Today, television and screen media, in general, receive a lot of criticism due to its aggressive marketing and the psychophysiological effect on people. The experts in the documentary Consuming Kids note that media companies market adult content to children who are too young to react to it without negative consequences for their behavior and worldview (Media Education Foundation, 2008). At the age of six, girls are told that they need to be sexy and pretty, and boys are urged to be aggressive and tough (Media Education Foundation, 2008). Movies that used to be R-rated are PG-13 now, and they include profanity, violent and sexual content, as well as depict alcohol, tobacco, and drug consumption (Media Education Foundation, 2008). Although these things used to be for adults only, media companies alter their rating systems to market their products to younger consumers, raising them loyal to their brands.
The radio program “The Case against Television” provides several reasons why television and screen media pose a risk to viewers. They rely on violence to keep people’s attention, destroy people’s ability to think critically, and affect children by showing them advertisements (Insight & Outlook, 1999). They erode communities by turning watching TV into a private activity and destroying the tradition of story-telling (Insight & Outlook, 1999).
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In my opinion, the most alarming case mentioned in this program is that screen media affect neural development during early childhood. According to Joseph Chilton Pearce, exposing children to content that includes both visual and audial stimuli inhibits the development of their neural system (Insight & Outlook, 1999). Being exposed to pictures accompanied by sound, the brain has everything it needs, and it does not make an effort to analyze information and create internal pictures. As a result, the cortex does not develop as it should, and children grow up less imaginative and creative.
- Insight & Outlook. (1999, April 12). The case against television. KCBX Public Radio.
- Media Education Foundation. (2008). Consuming kids: The commercialization of childhood. Available at www.mediaed.org
