Essay on the Impact of Television On Children

Children are like sponges they soak up all the information from the world around them. Since they are in an important stage of growth they are more susceptible to the influences they are exposed to and it is important to keep them safe from being exposed to negative or mature subjects at too young of an age. As with any other matter relegated in society individual actors like producers have a responsibility to the collective group of children that the material they publish will affect. This responsibility should be a positive one specifically one that the influences they put out have a overall positive influence on their target demographic and to do that producers and writers must be held to a certain standard by both citizens and governmental agencies.

Television is involved in much of the time and way kids learn to interpret the world around them. Due to how much time Children spend in front of a screen “18.6 hours”  as found by a Gallup Chart (Source G) television is specifically instrumental in helping kids understand the nuances of social interactions and the expectations the people around them hold. This is seen through the allegory that the episode ‘Buster Makes the Grade’ utilizes in order to show learned lessons and growth. During the episode there are many valuable lessons that are taught to their recognized target audience. Firstly there is character progression with the protagonist of this episode Buster, in the beginning he is described as  “absent-minded” with “lazy antics” on the day of an important test. During the episode through the help and comradery his friends display to him it builds up into the resolution of a moment of self realization Buster has that “He CAN do better”. As a result of friendship and self determination he had and the people around him fostered Buster was able to pass the test and more importantly pass into the 4th grade with the rest of his friend group.  This episode also utilizes universal themes to communicate important messages that all children should learn at one time or another. In this Episode producers used friendship, failure, and confidence to communicate the messages they had. Friendship is integral to how Buster passed the test as his friends were able to form a support system of encouragement as they “try to think up a plan to help Buster pass the test”(Source D).Children learning to be kind to their friends and that together they can accomplish hard set goals is demonstrably important because it offers kids a sense of belonging and of importance allowing them to also extend those positive feelings they feel towards others.  The failure Buster faces manifests itself in nightmares as he goes onto dream that “he’s and adult in the third grade” because he continued to get held back (Source D). The emotion of fear that is accompanied with failure may be hard for kids to reconcile with but the writers uses Buster as a tool to show the viewer that failure is not what matters its what you do after it that counts. Buster perseveres even though he’s failed and “Buster spends the entire night studying” through this he is able to pass the test. Now a mix of the two ,friendship and failure, is presented in the display of confidence Butser shows because he obtains it through the encouragement of his friends and the realization that his failure does not make him doomed to  continue to  fail rather he can succeed but he is the only one who can make himself achieve it. This episode perfectly breaks down to kids life lessons in a simple way that they can comprehend. Its also entertaining because its in a cartoon show format so there is humor and it  isn’t shown to them in a serious and convoluted tone which can become confusing to kids. What’s more important is that the writers and producers involved with this show understand they absolutely have an influence on their audience and choose to offer lessons to simple issues that are applicable to a variety of obstacles the audience of kids can employ in their life. They understood and met the expectations set to the responsibility they have to their audience which is much more  susceptible to changing their personality based on the media and influences they are exposed to.

Though shows like Arthur work to teach children these lessons episodes are only around 30 minutes long and accounting for commercial breaks it gets closer to the 22 minute mark. The concepts these shows explore should be further explained by children who do not entirely understand the messaging. As psychologist Douglas Gentile found in an Iowa State University research paper “parents can comment along the way and explain the messaging at the end” (Source E). Their concerns are fair as the found content kids consume has a correlative impact on their behavior. When shown educational material that employs aggression in their messaging children attempt to mimic it with one another. This establishes that the content producers and writers put out has a clear effect on the children watching it. More importantly it also draws a clear line that while producers ought to have a positive influence in what they produce this continues towards the parents and guardians allowing children to watch these shows. There are ways to mitigate and have control over the content that children consume and parents can “set limits and encourage playtime” (Source F). The reality though is time limits are great but do not mitigate the harmful impacts that can be broadcasted to the child during the time they watch it. Parents do have a lot of power over a child but the responsibility on what a child consumes cannot plainly rest on the. For example a writer when explaining complex ideas usually explains them through comedic tools. One of these is exaggerated and unrealistic violence which can cause “children exposed to educational programming to [become] more aggressive in their interactions” (Source D). Its also a responsibility of the parent to explain to the child not only that they should not use that violence but also and explain why the they shouldn’t. This is why it is so important to allow organizations like the Federal Communication’s Commission (FCC) to have a say on what is able to be shown in children’s television. It serves as a way to safeguard programing through its ability to make stations that target children show and “serve the educational and informational needs of children” (Source A). Even on a federal level there is some mutual understanding and agreement that producers of children’s media are held to a different standard because of the power they have over the consumer of the media. The FCC also considers advertisement to have an effect on media consumption and shortens the amount of ad space present during children’s programming. Though advertisement and the programming kids are exposed to are separate things both alter the perceptions of kids and should be regulated and held to a high standard by an enforcer. Although programming can get its messaging right and producers may already feel a sense of responsibility on what they make their must be a body to enforce this responsibility such as the FCC. If there is not a body to enforce this the finding’s of the Ohio University may only be the best outcome seen in a world that does not regulate or have a standard that people who produce children’s media must meet.

Though it may seem like producers shouldn’t have to compromise their visions on programing because consumers can always change the channel this is not a logically consistent position. Throughout our society many things can be left to personal responsibility such as education, healthcare, and housing. However for vulnerable people or those who cannot afford it society offers and attempt to covers the payment for them. This same sentiment should extend towards children’s programming as producers, have a duty to the collective population of children who would be affected by the content they write, much as they do in any other subject relegated in culture.