Media is a very powerful tool. Its sheer abundance allows a barrage of media messages to bombard the audience from the moment he wakes up in the morning until he goes to sleep at night. This exposure can have both its advantages and disadvantages. It can affect people regardless of their color, religion, status, gender, or age. Yet, the difference lies on the extent of its influence on each. This is where individual development and media literacy come into play.
The study entitled TV and Cyberspace: New Age Baby Sitter?, describes how in today’s society, children are more and more exposed to, not only television but into the other forms of media such as computers and the internet. This study also gave a detailed analysis of how these forms of media affects children in their different stages of growth.
According to the study, children within the 6-12 year old bracket are characterized to be in their most critical stage of growth since it is in this stage where cognitive and emotional development is at their peak. At this stage, children tend to watch TV on their own and they begin to develop their preferences regarding which shows they like. This is not unusual because it is indicative of the independence that the child is beginning to develop.
Children at this age have developed their memory in terms of what they watch. They can direct their attention to the show’s general plot. They can begin to identify characters and even classify them into general stereotypes such as who is good or who is bad. In general, they have enough understanding of the TV world however, they are still classified more as passive viewers since they mainly use media for relaxation purposes and do not invest enough mental effort to deeply analyze and process the programs they watch.
The study stresses that for children aged 6-9, it is important for parents and guardians to monitor and direct their children on which programs to watch since at this stage, children will tend to watch less educational shows and watch more cartoons, comedies, and action-adventure shows instead. On the other hand, older children may be more resistant to the restrictions of parents regarding what they should watch. Because of this, it is suggested that parents or guardians could help explain and discuss the content of the shows to the children, helping them understand and possibly overcome the negative effects that some programs can cause.
