educators must be more involved in the type of content being shown on television. The writer contends and explains why it is imperative for teachers to discuss with their students what they are seeing on television as well as how they perceive what they are seeing.
From the Paper "Cortes is a consultant with the people who make the Dora cartoon on television. He says the producers are trying very hard to show Dora's life correctly. Even though she is a cartoon, it has looks and sounds like Latin America. The show has a panel of people from Latin America who look at the cartoons. They are from countries like Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica and Argentina. "The idea is to put across messages of understanding, of building cross-cultural, bilingual bridges," Cortes says.
He also likes NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street," because it shows that a multi-ethnic television show can be liked by a diverse audience. He also likes that the 1997 TV musical, "Cinderella," by Whitney Houston, had an African-American Cinderella with a Filipino-American Prince Charming. "I loved the way it included every combination of interracial couple in the ballroom scene," he says."
Tags:television, film, cultural, diversity, minority, educator, youth, children
Abstract The paper reports on research into the content and meaning of children's television advertising before Christmas. The paper notes information on the variety of products that are geared for children in some way and discusses the selling methods used and the frequency with which advertising messages are bolstered by repetition. The paper explains that this creates a desire on the part of children for these products.
From the Paper "Television advertising directed at children is examined for content, frequency and products featured for a period in the Fall of 2004, the Christmas season for advertisers. The results show the variety of products that are geared for children in some way, the selling methods used and the frequency with which advertising messages are bolstered by repetition, creating a desire on the part of children for these products. The intent is clearly to develop a habit of buying in the young and parents suffer by being asked over and over to buy the latest product, many reflecting entertainment aspects of the consumer culture."
Abstract This paper looks at that question of whether advertising directed at children is ethical. It points out that the amount of advertising targeting children continues to grow. Children view an estimated 360,0000 advertisements on television before graduating from high school. The paper also claims that, not until the early 1970s, was advertising directed at children seen as a problem in the United States. The paper argues that, although studies show that children under the age of seven cannot distinguish the difference between an advertisement and fact, there is little if any regulation of advertising directed at children within the United States. The paper compares the US to other countries, which have adopted the philosophy that advertising directed at children is immoral and have stepped in with varying levels of regulation. The paper concludes that, regarding television, it is unlikely there will be any restrictions placed on advertisers; however, with the proliferation of sites such as MySpace, YouTube, blogging, and other future technological advances to the Internet, there may eventually be a public outcry for more stringent regulations.
Outline:
Introduction
History of Advertising & Advertising to Children Advertising and Its Impact on Children Why So Much Emphasis on Advertising to Children?
Notable Examples of Advertising to Children The Regulation of Advertising
Regulations in Other Countries
How Likely Change Is in the Future & Conclusion
From the Paper "In the US, there are currently few policies or standards for food advertising and marketing aimed at children. The advertising industry maintains self-regulatory policies established by the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the National Council of Better Business Bureaus. CARU's guidelines apply to all forms of children's advertising, but it has no legal authority over advertisers and can only seek voluntary compliance. CARU has a group of about 20 advisors and 35 supporters, many of whom are from the food industry, such as Burger King, Frito-Lay, McDonald's, General Mills, Nabisco and Hershey. The CARU voluntary guidelines list seven basic principles, which address areas such as product presentation and claims, endorsement and promotion by program characters, sales pressures, disclosures and disclaimers and safety concerns."
Abstract This paper presents an extensive chronology of the manner in which African-American have been presented in movies and on television. This paper states that despite the attempt to portray American culture accurately, the media lags behind in regards to the changes in morality and values held by the American people, especially in the portrayal of minorities. The author feels that because television is an intense carrier of socialization, there needs to be much more research to assess the impact of these images on the psyche of black youth.
Table of Contents
Background Information on U.S. Media and Television The American Audience
Four Functions of Media
The Image of African-Americans on Television Roots of the Distorted Images of African-Americans
The Birth of Television Images
Life on Television Study
The Neilson Rating System
Televisions Impact on Socialization
Socialization and Comprehension in Childhood
Studies with Children and Television
From the Paper "The Anglo-Saxon beliefs, which were brought to this country, showed the beginning of racial prejudice in this country. White was seen as pure, clean, good, reflecting the spiritual light; and black was seen as impurity, filth, evil and spiritual darkness. Those people who were prosperous and self-sufficient were the spiritual elect, and those who were enslaved were seen as damned. These beliefs carried on in the South, with the mythology of the happy slaves who were content to serve the master as the ultimate fulfillment of their lives. This became one of the many justifications for slavery and exploitation of blacks. During the Reconstruction period, images of a lazy, slow-witted blacks with loose morals and fondness for alcohol were used to reinforce institutionalized and social racism."
Abstract This paper takes a look at children's television programming. The field study was done by watching three different television programs: Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Blue's Clues, and Sesame Street and the conclusions were made according to child psychology teachings.
From the Paper "Television is not simply an electronic toy or one of the many forms of entertainment" (Craig, 320). It is a pervasive influence in the lives of children, and this is what sparked my interest in children's television programming for this research project. For my field study, I watched Mr.Roger's neighborhood, Blue's Clues, and Sesame Street over Thanksgiving break. After viewing these programs, some patterns in their methods of teaching their audience became evident. Different methods were used to encourage cognitive development of the young children who watch the shows. All three of the television programs were common in the fact that they aimed at education as well as entertainment for their audience. This fact is crucial, especially since most children watch a lot of television when they are growing up, while they are in their optimal learning period of life. The education/ entertainment mix is crucial for these programs to be successful. If a television show were merely educational without any attempt at being entertaining, children would not want to watch them. It is true that many children show signs that they like learning, but they also have a short attention span, so a television show must be entertaining to keep their attention on the show long enough to learn from it. On the flip side, it would defeat the purpose of trying to make television educational for children to watch show that is merely entertaining. This is why a mix of the two is necessary for an educational program to succeed."
Abstract In this paper, the author looks at the advantages and disadvantages children experience by watching a lot of television. There is also a discussion of approaches that parents can take to reduce the negative impact of television viewing.
From the Paper "The effects of TV are seen in children's values, lifestyles, role models, eating, sleeping, health, family interaction & buying habits. Extensive studies have been made on the impact of television. The type of programs and the amount of time a child watches may have an affect on their aggression level. "
Abstract This paper provides a critical review of the literature concerning the impact that television has upon children between the ages of birth and twelve years of age. The paper is not designed to address an argument but to familiarize the reader with the issues involved. Therefore the paper has been broken into themes that are most prevalently manifest within the literature.
From the Paper "This paper is designed to provide a critical review of the literature on the available information concerning the impact that television has upon children between the ages of birth and twelve years of age. The review of the literature is not designed to address an argument but to familiarize the reader with the issues involved. As such, the paper has been broken into themes that are most prevalently manifest within the literature. Bias in the Literature One of the central problems of assessing the literature on television - indeed, concerning all forms of media and its impact on children - is the persistent problem of bias. This bias emerges from the intentions of the researchers, or those who use the research in their own arguments, and wish to use this data to prove a given point. Television and electronic media (e.g.: films, video games, etc.) are ..."
Abstract The paper discusses surveys which study the effect of TV commercials on children. The paper relates that the food industry has increased its advertising to all ages, including children, which is having a negative impact on their health. The paper suggests that companies should be held responsible for their influence on children, or at least present a more rounded view of food and nutrition. The paper also states that children have been bombarded by food marketing, which has resulted in higher rates of obesity. The paper ,after referring to various situations, concludes that a relationship has been found between television commercials and eating.
From the Paper "A similar study was conducted in Europe, where children do not eat enough fruit and vegetables and where exposure to TV is negatively associated with the intake of these foods. This study by Klepp et. al. (2007) explored exposure to food commercials on TV in nine European countries with approximately 12, 750 children to determine the association between this exposure and attitudes toward eating fruits and vegetables. The authors state that the children report exposure more to more unhealthy foods than healthy ones such as fruits and vegetables. However, those who were exposed to fruit and vegetable TV ads were much more positively disposed toward eating these foods. These findings point to the important, and more positive, role that TV could play in supporting healthy eating messages."
