Effect of Media on Children Essay
The influence that the media has on young people is huge. Youth devote an average of six to eight hours in a single day using various forms of media, with a good number having access to television, internet, mobile phones and video games. These have, over the years, brought about both beneficial and harmful effects on children’s psychosocial development.
To start with, media has had numerous educational benefits to children as it has become a major source of information. The internet has an important potential for giving kids and young adults access to important educational information, an equivalent of a massive home library. This helps them learn new information and ideas, exchange the same information and ideas with other kids while improving their networking skills at the same time (Valkenburg 24). Social media has also enabled children connect with their extended families and friends across the world with ease. Television has also been classified as a very powerful teacher. Valkenburg argues that children watching some television programs have shown to learn important lessons about kindness, racial harmony, courtesy, cooperation, history, reading and learning skills. Other public television programs have also influenced children to visit museums, zoos, libraries and even bookstores.
On the other hand, runaway media has become a thorn in the flesh for parents as it has directly affected the physical, emotional and social growth and development of their children. This is because children spend most of their time using various forms of media, time meant for play and physical exercises is taken away. For example, long television viewing while eating snacks contributes substantially to obesity. Also, the extent of violence on television and violent video games has been on the rise (Valkenburg 67). Studies show that exposure to television and video game violence increases aggressive conduct of children especially in boys.
In conclusion, the impact of media on children is massive both positively and negatively. Whereas it has eased access to information and made the world a global village, it has, on the other hand, affected the social, physical, health and emotional development of children.
Work Cited
Valkenburg, Patti M. “The limited informativeness of meta-analyses of media effects.” Perspectives on psychological science 10.5 (2015): 680-682.
Strasburger, Victor C., Ed Donnerstein, and Brad J. Bushman. “Why is it so hard to believe that media influence children and adolescents?.” Pediatrics 133.4 (2014): 571-573.
