Media Influence On Young Children

What Effects Do the Media Have on Young Children?

Shaqona Payne
Norfolk State University
February 2015

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The media has a tremendous amount of influences on young children as they try to
portray what they see in the media. The media exposes violence, body image, drugs, sex, and
also disrespect. The main means of media communications are television, radio, newspapers,
video games and the Internet, which are all used daily by the youth. Young children reflect what
they see in the media which has been causing issues in society and more criminal actions leading
to violence and drugs. The media effect young children socially, psychologically, and their
health. The purpose of this research is showing how interdisciplinary studies play a tremendous
role on younger children in todays society as we relate them to media issues
Over the course of time technology has been improving and more enhanced for younger
children. Children no longer go outside and play with friends but instead stay in and become
more acquainted with technology and gain more access to media coverage. The media has been
more acceptable in society today for young children but seem to cause negative influences.
Media has had a bad effect on a generation, mainly because; youth is strongly influenced by
media. Teenagers and children wish to follow the people, who get recognized and do what they
do to get noticed. (Shakee, 2015)
Socially younger children are affected by the media as children neglects interactions
amongst one another. Mass media newspapers, magazines, comic books, radio, video games,
movies, and especially television present a very different form of socialization than any other,
because they offer no opportunity for interaction. (Gonzalez, 2010) According to Ms. Barbra
Wilson (2008) social aggression involves harming others' feelings through social exclusion,
gossip, or friendship manipulation. This type of behavior begins to emerge as early as the
preschool years and is more common among girls than boys.
Psychologically children are effect by the media and can lead to attention-deficit disorder
and diminished academic. . (Donnerstein, Jordan, Strasburger, 2008) Children are being addicted
to technology which is the house of all media types. Mentally children act on what they learn and

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portray the characteristics of the media. Negativity this mentally influences a child and the way
they think. Mentally children are still developing and learning from what is right and wrong.
In a review article, Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents, published in
the April issue of Pediatrics (appearing online March 1), researchers review recent research on
the effects of media on the health and well-being of children and adolescents. Research has
found that media can influence childrens beliefs and behaviors in terms of violence and
aggression, sex, substance abuse, obesity and eating disorders. Heavy television viewing has
been linked with hypertension, asthma, sleeping disorders. (Donnerstein, Jordan, Strasburger,
2008)
Recent studies have shown that young children have easy access to all media activity. The
radio influences children with certain lyrics that they hear on the radio. For instances there is a
rapper who goes by the name O.T Genasis who has a song called Im In Love With the CoCo,
his lyrics are as follows,Bakin soda, I got bakin' soda, whip it through the glass, nigga I'm
blowin' money fast, nigga. This song is basically saying how much he loves the drug cocaine
and describes how it is made. This song is played on many radio stations and young children are
singing these lyrics. I hear children singing this song not knowing exactly what he mean and
there are some who knows exactly what Im In Love with the CoCo, represent. This genre of
music is making it okay to do drugs or even sale drugs.
In a recent survey by Teen People magazine, 27% of the girls felt that the media pressures
them to have a perfect body. 69% of girls in one study said that magazine models influence their
idea of a perfect body shape. Many males are becoming insecure about their physical appearance
as advertising and other media images raise the standard and idealize well-built men. A study of
4,294 network television commercials found that nearly one in 4 commercials includes some
type of sexual attractiveness as a base for the message. Young teens (13-15) indicate that a major
source of sex education is from television. The Mediascope National Television Violence Study

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found that children are: learning aggressive attitudes and behaviors, becoming desensitized to
real world violence, and developing a fear of being victimized by violence. (Body Image and
Advertising, 2008)
In conclusion, the media affects young children socially, psychologically, and their health
and well-being. In this research paper I found a few areas of discipline to reconcile the issue that
the media have on young children. Children have been more involved in the media which has
been an issue over the years. Children are no longer as active socially which can cause
depression, aggressiveness. Mentally the media plays a role on how children think as they try
and portray the things that are on television, in the newspaper, in video games, and also on the
radio. Children health and well-being has also been affected. Children have neglected activities
in society todays compared to years ago.
As an interdisciplinarian approach these disciplines has worked together as a common
goal. Children are being affected mentally and socially by the media. Parents need to get more
involved and control the access that their children have. These disciplines are integrated with one
another and teach how the study of interdisciplinary studies poses on any situation on different
levels of perspective. Gathering information, from these different discipline areas have shown
how one situation can pull together different perspective to help solve a better solution.
Literature Review
Young children are affected by media every day. Children idolize what they see and hear
in the media, which caused children to reflect what they that think is the norm. Every source of
media plays a role on how children view society. Television, radio, newspaper, video games,
social media all has an impact on children. Not all media is bad, however the bad needs to be
controlled because violence, sexual activity, and drugs are easily being reflected by young
children. This short research has shown what type of conflict that the media can have on younger
children on todays society.

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Work Cited

Donnerstein, Jordan, Amy B, Strasburger, Victor C. (October 28, 2009.) Health Effects
of Media on Children and Adolescents
Luskin, Benard ( December 17, 2014) The Media Psychology Effect
Byrne, Donn and Robert A. Baron. Social psychology. 8th edition. Boston.