How Mass Media Affects Youth Culture

Educators argon challenged to a greater extent monstrously than perpetually forwards to t some(prenominal)ly upstart state to tax media much than critically and to drive in taste and discrimi solid ground as they mathematical function media in school and at home. What is it like to grow up in todays humankind? How argon nestlingren and y come out of the closethful adults touch on by the movies and goggle box courses they see, the radio programs and recordings they memorize, the newspapers, magazines, and books they strike? Modern technology has made realistic a wealth of sh ared devour undreamed of even 50 old age ago. This environment reflects fully, though some whiles in a warped fashion, life itselfincluding heartfelt and evil, beauty and ugliness, charity and vehemence. It is difficult or unachievable to shield unripe nation from survives reflect ing the adult world when discourse theory sys tems infiltrate our homes and become so a lot a equiva lencet of e genuinelyday living. The concerns of serious-minded adults as to the possible effects of media on novel and old citi zens range from the more obvious unmatchables to those more subtle. at that place are fears as to the content of media madness, lawlessness, breakdown in moral determine, and tawdry and explicit sex, for example. There are other fears as to the common effect of a picture-dominated society in which learners go to be inactive and nonassertive, young people cave in brusk time for other experiences, and parents use idiot box as a safe baby-sitter.A appropriate assessment of the bias of mass media on young people continues to be angiotensin-converting enzyme of the signifi toilett challenges to educators and parents today. Research in this field of study invariably reveals the difficulties in arriving at pass conclusions due to the complexity of causal relationships. hotshot critic has questioned the findings of all experi mental look into in this area because of the impossibility of ever having a defensible control group. The influence of mass media on adults is closely cogitate to their influence on young peo ple, and mediocre as difficult to study. The positive values in todays mass media are in any case signifi idlert.Young people today, without leaving home, can hear the worlds best music and witness superb musical performances, see outstanding gambol and dance programs, hear EDUCATIONAL lead political and governmental leaders of the nation and the world analyze major issues of the day, and check of scientific advances and problems. Mass media bring information, inspiration, andenrichment that potentially improve the persona of our living. Nicolas Johnson, formerly of the federal Communications Commission, has studied the media environment for some(prenominal) years.In 1971, he concluded that tv is the angiotensin converting enzyme most powerful intellectual, social, cultural, and political stick i n history. He also strand that most Amer ican families use tv as the major source of knowledge and values. Dorothy Broderick, a library educator, has written that media do overmuch(prenominal) more than provide information. She says, . . . they do discombobulate an im pact and influence upon behavior and spatial relationformation, even though it is still impossible to isolate in research the comminuted nature of much(prenominal) influence. ingress to video Has Increased com identify all forms of talk excise teaching and living, the influence of idiot box seems most challenging. goggle box most more or less represents real experience and is clearly a part of the environment of most young people in the get together States. Access to idiot box has increased remark ably. Breslin and Marino report that while less than one pctage of all American families owned television sets in 1948, by 1976, 98 per centum ofAmerican homes had at least one television set, and 25 pe rcent had dickens or more.The facts close practise of these sets foster serious consideration of televisions influence. The bonny child in this country go away engage used 22,000 hours in linchpinwash television by the time he or she enters high school. Gerbner and Gross re ported that approximately half of the 12-year-olds stud ied averaged sextette or more hours a day screening television.Summarizing research on the impact of television, George Comstock wrote in 1975 that children typically stare television for several(prenominal) years before entering outgrowth grade, that the time spentwith television increases during simple(a) school years, and that young black people, those from take down socioeconomic take aims, and those lower in spell all forms of communication affect learning and living, the influence of television seems most challenging. impression Michael D. Sullivan academic achievement and I. Q. use more time regard television than do other young people. In 1971, it was report in B roadcasting Yearbook that the average TV set was on six hours a day in the United States. The number of viewers using each set during these hours was non determined.Wilbur Schramm reported in 1965 that by the sixth grade children spend 79 percent of their viewing time watching adult programs. Many adults are known to spend time viewing cartoons and adventure programs think for children. To determine the experience that children or young adults have through and through television, one must con sider the full range of television programs, in cluding those intended chiefly for adults news shows, comedies, variety shows, cartoons, bowel movement pictures, documentaries, serious drama, sports events, music, advertisements, and other types shown on commercial, public, and political programs.The current concern nigh effects of violence and crime as depicted on television was highAPRIL 1978 527 domain and fantasy, use of violence to sell branch lin e ucts, and censorship. Dr. Richard E. Palmer, a president of the American aesculapian connectedness, has said that tele vision violence is a mental health problem and an environmental issue. He feels that large ex posure to tempestuous content may distort a childs perceptions of the real world and perversely affect his psychological weakenment. Action for Childrens Television (ACT) is a national citizens organization to upgrade thequality of childrens T. V.In 1976, among their Bent Antennae Awards were the Getting Away with slaughter Award to broadcasters who use violence to take out child viewers and the Nero Fiddles While capital of Italy Burns Award to broadcasters who talk round the need to reduce TV violence while continuing to air venomous and sadistic programs. While there is serious concern about the in fluence of television on young people, there is much controversy over what to do about it. One person with a invention for action is Richard E. Wiley, who, as Ch airman of the national Communica tions Commission (FCC), spoke to the NationalAssociation of Secondary School Principals in 1976.Wiley spurned the idea that a high level of TV violence can be justified because it presents a realistic view of the world. He said, Few, if any, of our citizens in the real world will be ex present to the levels of violence comparable to those which appear on television almost every week. Wiley feels that particular proposition governmental regu lations in this highly beautiful First Amendment Citizens Demonstrate Concern bowl would not be desirable. Instead, he sug that the FCC . . . can play a constructive While research goes on, some(prenominal) citizens have gestsand more appropriate role at this portend by focus recently present their concerns.The Na ing increased industry guardianship on the issue and tional P. T. A. s Television Commission has held a by further the consideration of self-regula series of eight regional hearings on Televisi on tory reforms. and Violence that support parents and teach as well as ers to consider seriously the content usage of television. base on these hearings, in Family view computer programme which 505 persons testified, the Commission has The Family viewing Plan is an example of warned that concerned citizens may extend economic boycott of TV products advertised on the type of self-regulation suggested.The leash shows that feature violence. opposite concerns were major networks and The Television Code mount up stereotyping some(prenominal) by race and sex, low-level role of The National Association of Broadcasters models for offspring, trim down discrimination between adopted the intent to set aside the first three hours lighted recently in the attempt in Miami, Florida, of 15-year-old Ronney Zamora, accused of robbing and killing his 82-year-old neighbor. The apology attorney presented the unusual defense that theboy is innocent because his addiction to television v iolence has caused insanity.How may violence on television affect young people? What should be done about it in a coun try that believes in freedom of communication and the rights of its citizens to the free flow of information and ideas? Based on years of research, Albert Bandura has concluded that children can and do acquire new solution patterns through observation and imitation, without the need for away reinforce ment or even description or practice. The SurgeonGenerals Advisory charge on Television and Social Behavior back up the view that a steady sprout of brutality on television can have a powerful adverse effect on our society and peculiarly on children.This report represents a operative effort to discover the effect television has on children today. Thoughtful researchers have raised(a) such questions as these Are young people who are unusually attracted by the violence and aggres sion on television in general abnormally aggressive personalities themselves? Is it only those young people who are disordered themselves who tend to imitate or act out the crimson acts depicted on television?Does the content of television seriously affect young people s perceptions of the world they sound in, its challenges, satisfactions, problems, and values? 528 EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP (6 to 9 p. m. ) of evening prime time for material worthy for the entire family to view together. Wiley feels that his recommendation of such a plan, as Chairman of FCC, does not constitute governmental censorship, since he was only rec ommending voluntary action and making sugges tions for program improvement.He feels the new policy encourages those involved in the industry to develop exciting and worthwhile programswithout the needless concomitant of violent and inner excess. Wileys speech was criticized by many in his audience, among them Joseph F. Lagana, Super intendent of Northgate School District, Pitts burgh, Pennsylvania and George lannacone, Su perintendent of V ernon township Public Schools, Vernon, New Jersey. They wrote an opposing view that was published in NASSP Bulletin, January 1977. They felt that the position of the FCC and the Family Viewing Plan are not com patible with the social conditions of our modern society, fragmented families and institutions, andthe post-industrial youthfulness culture. They said that the Family Viewing Plan inaccurately assesses the status of parent-child relationships so that it will have little impact on our youth viewing popula tion. Lagana and lannacone suggest that most par ents are not aware that the Family Viewing Plan exists. They feel that it is erroneous to gain adults can or want to cross or monitor tele vision viewing for their children and that parent and youth viewing patterns are often incompat ible because of different interests and schedules and the accessibility of several television sets inand outside the home. more than fundamentally, they challenge Wileys concept of the role o f the FCC as socially irre sponsible because they feel the FCC is the reg ulating arm of our government. It is their recom mendation that the FCC develop a television council composed of educators, legislators, and behavioural scientists to create programs that are compatible with intelligent human growth and de velopment. In monitor television programs beyond the Family Viewing Plan, the FCC is seen as a facilitator and moderator and not as a con trolling agency. The National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting ranked programs accord to content of violence. As might be expected the cops and robbers, private eye, and action-packed shows ranked very high.But, surprisingly, The Won derful World of Disney ranked jolly high (more violent than The Blue cavalry series) and Donny and Marie was around the middle of the scale, more violent than Happy Days, Executive Suite, or Maude. A Gallup poll found that 71 percent of the public in the United States think television is too violent, y et many of the most violent programs continue to gather in the largest number of viewers.The National Observer reported, A lot of peo ple seem to be having it both ways . . . deploring it to the pollsters and enjoying it at home. Most of them will have to turn off TVs gun-play be fore the networks will consider disarmament. Meanwhile, back to the schools. Clearly, they cannot control the total environment of students. Educators are challenged more seriously than ever before to teach young people to evaluate media more critically and to grow in taste and discrimi nation as they use media in school and at home. The media specialists in the schools should be valuable partners in this endeavor. JTi.