2nd grade students at a Milwaukee elementary school wanted 10 more minutes of recess. Their principal told them to take their plea to social media and if the could get 1,000 likes they could get a day of extended recess.
I thought this was very relevant given our recent discussions about childhood obesity and children not getting enough exercise.
It
comes as no surprise that children’s minds are shaped largely by what they see
every day—whether that be through their parents, siblings, friends, or most
importantly the media that is constantly surrounding them. These
advertisements, commercials, television shows and movies have a much greater
effect than many people never realize on these children’s molding minds. What’s
most important to recognize is that children who watch violent/scary shows are
shown to have much more anxiety at a young age; “Finally a random national
survey conducted in 1999 reported that 62% of parents with children between the
ages of two and seventeen said that their child had been frightened by
something that they saw in a TV program or movie” (www.beliefnet.com).
Typically, what children are most afraid of is
violence, or the perceived threat of violence, such as Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians who is relentless in
chasing after the Dalmatian puppies. De Vil never succeeds in her attempt to
capture the puppies to make a fur coat. However, the threat is constantly
there, and it is a very gruesome one indeed. I used to watch this movie over
and over and I don’t remember being scared by this, but that is because I
simply didn’t understand what exactly it meant to make a fur coat. Surprisingly
enough, “…research supports the generalization that preschool children
(approximately 3 to 5 years old) are more likely to be frightened by something
that looks scary but is actually harmless than by something that looks
attractive but is actually harmful…” Knowing this, it is even more important
that parents stay informed about current movies because it is never certain how
a child will react to the movie. As children mature, Disney movies may be less
likely to affect them because their cognitive brains will be advancing--yet,
things such as the nightly news may begin to scare them. You really can never
be sure, but it is better to be safe than sorry and check out that new kids
movie for yourself before you let a child watch it!
As
a child, I always remember being very scared of the “Wicked Witch of the West”
in the Wizard of OZ. After learning about media effects on children, it is easy
to see why scenes like the one above are scary for children to watch. The
sounds used, the exaggeration of facial features, the bright green coloring of
her face, the long fingers, and her-weapon like broom are just some of the many
reasons why most children would cringe. Furthermore, this scene in particular
not only emphasizes the witch but also her frightening flying monkeys (Youtube,
2009).
In
the article by Weiss, one study was to see if a “predisposed photo” of a scary
creature would help desensitize the child to the same scary creature in the
movie (Weiss, page 18). Results showed that children were less scared of the
creature after seeing a picture of it (Weiss, page 18). Thinking about this
video, it would be hard to desensitize the child from the witch and flying
monkeys considering both of these are fantasy characters. Their emotional responses
could have been directly affected if they were shown a flying monkey or witch
prior to watching the movie.
Liam Heeks:
Along with most
of the other families around the country, my siblings and I grew up watching
Disney movies. From The Little Mermaid to Aladdin, to Beauty and the Beast,
they were all so much fun to watch as a kid. One thing that these films, and
all of Disney’s films, had in common was having a villain in the film. These
villains put fear into the child’s eyes and almost every time, the ‘good guys’
will save the day taking the fear away. These villains are usually portrayed in
a certain way compared to the heroes. This study examines facial features of
heroes and villains in Disney animated films, and the effects that these
features have on children’s perceptions of people.
The main featured differences for villainous characters to have
were: more likely to have darker eyes, arched eyebrows, thin and pointed noses,
a widow’s peak, straight hair (versus wavy), wrinkles, and appear to be older
than 30 years old. When presented with images of people with features similar
to these characters, they associate the negative personality traits of the
villains with the real people. This is a negative consequence causing
“prejudicing children against groups,” such as the elderly, who posses these
characteristics.
When showing pictures to kids
and giving questionnaires, the study found this idea to be true. They found
that the faces with no widow’s peak, rounded eyebrows, no wrinkles, blue eyes,
and the extreme hero face were rated more positively than the faces containing
a widow’s peak, arched eyebrows, wrinkles, brown eyes, and the extreme villain
face. The kids, after viewing these scary figures, have stronger stereotypes of
faces with any of these characteristics than children who watched fewer Disney
films. So, when looking at what movies to show your kids, rethink Disney
because Villains may scare your kids to the point of prejudging others with
similar facial features and creating stereotypes!
Maleficent –“Sleeping Beauty”
Maleficent’s evil knows no bounds as all of her insidious
plans are devised out of spite. With her devil-like horns, she is easily seen
as the most evil villain of all. If you don’t agree, look up “maleficent” in
the dictionary and the definition will be “doing evil or harm.”
Scar- “Lion King”
Not all Disney villains are
human as was seen in “Lion King” with Uncle Scar.With His scary eyes and ominous scar, it is no wonder why
children are afraid of Scar.As
noted, his pointed nose also is a point of reference with evil characters.
Marissa Dyson:
What about the
previews?
Many parents are very cautious about the movies that they allow
their children to see. They check reviews and ratings to make sure that movies
are not only appropriate for their children, but also that they will not be too
scary. Parents can control which full length films their children see, but what
about the previews? Parents have no way of knowing what previews will be shown
before a movie begins, and if you are in a theatre, you have no control over
whether or not your children view a potentially scary trailer.
In an article called “Parental Guidance Suggested”, Barbara Lippert
analyzes the reactions of many children to previews for movies that are
supposed to be kid-friendly. Lippert says, “With the tech breakthroughs in the
last 10 years, trailers have only gotten more intense, chaotic, and
overwhelming (Lippert).” Lippert believes that due to time constraint, the
makers of trailer must compress a lot of movie into a few minutes, causing
previews to be much scarier than the actual movie.
Some movies, Lippert feels, are actually adult movies, which are
“cross-marketed to kids” (Lippert). An example of this is Tim Burton’s Alice
in Wonderland. The Disney version of this story was made for children, but
this newer version is much darker. Lippert says she has a friend whose children
saw the Alice trailer before a children’s movie in a theater. The kids
were terrified not only by the movie itself, but also by Johnny Depp, whose
character in the re-creation of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
had already scared them.
Lippert explains that there are ways for movies to give a lighter
feel to scary parts. In How to Train Your Dragon, Lippert says, “…the
music goes from dark to lighthearted and triumphant, so most kids responses
positively”(Lippert). Lippert feels that the potentially frightening topic of
dragons in this film was well portrayed to children using sounds and music.
Lippert emphasizes the point that children younger than 8 years old
cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality, causing frightening films to
seem real, and therefore terrifying. When parents take their children to see
seemingly safe movies, they cannot control for potentially frightful previews.
Lippert recommends waiting for the movie to come out on DVD if children are
young and easily scared by intense trailers.
Thanks to Melissa Fanelli for this gem. It's not surprising that so many of these toys are either overly commercial and/or electronic in some form.
I'm also dying to know what you all think of the new "Lego Friends" for girls? Great way to get more young girls into building OR reinforcing horrid and limiting gender stereotypes?
Thanks to Jessie Lyons for remembering the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. She is another character where being overweight is linked with negative character traits. I'm also noticing a pattern that, oftentimes, the overweight and "evil" characters are women. Anyone else?
Hanna Cho shared this article. It relates to what we were talking about today with schools being so focused on standardized testing and, thus, cutting or shortening recess. Many schools are now using recess to interject related academic concepts. To a point, if the kids are still moving and it's relevant, I don't think I have a problem with this. What do you think?
Eating Disorders: How
Social Media Helps Spread Anorexia And Bulimia In Young People
(By: Christopher York)
Research has shown that media can
potentially have a very large impact on health in terms of self-image and
self-esteem. The media provides unrealistic body images that studies have shown
have an effect on young adults. Research has shown that body dissatisfaction is becoming increasingly common among young people. Another study suggests that females understand the
media and its potential body-image influences; however, these girls still have desires to be thinner. Another study explicitly showed the effects of media
influence by asking adolescent girls about their body weight. Almost half of
the group believed they were overweight and more than half were trying to lose
weight even though most of these girls were within their normal weight ranges.
Some researchers believe that this is
due to young people’s desire to model people in the media. One study found that a group of both boys and girls from age 9 to 14 were more likely to develop
diet concerns if they made an effort to look like figures in the media.
In the article by Christopher York, he
explains that research has showed how social networks and various other media
have also promoted the spread of eating disorders. Today, TV, magazines and
music videos promote the idea that thin is beautiful. It has even gotten to the
point where individuals who have negative body images can find a support group
on a pro-anorexia or pro-bulimia site that might trigger an eating disorder. It
is this risk that society must focus on reducing.
The adolescent years are a vulnerable
time for both boys and girls. In order to help children through it, education
about eating disorders and the media can help children of all ages develop a
healthy body image. Teaching children from an early age to view the media
critically can help them realize the unrealistic aspects of the media.
Adults in the life of the child should
also be attentive to symptoms of an eating disorder and should know that intervention and
strong social support can help increase the chances of recovery. Parents should
also be on the lookout for eating disorder support sites where participants
offer encouragement to one another in order to lose weight.
The Impact of the
Media on Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents
(By: Anne M. Morris and Debra K Katzman)
Epidemiological studies have suggested that the incidence of
eating disorders among adolescent girls has increased over the last 50 years.
The reported prevalence rate for anorexia nervosa is 0.48% among girls 15 to 19
years old. Approximately 1% to 5% of adolescent girls meet the criteria for
bulimia nervosa. Today, more than ever, adolescents are prone to concerns about
their weight, shape, size and body image, and as a result, diet to lose weight.
Little is known about how these body image- and weight-related concerns arise.
These behaviors have been suggested as possible risk factors for the
development of eating disorders. Many researchers have hypothesized that the
media may play a central role in creating and intensifying the phenomenon of
body dissatisfaction and consequently, may be partly responsible for the
increase in the prevalence of eating disorders.
This paper reviews some
of the evidence regarding the influence of the media on the development of an
adolescent’s self-perception, body image, weight concerns and weight control
practices. In addition, we examine how media content might be attended to and
positively incorporated into the lives of children and adolescents.
·The Dove Beauty Campaign explains that our ideal body perceptions are virtually
impossible to achieve when we compare ourselves to the media because nearly all
ad campaigns are heavily photo shopped and altered:
·This Anorexia Ad delves into the mind of a
teenage girl suffering from anorexia and also illustrates how her body image
disorder skews her true slim body (CAUTION: Includes Disturbing Visuals and Is Not Appropriate For Young Audiences):
The authors of this article review
changes in ideal female body types throughout history, comment on current
attitudes toward shape and weight in both men and women, and outline
interventions aimed at increasing healthy habits and fostering self-esteem in
youth.
The author explains this new
phenomenon of Facebook Depression experienced among adolescents and teens who
are engaged in social networking sites. The number of friends one has on
Facebook, their status as well as the status of their friends, and the
constantly updated photos may add to a teen feeling self critical and not
‘popular’ enough.
·Impact of Mass Media on Adolescent
Health: “The Dark Side”
This article gives parents
very useful steps in interacting with their children and to warning them against potential dangers in mass media content:
ØParents must be
media literate to help children to be media literate ØFamiliarize
yourself with youth media and culture ØParents can help
children in understanding the TV content ØParticipation ØTalk with
children ØExpress views ØResist
commercials ØGive youth the
power to make healthy decisions
This article reflects how
“the sparkling lights of multi media have dimmed the sparkle in our children in
numerous ways":
ØPsychological
development is affected ØLanguage
development is marred ØMedia effects on
innate temperament make children unduly aggressive or timid ØRole models are
developed from the media world which leads to distorted/unrealistic attitude
and lifestyle values ØCognitive
development is restricted due to lack of opportunity for active interaction ØPoor
parent-child bonding (TV displaces healthy interaction among family members) ØVision defects
can occur ØObesity ØIsolation, teen
depression, aggressive behavior and/or feeling of rejection ØPoor body image
which may lead to eating disorders ØCyber bullying ØSexting ØPoor social
adjustment, especially with peers
·Health Effects of Media on Children
and Adolescents
(By: Victor C. Strasburger,
Amy B. Jordan, and Ed Donnerstein)
The authors of this article
review the most recent research on the effects of media on the health and
well-being of children and adolescents. Recent evidence raises concerns about
media’s effects on aggression, sexual behavior, substance use, disordered
eating, and academic difficulties. They also provide recommendations for
parents, practitioners, the media and policy makers for ways to increase the
benefits and reduce the harm that media can have for the developing child and
for adolescents:
