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Post new topic   Reply to topic Is the Media Corrupting our Children?
lunexor



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 PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:23 am Reply with quote        
I recently was drafting a college course essay, on the effect of media and children these days.
I found myself, after reading a few sources, writing about how media isn't to blame for children's inappropriate and violent behavior.
Which is rather odd, because I truely believe video games and such aren't good for children.

Alright, I'm sounding like an idiot here, my mind is a bit fuzzy.

So, what do you think?

Is media corrupting our society, children, adults, etc?

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 PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:43 am Reply with quote        
Corruption lies on society itself; we can't just lay all of the blame on the media.

Sure, the media doesn't exactly provide us with good role models per se, but there are also peers - other children - that corrupt future generations. Parents have never been the best example either; they play the whole "Do as I say, not as I do." bit way too much, and telling a kid "Well, what I do is bad, so don't do it!" doesn't really help. It should be obvious that kids won't listen to their parents; that they're more likely to follow their lead, but parents just need to grow up themselves and refrain from doing things that they don't want their children to do.

Oh, but of course, there are and will always be those children that see the repercussions of what their parents do and decide not to do that, but not every child is like that. I just believe that before we try to make a better society, we should work on the society’s domestic lives before that. Starting from the root of the corruption is always the best start. The media can wait as long as parents, peers, siblings, ect. shape up and do what's right, so that we can lead our children.


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 PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:02 am Reply with quote        
i think its all down to what the parents let there kids see!! media is like life.. everyone lies, everyone has moments they'd rather forget.. seeing things like that isn't really going to change anything, kids are going to see this stuff no matter what(its all being thrown into cartoons now too)... anyway.. i'd lost my point xD

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 PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:03 pm Reply with quote        
I believe that media has gone WAY off course from its original purpose; good examples are Fox and CNN. You can watch those stations for no more than an hour and see who they cater to. Fox tends to sympathize with conservatives and CNN tends to be on the side of liberals. This is wrong. Media should be neutral and simply report the facts without throwing their own feelings and emotions into their stories. Leading back to the topic, does media corrupt our children? Of course it does. I've seen countless children lately foaming at the mouth for Obama. Do they honestly know anything about the man other than the fact that he's President of the US? No. How do they learn to love the man so much? From their parents. And how do the parents learn to love the man? From the media. Legitimate like of a person is one thing, but being told to like a person is another. I'm sure some of said parents do all of their own research and through said hours of research, develop their own opinions. But, we all know how the majority of people get their knowledge. They let someone else tell them what the truth is and simply accept it as fact. A good example is my sister. She was a hardcore supporter of Obama during the election. But, my sister is a complete idiot who couldn't tie her shoe without someone instructing her through it. She has friends who watch CNN and MSNBC and then relay what those news stations told them to my sister (because she only watches horror movies and mtv). She then gets excited about the man and loves him. But, if you asked her to name 3 of his policies, she'd only be able to repeat (1) end the war (2) free health care for everyone and (3) more jobs. Ask her to name 4 policies and she'll just blink at you. And what's sad, is she funnels her ignorance to her children. She would have them jumping around, screaming "Go Obama!". An example of how media influence corrupts children. Fox is no better, of course. My dad is a good man, but he is just as bad as my sister when it comes to letting other people tell you how to think. He watches Fox and listens to the big 3 conservative talk show hosts on a regular basis. I swear, I can be listening or watching the same thing as him at the same time and he'll act shocked and amazing at what he's told; it's definitely true... because they told him it was, right? It may be, it may not be... he won't do his research to find out. The most annoying part is that later in the day/week he'll be talking to someone about what he heard, and repeat it as if he knew all along. As if he did the research and he was CERTAIN that's how things are. Then the dominoes fall. Eventually, children will overhear what the parents absorbed from the media. Where do you think that information goes? Why do you think liberals breed liberals and conservatives breed conservatives? Because they were born with that mindset? The media really does have too much power over today's youth.

Edit: Obviously, the media doesn't affect ALL children; but you weren't asking that. Just wanted to clarify that before someone says that I'm narrow minded Laugh

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Angel



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 PostPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:55 pm Reply with quote        
    This is the case I always present on this subject:

    The media is a solid substance. The words are right there. It's up to us to interpret them and decide (subconsciously) how they will affect us and what parts of us will change because of it.

    The media does not corrupt. It's people's perceptions of the media that do.

    Let's say the media writes a story about how a gay guy was cruelly beaten and attacked by a gang of teenagers. A child risen on the basis that you should accept everyone will get very sad over the situation. A child risen on the basis that gays are terrible wretches will see it as some kind of victory.

    That's just basic psychology.

    Tl;dr - Kids are affected by the media based on how they've been trained to think and react to situations. The "training" comes from upbringing.


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 PostPosted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 2:24 am Reply with quote        
I actually was thinking today about how the media portrays women. My friend was telling me her horror story of how she was brought to tears because she had to change in front of skinnier girls. It made me sad to think that years of bullying and and the media constantly portraying skinny beautiful women as the ideal has made my friend so uncomfortable with her body. Slowly over the years I've been learning that beauty is a number of things, and have grown to accept myself for who I am.

If I have kids, I don't want them growing up to feel so insecure with themselves. I want them to know that they don't have to be a certain way to be accepted in society, people are all unique and different.

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 PostPosted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:48 am Reply with quote        
You're right Embla, women are given a rough time because of the people the media tend to idolize. I was happy to see that there's going to be a new dating show with only plus-sized women. It'll be interesting to see where the show goes. Unfortunately, the cynic in me says that the American public just doesn't want to see overweight people all over tv... but I'm hoping the viewers prove that wrong.

@Angel - That's a good argument too ^^ Perhaps the media is just doing their job and its the way the viewers are interpreting the information that leads to the problems.

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 PostPosted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:17 pm Reply with quote        
Really ? I haven't heard of that show, but I'm happy they are doing it =)
Personally I think it will do pretty good, not amazing (because you will get the people who are not interested) but good .

Transcendence



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 PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:48 am Reply with quote        
I think that maybe even more than anything it is possibly parents that corrupt the kids today. one kid hears something from their parent then he goes to school and spreads it to other kids. i mean the media today is horrible, but I dont really think it is the route of the problem. If parents really had a problem with it they could stop thier kid from watching it. But just going to school would corrupt a kid these days.
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 PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:40 pm Reply with quote        
The problem with the media isn't the media, it's the parents. The media just shows what's going on, does what makes money. If a shooting game makes money and a kid goes out and kills someone because of the rpg, is it the media's fault or the parents for buying it in the first place?

Parents can't allow their kids to watch sexual music videos and buy them violent games and then blame them when the kids have over-active imaginations and start problems. If they don't like it, there's blocks that they can put on the tv and internet.

But instead they don't want to blame themselves so they blame the media. Sad.
Susano-wo



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 PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 5:48 pm Reply with quote        
First off, there needs to be clarification.
*'media'. Short for News Media. generally synonymous with news/news related opinion shows and writings

Thus, video games are not 'the media.'

Video games as a whole are neither good or bad for kids, or anyone else for that matter. If your 8 year old son becomes a muscle headed misogynist from playing GOd of War, well, first off, why was he playing such a game--you as the parent should have been paying attention--, and secondly, it reflects that he has a weakness to it in his character, as well as a lack of competing values.
Any other V.G related issue can also be related to things that were present in the child already, or lack of parental supervision.
Oh, the kids that shot up Columbine played Doom!(outdated even by the time that shootings happened). So did most of my friends, none of which have shot up any schools.
Oh, it disconnects you from reality! Only if you don't do anything else. Also, going back to pre-existing proclivities, (ooh, alliteration!) You can find anything to disconnect. See the various types of extreme Japanese hobbyists, or some of your more extreme Anime fans, etc.


Now on the media. Left Wing and Right Wing american politics (not the same as Conservatism and Liberalism--American's don't know what those are, really)is like a Blue Gremlin and a Red Gremlin. Both cars suck, they are just dressed up differently. Both major parties are essentially Corpratist. THe only difference is brand. which Corps endorse and Lobby to which Brand of Politician.

And the news media are generally owned either by ideologues of one 'Wing,' or people looking to make a buck, and create stations endorsing one or the other 'side.' So yeah, American media is generally worthless. I get better news from the Daily Show than NBC Happy
Keito



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 PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2009 2:35 pm Reply with quote        
Haha, the daily show! Right on!

It's not really all that hard. Just be responsible with your kids. It's like I said in another thread. Watch your kids, don't use a child leash.

But that's not to say you shouldn't use blocks/filters on your TV and internet. That IS being responsible. And by any chance your child does get there hands on a game/movie or something that they're not ready for yet... Discuss it with them and make sure they understand reality/fantasy, right/wrong about it, etc.

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 PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2009 11:30 pm Reply with quote        
The "media" or "video based entertainment industry" shouldn't necessarily be entirely blamed for doing their job. They're paid to tell you whatever it is they're told to tell you by the network.

Games are literally an escape from reality, at least in my own opinion. I've been an avid gamer and net goer since I was a little girl, and, if I had been influenced differently, I know that my ideals and self-worth probably would have been far different from what they are today.

It's been said before and I'll say it again. Parents, if you think the media is making your kid act like a spoiled little brat, you need to take a step back and think. Who's letting them watch television? Who's not spending enough time with them that they're WATCHING such programming, and not only that, who's not teaching them proper morals and discipline to act differently?

The people want someone to blame, so they blame the people who cry all the way to the bank. If you notice, it's always either the past generation (I'll say about two generations past, close to the 80's age) that are constantly blaming music, television, and videogames for children with absolutely atrocious behavior.

They never blame the parents unless they're abusive. Parents don't discipline or teach their children properly, that's what makes a bad child. They follow their example, or they chose not to. You can either be a great model example for your child or the best bad example. It's entirely up to you, the parents, on how you raise your children. They're small, they're weak, and they have no idea what they're supposed to think.

You fill their heads with small hints and ideas and you guide them with your own example, parents. Don't blame Spongebob because Benjamin decided to call his little sister a fat faced blubber gut. That's not Nickelodean's fault, seeing as one (They don't ever use that insult on the show), and two, they learn it from you and their peers. I can't put all the blame on bad parenting, it's their peers, too.

But then again, that stems from bad parenting from their peers parents as well. They go to school to learn, so of course they'll pick up the habits that teachers and other students get. I did for sure. I went to highschool and had never said a single curseword in my life. When I left, I was swearing like a sailor. But I taught myself that it was wrong to be so disrespectful, and I grew out of it.

Television and media doesn't necessarily influence anyone, they show what the people do or don't want to see. The do wants are the beautiful people living the rich life or having horrendous scandals, and the do not want is politics, the news, murder, things along those lines. Media just gives another outlet of expression, it's not telling you want to think, it's not telling you how to live.

You decide for yourself what you think is right for you to live. If you decide that you want to be a thin super model, go for it! If you want to be a fat slob that lives in your mother's basement, go for it! (Just stay away from my house)

If you're weak minded enough to be influenced by such things, then you don't deserve the right to complain about it. Parents, get off your asses and raise your kids instead of putting them in a room with cable.

Thank you. Happy


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 PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2009 11:56 pm Reply with quote        
It's passable. But I think the larger problem is parents and guardians letting kids do what ever they want. I work in child care, and I have seen a lot. Like the two year old telling his teacher "Get the fuck out of my class." and when it was reported to the mom she laughed and said it was cute. Or the 3 year old who used scraps of construction paper to teach me how to roll a joint. Parents didn't think that was cute, but there was no discipline either.

It's easy, for the most part, to tell which kids get free reign to do wtf ever and who gets disciplined. I've seen kids with strict parents who play violent video games who still grew up to be good people. And kids who weren't allowed to play those same games but had no discipline grow up to be rude, volatile, inconsiderate people.

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 PostPosted: Sun May 03, 2009 12:42 am Reply with quote        
I think we all need to stop blaming TV and video games for kids being brats and start looking at the parents. It's the parent's responsibility to monitor what their childen are watching. I think it is INCREDIBLY unfair to blame the people behind a horror film or an R-rated movie for a child's behavior after viewing the film when the parent fails to realize which media is and isn't appropriate for their child and act accordingly.
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