Media and It's Harmful Effects?

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.