Department Of Media And Communication

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION

Assignment 7, option 1a

1. Introduction

The concentration of media research on television influences is an ongoing process, since these effects change and be altered becoming more visible and unpredictable in recent decades, where television industry has rapidly developed. The "media effects" tradition based on the fact that media is a powerful tool that influence the audiences (McQuail, 2010).

Children concerned as a different, special category of media audiences. According to Potter (2007, p. 55) the reason for this common sense is the fact that "children are regarded as being at higher risk for negative effects of media messages". Children are not developed mentally, emotionally, and morally in comparison with the adults. In addition, they have not a real-world experience in order to translate and understand the media texts.

This paper is going to examine the relationship between children and television and therefore the influences both positive and negative derived from television viewing in the general context of multidimensional issue of media effects. Particular emphasis will be given to the various "intervening variables" that contribute to television influence and govern the "media effects" tradition. The analysis will be also combined with the "cultural studies" media approach since as Buckingham (1998, p.140) argued the children’s relationship with television is "directly related with the cultural environment" in which live and act. The assignment will also deal with the television literacy issue and the effective actions should be implemented by adult citizens and the social and political institutions in order the children to be more active television users with critical view on advertising, and social messages filtered through the television productions.

2. The "media effects" tradition and television influence on children as a media audience

2i. The "effects" theories

Several theories relevant with "media effects" on children have been published elevating the influence of media as an issue of social concern. Robinson and Willett (2006, pp.7-9) claimed that the issue of media influences on children and especially the television (TV) influence caused a plethora of arenas of debate, e.g. the debate in psychologists’ circles regarding the passivity and the addiction caused, the debate regarding the promotion of violence scenes, the discussion about the vocabulary use or the debate referring to the stereotypes and the specific life-style presented.

The "cultivation" theory (Gerbner et al., 1980) based on the effects of violent scenes on television concluded that the long term exposure to this content leads the audience to cultivate a world perception relevant with what they see. "…we have found that long exposure to television, in which frequent violence is virtually inescapable, tends to cultivate the image of a relatively mean and dangerous world…" (Gerbner et al., 1980, p.30). According to this theory, violence is TV’s basic message and although other media have violent content, television violence is the most noteworthy, since mostly affects special audiences such as children.

Another theory which shows the multidimensional issue of media effects is the "social action" paradigm developed by Anderson and Meyer (1988). According to this theory, media audiences participate actively in mediated communication by constructing meanings and interpretations from the content they perceive. The communication process constructs the message and does not just deliver it. "…the content has been seen as a silver bullet shot from a media gun to penetrate a hapless audience…" (Anderson and Meyer, 1988, p.48). Depends on each viewer how understands the intentions of the producer, the deeper meaning of the messages conveyed and the final comparison of what it is on the TV with what it happens in reality. This is the point where cultural studies are involved with the issue of TV influence.

The "agenda-setting" theory is the today most dominant marketing approach for media industries. It is more obvious in TV industry because the profits of the audience enrichment are bigger than in press, radio, or internet. The television producers choose what stories to promote to which audiences, which events are newsworthy and how much television space to give them in order to create larger influence on television viewers, especially in political issues, shaping political perceptions and cultivating the desired political climate (McCombs and Shaw, 1972, p.177). The influence results from the images and insights which the TV creates in audiences’ mind eye by setting the agenda for what the specific audience should watch.

As a consequence of the previous theory, the "Media Dependency" theory was raised. Its main Idea is that social institutions and the society in general interact with audiences in order to create needs, interests, and personal goals (DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach, 1989). The dependency theory promoted a wider conception of media effects taking into account the entire social framework within which media work. As De Fleur and Ball-Rokeach (1975, p. 257) underlined: "Media do not exist in a vacuum". This perspective also relates the procedure of media influences with the cultural studies and the cultural background surrounding the society in which the audiences act.

2ii. Television influences on children: advertising, stereotyping, violence, racism, sexuality

As Buckingham (1998) underlines the research referring to television influence on children is incomplete and far from drawing a general conclusion. Nevertheless, it is an undisputable fact that television viewing is a major routine on children. According to the research held by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2011) children in the United States watch an average of three to four hours of television per day. It is also estimated that by the time of school graduation, children in developed countries, such as Unites States, will have consumed more time watching television than studying or being in the classroom. The overexposure to television is even stronger in developing countries and lower income families. As Gorn and Goldberg (1977, p.86) argued the urban poor children spend twice as much time to watch TV, while they are more prone to commercial advertising and television influences in general. In both cases television viewing can cause a range of influences either directly through the various programs or indirectly through the messages transmitted.

Advertising market mostly focuses on children because of the financial potentials this special audience offers. The majority of television advertising campaigns targets on children because they are concerned as an upcoming market (Moore, 2004, pp.161-162). For these great expectations, advertising is considered as a special communication sector which uses both verbal and non-verbal tools in order to persuade and create specific or even false needs to audiences. The interesting point regarding advertising effects is if children have the ability to differentiate the television programs from television commercials and if they are aware of the intentions of TV advertising. According to the pilot study of Bijmolt and Claassen (1998, pp. 171-194) based on 153 elementary school children regarding a new chocolate drink brand’s TV advertisement, it is concluded that children do have the ability to distinguish the programs from commercials and also understand the main target of advertising: «To make people buy things". Bijmolt and Claassen (1998, pp. 171-194) also noted that there are several "intervening variables" which affect children’s level of influence. The child’s age, the sex and the parental control and involvement in the procedure of the transmission of the advertising message have substantial effects on the child’s understanding of advertising. For example, an advertising of chocolate product or a hamburger franchise company can strongly impact on children’s nutritional preferences, habits or knowledge. But, the parental attitudes and their concern about children’s nutritional habits in the future can reduce the negative effects of advertisements brainwashing (Young, 1990), elevating the contribution of the family and the social environment as crucial to television influences.

As a consequence of the above, the television can affect the configuration of standards and stereotypes of children through the plethora of messages and images emitted. As Chaffee and Yang, (1990) argued the television is the most powerful influence on political socialization and beliefs about the domain social institutions such as the family, the school, the work, the law system and the political regime. The educational role of television is a sector which sparked many debates around the positive role of television on children, although most researches concentrate on the negative racial, genre, sexual and social "stereotyping". According to Maher et al. (2008, p.80) the ethnic representation in children’s advertising and programming is an important public policy that may influence children’s self-perception. Most cartoon characters are white skin people, clever, financial independent, and social acceptable in the environment they act. As Roeder and Bramlett – Solomon (2008, pp, 56-66) concluded in their content analysis research, although increased numbers of people of color have appeared in television programs and ads, white people are more visible and more likely to appear in main roles.

The genre representation is also a matter of debate and research. Eick (1998) in her research based on four different cartoon programs argued that stereotypic gender portrayals are indeed a reality in children's television. In all the cartoons studied, the main character was male in a heroic role. Females are also portrayed in main roles, but their actions appear supportive to the males. Regarding the job positions that cartoons usually hold, males rarely seen portraying roles that could be taken as feminine, but females often take jobs that could be traditionally seen as male such as drivers, and scientists.

Another issue of concern that adults citizens should take into account is the access and exposure of children to violence. Relatively to the above concerns, a lot of research is still ongoing examining the relationship between the viewing of violent scenes on TV and children's aggressive behavior. One of the most remarkable conclusions derived from the research of Hodge and Tripp (1986 pp.213-218) is that television violence is qualitatively different from real violence, but what happens on television has an impact on children's view of violence. By watching aggression, children learn how to be aggressive, even in cases where the character has "good reason" for acting violently e.g. a police officer shooting down a criminal in order to protect others. According to Liss et al. (1983 pp.175-187) those examples do not prevent children from the adoption of aggressive behavior and action. Of course, the violence could be translated in many ways such as pornography or racism and this is the most complex of all issues which leads the children "to find disturbing and frightening the violent scenes and neither enjoy nor learn from such programs" (Robinson and Willett, 2006, p.11).

3. The relationship between television influences and cultural environment: the"intervening variables".

Television either creates or reflects specific life status, beliefs and opinions. This process cannot be concerned as the unique influence on shaping children’s character and values. As Gerbner (1998, p.180) said the "independent contribution" of television means that the creation or the maintenance and expansion of specific beliefs and outlooks can be copied to an increasing exposure to audiences. The process of television influence is a result of a series of several factors as mentioned above, which Buckingham (1998, p.134) named as "intervening variables". The environment in which children live, the social and financial status of their family, the school environment, the educational status of parents and the time spending with their children in daily activities or hormonal factors are some of the parameters that should be taken into account when examine the television influence on children (Huesmann et al., 1984, pp.746-747).

The cultural and social environment is interrelated with the influence of television on children. It is the "total situation" as Newbold (2005, pp.28-31) mentioned, which refers to the historical background of audiences and their attitude, in combination with their relationship with the specific social environment (e.g. school, social status, economic conditions or religious beliefs). The cultural and social audience background is essential in order general consumptions and conclusions to be contributed. It is a multifaceted issue and procedure in which many scientific approaches should be used such as cultural studies, phycology, sociology and economy (Potter, 2011, pp. 896 – 915).

It is interesting and mentioned worthy the fact that television influence has a vast influence on cross-cultural studies. For example some love or violent scenes on TV programs or even commercials are not matched to all audiences, depending on those factors and norms which mentioned above. According to Shiraev and Levy (2010, pp.314-317) the "intervening variables" are related with cultural studies since they vary from country to country and from civilization to civilization. The censorship and media literacy each country uses based on cultural and social imperatives in the way that in some Islamic countries sex scenes are cut from television films or relevant themed commercial are not displayed.

4. Television Literacy, Effective "co-viewing" and Educational Media Schools

Children’s elementary understanding of television communication code is developed at a very young age. The "language" of camera movements and shot transitions are understood by most children, while they learn vocabulary through television programs by the age of four or five. As Buckingham (2005, p.18) claimed children after the age of five understand the typical television narratives and distinguish the central events from bordering ones, while also interpret the motivations of television characters. Television literacy plays an important role in understanding children’s emotional responses to controversial content.

The television literacy helps children to behave as active users from a very young age. In order to avoid the passivity, television should be used for education. For example, more television programs should be designed for children, focused on a variety of academic and social skills so as to help them preparing for school (Heather et al., 2003, p.47 ). In order to maximize children’s attention to an education TV program, producers should use those communication tools such as camera techniques and sound effects to draw children’s attention. The comprehension of transmitted messages and the repetition as the cheapest technique of drawing attention are the main TV producers’ technical tools.

But, just as media producers can increase the pedagogical and educational importance of television, so family can also play an important role in increasing the effectiveness of educational television programs. Parents can mediate in the educational procedure by "co-viewing" with children (Heather et al., 2003, p.52) and so participate in the schema: question - answer. According to Bryson (2012), the effective co-viewing is a form of training or educational course at home in which the participation of parents is highly recommended. Parents should follow a plan by pointing out the important views of the television programs, discussing the difference between TV and reality and addressing inappropriate scenes and behaviors such as violent scenes or racist actions.

Hodge and Tripp (1986, pp. 217-218) underlined that because of the overexposure of children to television, the media should be brought into the classrooms. Children will be familiar with television language and the messages that commercials promote and they will be aware of what behaviors are hidden behind the cartoon characters or what social deceptions lurked in prime time series or advertisements’ trailers. According to Bazalgette (2010) the television literacy education should have the following integrated parts: the cultural, which broadens children’s knowledge in different kinds of content, the critical, which develops critical skills in understanding media images and the creative one which develops children’s creative skills in using media for expression and socialization.

Governments should also enrich the relevant legislations by encouraging the establishment of non- partisan organizations and institutions, which advocate responsible entertainment such as the Parents Television Council (PTS) in USA. Such initiatives in combination with the restrictions which legislation emerges, can reduce the negative effects of television viewing. As Calvert and Kotler (2003, pp.379-380), underlined it is important to keep a proactive attitude to media policy issues. The most quality television programs which were available in the past on cable television, today are also accessible to poorer children via the commercial networks. Since the ongoing academic research provides information to policy makers, the gap between those who create television programs and legislation and those who enforce rules about the media marketplace will be reduced for the benefit of children’s television.

5. Conclusion

Television has both direct and subconscious impact on children’s attitudes, moral values, and behavior. This influence is surrounded by several social, political, and financial factors and this is the reason why the research on this issue is far from conclusive (Robinson and Willett, 2006, p.10).

Children's ideas about how the world works come from their experiences and from the attitudes and behaviors they see around them. Television programs produce and reproduce images which depict the global society including violent or sexual scenes. At the same time advertising market bases an entire marketing strategy on children’s needs and invests a substantial capital in ads targeted to children in order to create new desires and needs. (Anderson, 2005, p.3). According to Potter (2007) this derived from the fact that children have a lower level of cognition, emotional and ethical development and they considered as a sensitive and vulnerable category of people. This makes the need for protection and social concern even more vital.

But, television also offers some opportunities to children through the process of knowing better the reality and broadening their mental horizons. As Singer and Singer (2001, p.1) argued that children improve via television their school readiness, explore new knowledge and develop their curiosity about sciences and new interests. They also develop a critical thinking and attitude to the reality by the plethora of images displayed.

So, as long as children concerned a special audience with their own needs, the concerns will be raised and the regulation on children programming will be priority of researchers’ proposals (Wasko, 2010, p.469). Adults and especially family members and parents play a key role to the restriction of the negative effects on television. Parents should pay more attention on what their children watch and how they use the media in general, since the technological development and the high penetration of internet in all houses has as a result the increased use of media technologies including the web television.

Policy makers, governments and parents should give special attention to children’s television literacy. According to Davies (2001, p.3), while all children are born with "an innate human capacity to learn", television literacy requires some educated and trained skills. Children need to have a clear image of the world they live and the symbolic meaning of what they see on television in reference to the reality. This procedure varies depending on the cultural, political and economic background of the family.

Conclusively, it is clear that television can further improve academic skills such as school readiness and vocabulary, as well as behaviors and critical thinking practices and values. Television is neither positive nor negative for children and has a complex impact on children’s knowledge, beliefs and moral code. The television’s benefits are helpful for the update of the television production. As Fisch (2005, p.13) claimed, the relevant research and the methodological approaches help to bring the voice of children into the production process guaranteeing that the creation of new television programs will be tailor-made to children’s needs, benefits and abilities. This child-centered approach should be reflected in commissioning policies of media organizations along with the relevant restriction policies regarding the content of the programmes emitted.