This morning when I logged on to my email and Yahoo was touting their four “news” stories for the day. Normally I would not have paid too much attention to these stories, but the one titled “Kids’ TVs Linked to Smoking, Low Test Scores” caught my eye. I have been reading the Tyner’s book and in Chapter 7 she describes how the focus of news agencies in past years has been about the harmful effects of TV and other media for kids. In this article written by Julie Steenhuysen, obesity, smoking, and poor academics are linked to the amount of viewing time for kids. Research has shown that parents who use a monitoring device that controls the amount of time their child can watch TV or be on the computer can have a dramatic impact on their body mass index (BMI) and a big drop in viewing hours.
As I continued to explore more, I found quite a few articles, like the NY Times article dated March 4, 2008, that now focus on the harmful effects of having a TV in the bedroom. Instead of writing about the harmful effects of all TV, articles and research are hitting upon how parents are not able to monitor content or amount of TV viewing that occurs in kids’ bedrooms and poor sleeping habits are being formed in kids and adults who have TVs in their bedroom. With the move toward high definition TVs, many family sets are being replaced and the older models are moving to the bedroom.
In the following YouTube clip, Representative Ed Markey discusses some of the harmful effects of TV on kids and the need for the FDA to place some restrictions on the advertising of junk food.
We are familiar with these tales of harmful media and that is what was so refreshing about Tyner’s ideas regarding more focus on an acquisition model for media literacy. Students are engaged with media so we need to build upon this. Having students create their own media for meaningful purposes should be the goal of media education. In the past, teachers have taken what Tyner refers to as the protectionist role with media literacy. Flipping this around will allow students to see that all media has a place or role in communicating ideas to others. Learning to choose the right format for a communication need would be valuable for students to learn. Tyner’s suggestion that honoring some of the past media literacy ideas about advertising should not be abandoned, rather it should be incorporated into the new curriculum. (Who could pass up the fascination with subliminal messages like this?)
Student-centered learning complements Tyner’s media acquisition model nicely. Instead of adding more to the curriculum, students may create products produced in different formats from the past. These products highlight student learning and as well as foster creativity.
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6 comments:
No wonder I'm always hungry after watching Iron Chef!
Actually, I had always thought that subliminal advertising was illegal, but that's just the result of something I read long ago - I have no idea where or why or in what. Obviously it's not.
That subliminal ad IS fascinating...and crazy! Who decides that they can do that? How much does McDonalds pay for that blip?
Once you start to explore the subliminal ads in YouTube, you will not be able to stop. I never spent time on YouTube until this class and now I lose hours of a day exploring.
People have been complaining about the deliterious effects of entertainment on children for as long as there has been popular entertainment for children.
Check out this passage from Louisa May Alcott's Eight Cousins:
"I can't bear to see such crowds of eager little fellows at the libraries reading such trash; weak, when it is not wicked, and totally unfit to feed the hungry minds that feast on it for want of something better."
In the 1950s, the U.S. Senate held extensive hearings on the potential of video games to create "juvenile delinquents" who were prone to violence and excessive sexuality. You can read a short intro and find transcripts of those hearings here.
Note: hearings like these have other consequences than just on issues like violence. Here's a snippet of policy from DC Comics that they imposed on themselves in response to people's fears about the effects of comic books on boy's sexuality:
"The inclusion of females in stories is specifically discouraged. Women, when used in plot structure, should be secondary in importance, and should be drawn realistically, without exaggeration of feminine physical qualities"
Tyner's book talks about the fears of television in the 70s, but of course it hasn't gone away.
More recently, the debate has been about movie violence and video games. That's where the article we're going to read by Henry Jenkins comes in. Jeffrey R. Young described the context for it in a feature article he wrote on Jenkins for the Chronicle of Higher Education:
In 1999 the Senate's commerce committee held a hearing on youth and media violence. [...] That's where Henry Jenkins first grabbed the attention of many video-game fans, goth kids, and others who usually don't follow speeches made by MIT professors. He was called to testify as an expert witness, in part because he had recently co-edited a scholarly book, From Barbie to Mortal Kombat, about video games. [...] "We are afraid of our children," he told the senators. "We are afraid of their reactions to digital media. And we suddenly can't avoid either." He urged the lawmakers to understand the complicated relationships that children have with popular culture, and to avoid making policy on the basis of fear. "Banning black trench coats or abolishing violent video games doesn't get us anywhere," he argued. "These are the symbols of youth alienation and rage — not the causes."
(note: if you get blocked on that last link, use this link and log in as a UIUC student to get access)
Of course now we have talk about "internet addiction" for kids who spend lots of time on online games, social networks, etc. I posted a couple links separately about that here, since it's been in the news so much recently. :)
If you want to see what role libraries have played in restricting kid's access to entertainment materials "through the ages," there's a book by Lynne McKenchie, who gave a lecture during our on-campus session (I saw Klara there!), that talks about that sort of thing:
Reading Matters: What the Research Reveals about Reading, Libraries, and Community
The first chapter has some really interesting info about restrictive library policies that tried to force people to check out "better" materials if they wanted to read the fun stuff.
Well, wouldn't subliminal advertising fit into the Right Brain category? Does Pink's theory that we are becoming conceptually more right brain fit into advertisers hands?
Another hazard of the media is this tendency toward appreciating design and equating it with truth and goodness. (Beauty over Substance). Even in the recent Article we read for assignment this week by Jenkins on page 16 states that "issues of format and design are often more important than issues of content in determining how much credibility young people attach to the content of a particular website". This can also apply to anything that looks more polished and appealing such as an advertisement, a blog, or a even a person. Is a person that has a great social page with music, graphics and color complements a more interesting or quality person?
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