With the help of researchers and psychologists, advertisers understand what motivates children; they have in-depth knowledge about kids’ developmental, emotional and social needs at the various stages of their development. Advertisements utilize that analysis to tap into children’s behavior and dreams with very sophisticated marketing strategies. Even very young children today can identify hundreds of specific logos and mascots.
Parents have ready access to resources to help train their children to deal with the barrage of advertising they receive through media. The website “Zillions” is a teen’s version of Consumer Reports. There, parents and children can review the ratings for toys, crafts and games and compare the ratings to the marketing claims about these products. There is an award-winning children’s program called “Street Cents” that tests various consumer products for their “truth in advertising.” And other resources abound.
As media options have proliferated, so have concerns about the quality of media available to children and its impact on their lives and potential. Growing numbers of parents, educators, researchers and policy makers note the absence of quality programming for children and young people. Equally disturbing is the growing availability of questionable entertainment with gratuitous violence, sexual content, and negative role models. Numerous studies have documented the effects of media on children and the power of media in the lives of children and young people.
One psychologist explained, “Parents used to be the channel through which children learned about the outside world.” Family used to be isolated from the public as a safe haven where the parents determined when, if and what the child saw beyond the home. With the invasion of media, the family sphere is now permeable, and the outside world constantly pervades the living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms of our homes. An articulate scholar put it well: “TV takes our kids across the globe before parents give them permission to cross the street.”
Few of us would deny the power and influence of television and other media on children’s lives. Parents face the challenge of keeping media from becoming a wedge that drives the family apart; they also face the challenge of shaping their children’s values, attitudes and beliefs, rather than having today’s media be the major influence on their children’s future. Media’s impact in America’s homes is huge. Will it be used to enhance children’s well-being or detract from the influence of the parents?