THE IMPACT OF MEDIA ON CHILDREN

According to World Health Organization (WTO) children should spend only 1 hour and less on digital media per day. However, the statistics showed, that average pre-school child spend more than 2 hours per day on digital media.  (Poulain, 2021)  Although, it may seem, that media influence only children’s physical health because if they spend the time with media, they usually sit in front of computer or with their phone on sofa and do not move. The mental health issues are very serious as well. These problems can then occur especially in school, because the children suffer from hyperactivity, conduct problems, and inattention. Further, the overuse of media can influence children’s ability to communicate.  (Poulain, 2021)  This essay will focus on 3 main issues connected with children and media – violence in media and its impact on children, food advertisements and its impact on children’s health, and last but not least, on cyberbullying, which can have very dangerous an...

  https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-are-the-effects-of-cyberbullying-460558   https://www.singlecare.com/blog/effects-of-cyberbullying-on-youth/   If you want to learn more about cyberbullying, you should definitely visit these two pages. It defines, what exactly cyberbullying is and how does it relate to the topic of media, why do people cyberbully, how does it look like, and what effects it may have on children.  (Team, 2022) The effects on children can be emotional, such as isolation, anger, or powerlessness. The effects can be also mental, for example, depression and anxiety, low self-esteem, academic issues, or suicidal thoughts. Children also can skip school, use drugs, or drink alcohol, which belong between behavioral effects. And last, but not least, physical effects may appear as well, such as eating disorders or sleep disturbances.  (Gordon, 2021)   https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320244728_Impact_of_Media_Violence_on_Children%27s_Aggre...

  Mari Radzik, a clinical psychologist in the division of adolescent and young adult medicine at Children’s hospital in Los Angeles says, that “the reality is that social media is part of the world we live in, and it’s nothing away.”   (Preidt, 2022) And Dr. Radzik advices, how should parents help their children in dealing with media. Due to the media, teenagers can suffer from many issues, such as “changes in mood, eating and sleeping habits, as well as isolating in their room.”   (Preidt, 2022)   So, Dr. Radzik recommends to parents, that they should begin a discussion with their teenagers by using “I” instead of “you”. Parents should try to start the conversation with “I noticed this and I am really worried. Can we talk about it?”   (Preidt, 2022)   instead of, “You’re on Instagram way too much and that’s bad for you,”   (Preidt, 2022)   Dr. Radzik says. And he also emphasizes, that children always have to know, that their parents are always he...

  A child psychologist Kate Eshleman, PsyD, talks about the dangers, which social media can bring to children, how we suppose to talk to children, how we should keep them safe, and how to explain, that they should not take everything much seriously on the social media.     The majority of social media are conditioned by an age limit, usually 13 years. But currently, 33% of children between the age 7 to 9 have at least one social media app, and 50% of children between the age 10 to 12 use at least one social media platform. Dr. Eshleman says: “Social media makes it easy to compare oneself to another,”  (Pediatrics, 2021)  the she continues with: “most people put on social media what they want to see. And by using social media, all of us have the ability to access endless information anytime we want to and that can be very hard for kids.”  (Pediatrics, 2021)  With that being said, it is obvious, that to orient in the field of media is very hard for child...

  An article wrote by Ruth Coffee in March 2022 tells us about the bad influence of media on children. Most likely, everyone imagines social media, when we are speaking about bad impact of media on children. But have you ever thought about the huge impact of TV on children? If children spend much time in front of TV, it can “shorten attention span, distort body image, work in conjunction with other factors to escalate obesity, create fear, increase aggressive and anti-social behaviors.”   (Coffee, 2022)   The main issues, that children are not able to recognize what is a marketing scheme in TV, so thus they are targeted more by the advertisements than adults. So, the advertisements for food, especially fast foods or sweets can have a highly negative impact on children’s health. For example, obesity can be very dangerous for children and it can result from these specific advertisements – fast foods, sweets, and sweet drinks. In this situation, parents have to help their ch...

  A study, done by Common Sense Media in March 2022, showed that children used media in 2021 more than ever. The usage of media is 17% higher in last two years, which is more than in the four past years together. Children between the age 8 – 12 are spending 5 hours and 33 minutes on media now, whereas before it was 4 hours and 44 minutes. And the children or rather teenagers in the age 13 – 18 spend 8 hours and 22 minutes with media, especially on their mobile phones. Of course, that it was highly influenced by the pandemic of Covid-19, but with no doubt it is terrifying. Mainly, the children of poorer families were affected by the increased use of media because they did not have more activities, which they can do.   (Moyer, 2022) Statistics show, that children spend most time on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. What impact it can have on them? Especially on Instagram and TikTok people posted only their best pictures or videos, which are usually modified with the help of variou...