Chapter 9 Ecology of the Mass Media Calculate how much time you spend watching TV a week.

Chapter Objectives 1. Ways in which the macrosystem, mesosystem, and chronosystem influence and are influenced by mass media developments. 2. Screen media in the socialization of children. 3. Print media in the socialization of children. 4. Audio and interactive multimedia in the socialization of children. 5. The ways in which parents, teachers, and communities mediate and monitor the effects of the mass media.

Mass Media? 1. What is it? 2. Does violence on TV promote violence in children? 3. What are the pros and cons of Mass Media? 4. Are programs gender/ethnic bias? 5. How can we enhance children’s viewing?

UNDERSTANDING MASS MEDIA “Media” refers to a type of communication. Mass media are shapers and spreaders of culture. Movies, Television: Shapers of culture

MACROSYSTEM INFLUENCES Communication Entertainment (right brain)

Broadcasting in the United States Subject to control by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). That is, the federal government controls the frequencies, transmitting power, and transmitting times of radio and TV.

Mass communication Characterized by private ownership and corporate profits. Characterized by private ownership and corporate profits. Broadcast (PBC)media in the U.S. are designed to Broadcast (PBC)media in the U.S. are designed to attract audiences to whom they sell products, SO they convey messages that are likely attract audiences to whom they sell products, SO they convey messages that are likely to influence attitudes and behavior. to influence attitudes and behavior.

Entertainment/Cable Channels Main emphasis Public airwaves, are not under the same obligation to serve the public interest as broadcast television. No comparable FCC rules for cable (pay) television or videocassettes. These developments led Congress to enact legislation known as the Children’s Television Act of 1990.

Children’s Television Act of 1990 Imposed a limit of 10.5 minutes of TV commercials each hour for children’s programming on weekdays and 12 minutes an hour on weekends. Community response to commercial television has been to develop alternatives Can’t control Can’t ban it Can’t ignore it

Parental Guidelines (TV and Movies) TV Y: all children TV 7: age 7 TV G: all ages TV PG: unsuitable for younger children TV 14: unsuitable for children under 14 TV MA: Mature Audiences only

Statistics on TV Viewing School-age (age 6 to 11) 23 hours of TV per week. Most of their viewing time is in the evening. Preschoolers- 15 hours per week: Time Spent Watching TV is Time away from Other Activities On the average, 3-5 hours per day for most children

As Urie Bronfenbrenner wrote: Like the sorcerer of old, the television set casts its magic spell, freezing speech and action, turning the living into silent statues so long as the enchantment lasts. The primary danger of the television screen lies not so much in the behavior it produces-although there is danger there-as in the behavior it prevents: the talks, the games, the family festivities and arguments through which much of the child’s learning takes place and through which his character is formed. Turning on the television set can turn off the process that transforms children into people.

©2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Concerns Screen Media Fantasy vs. reality Creative/ Imaginative play ValuesViolenceAdvertising

Extensive television viewing interferes with family: Effects Relationships Communication Resolutions to problems

Effects Family Life and Rituals Replaced extended family conversations around the dinner table Integral part of life Opportunities for shared experiences decreases

Reality and Fantasy Effects the ability to tell the Differences Where the Wild things are Harry Potter: “muggles” and “Wizzards”

Piaget and Literal Thinking Young children think very differently from adults. For example: 3-year-olds assert that a rock-shaped sponge really is a rock as well as looking like one. Children over age 5 can make the distinction. “Television substitutes its own image of reality.”

Effects Imagination Jean Piaget the thinking process involves a balance between the demands the outside world (Chrono) makes on us, and the demands we (Macro) make on the outside world. “Imaginative play is a symbolic transposition which subjects things to the child’s activity without rules or limitations.” Imagination through Harry Potter: fantasy, magic, mystery, and reality When a child plays, the world bends itself to the child’s wishes.

Effects of TV Imitation Television makes imagination subservient to imitation. While imaginative play and creativity may be reduced by heavy viewing, if an adult watches TV with a child, the adult can stimulate the child’s imagination by asking questions about the show.

Violence in TV and Movies Effects the ability to tell the Differences Evil doers in Hansel and Gretal

Effects Violence is defined as the “overt expression of physical force against others or self, or compelling action against one’s will and pain of being hurt or killed or actually hurting or killing. Violence on television is a concern because, over the years, there has been an increase in violence on children’s Saturday morning programs as well as on prime time television.

Violence While it may be difficult to prove that excessive viewing of televised violence can or does provoke violent crime in any one individual, it is clear that if children watch a great deal of televised violence, they will be more prone to behave aggressively than those children who do not watch TV violence. Children viewing violence on television Stimulates aggressive behavior Decreases sensitivity to violence Models antisocial behavior

©2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Messages Attitudes Behavior Sexuality Stereotypes Desensitization The gradual reduction in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure

Stereotypes: Ethic & Gender minorities Often associated with violence, servile occupations, or comic roles. Studies show that both African American and Anglo children accept television’s stereotypes of ethnic minorities and their lifestyles as realistic. Gender stereotypes have decreased on TV but are still prevalent in behavior, relationship, and occupational roles…Cinderella, Snow White

©2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Print Media How print media influences children Language, reading, and cognitive development Psychosocial development Literacy The ability to communicate through reading and writing

Effect: Children’s Reading and Communication Skills Children read fewer books when television is available to them. accustom to being entertained Unrealistic expectations of teachers (Sesame Street) However, television has the potential to motivate reading. Reading Rainbow Character’s detailed thoughts

Music and Video games.

Sound Media: Popular Music Girls listen more than boys. African Americans and Hispanics watch music videos more than Anglos. Boys generally prefer the louder forms of rock, but girls generally prefer softer, more romantic forms.

Music Preference African Americans report a preference for soul, rap, and rhythms and blues; Hispanics lean toward salsa; Anglos say they like all types of rock.

TELEVISION AND MOVIES MEDIATING INFLUENCES ON SOCIALIZATION OUTCOMES Parents can mediate television viewing by: Controlling the number of hours of TV exposure. Controlling the number of hours of TV exposure. Checking ratings and evaluating programs. Checking ratings and evaluating programs. Viewing television with their children and discussing the programs. Viewing television with their children and discussing the programs. Arranging family activities other than television viewing. Arranging family activities other than television viewing.

Enhance children’s viewing Watch the show with them Mediate the viewing experience Discuss the programs with them Suggest alternative solutions

©2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Concerns Video Games AggressionStereotypingValuesPrint Media