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Ecology of the Mass Media - Coggle Diagram
Ecology of the Mass Media
How does media affect socialization?
Influences beliefs...
Attitudes...
And Behavior
Variables:
Child Variables
Age
Cognitive ability
Gender
Social Experience
Psychological needs
Family Variables:
Economics (affecting which media is purchased)
Affecting what alternate leisure activities are pursued
Mediation (how much supervision is involved)
Bidirectional Variables:
What does the child bring to the media experience to change it? (Computer knowledge, how to download software).
How the media experience changes the child (internet browsing may provide vicarious experiences).
Media & their messages can:
Change experience
Enhance experience
Interfere with experience
Television Ratings Created:
Children's programs:
All Children (designed to be appropriate for all children)
Directed to older children: Designed for kids 7+
Adult programs:
General Audience: Most parents would find this suitable for all ages
Parental Guidance Suggested: Contains material which parents may find unsuitable for younger children.
Parents Strongly cautioned: Contains material which parents likely find unsuitable for children under 14.
Mature audience only: Specifically designed for adults
Movie Ratings:
G: General Audience: All ages admitted
PG: Parental Guidance Suggested: There is some material which may not be appropriate for children.
PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned: Some material may be inappropriate for kids under 13.
R-Restricted: Under 17 requires that a parent/guardian accompanies them.
NC-17: No one under 17 is admitted
Theories regarding how screen media influences children:
Social Cognitive Theory:
Children learn by observing role models on the big screen
Cultivation Theory:
Media content can affect viewer's beliefs about the world, which alters their behavior.
Motivation Theory:
Impact of media depends on how media is used and the individuals characteristics of the user.
Displacement Theory:
Media used for entertainment may displace important developmental activities (play, hobbies, sleep, study, physical activities, social engagements, etc.).
How do TV/Movies shape us?
Socioemotional development
Physical development & health
Psychological development & relationships
Cognitive development & achievement
Moral development & values
Violence on TV presents the following risks:
Learning to behave violently
Becoming desensitized to violence
Becoming fearful of being attacked
How to limit children's exposure to the marketing of sex/How to have age-appropriate conversations:
Limit exposure to sexualized media (learn about rating systems/use them)
Teach media literacy (discuss with children what they see or hear)
Learn what movies, shows, toys are popular so you can discuss them with your children
Challenge kids' imaginations to go beyond narrow scripts of certain toys
Let children know that you are available to answer questions they have about what they've seen/heard in media.
Talk with other parents about how they deal with sexualized media. Talk to their school as well.
Parents an mediate TV viewing by:
Controlling the number of hours of TV exposure
Checking ratings/evaluating what kinds of programs may be viewed.
Viewing TV with their children & discussing the programs
Arranging family activities other than TV viewing
Communities response to free, broadcast commercial programs has been to develop alternatives such as:
Public broadcasting service
Cable & satellite TV
Recording devices
Public interest groups
Corporation for Public Broadcasting concludes:
Reinforces reading/lecture material
Aids in development of common base of knowledge among students
Enhances student comprehension & discussion
Provides greater accommodation of diverse learning styles
Increases student motivation & enthusiasm
Promotes teacher effectiveness
Books/Literature can help children with:
Role models
Values
Cope with problems
Understand Feelings
Examining textbooks for biases:
Invisibility: Underrepresentation of certain groups
Stereotyping: Attribution of rigid roles to certain groups
Selectivity & Imbalance: Interpretation of issues/situations from only one perspective.
Unreality: Exclusion of sensitive/controversial topics
Fragmentation/Isolation: Separating issues, information, contributions of certain groups from main instructional materials (not integrating them).
Linguistic bias: Omission of feminine/ethnic group references, pronouns names.
Cosmetic bias: Superficial appearance of well-balance curriculum, giving illusion of equity.
Issues with internet technology (besides appropriateness)
Piracy issues over illegal transfer of copyrighted material
Privacy issues regarding ability to track usage patterns/gain access to data.
Capacity to hack into unauthorized information
Viruses/worms which can destroy data on computers
Unsolicited junk mail/spam
Risks with children surfing web:
Accessing Areas that are inappropriate/overwhelming
Being exposed to online info that promotes hate, violence, pornography
Being misled/bombarded with intense advertising
Being invited to register/provide info to unknown sources