Effects of the Media on the Youth

01-07-13

English 155

The Influence of the Media on the Youth

In the essay I will be discussing the negative influence the media has on the American youth. Well let’s start with some of the benefits of the media. Most importantly the age and the quality of the media your child is entertaining has much to do on if it is harmful or beneficial. For example for children that are under the age of 2 there are no positive benefits that they can gain from Tv or Radio, If anything they will pick up on the negative things such as adult language and gestures. At around the ages of 3 to 8 years are when children are most susceptible to learning both good and bad things. Video games can be a good source of information and learning for an adolescence child, but some violent video games and television programs and movies can be harmful to a child by the way they perceive it and compare it to the real world around them.

The ways that the media are beneficial for younger children are, for example shows like sesame street teaching them how to count or the letters of the alphabet, Or computer games that teach audio and visual coordination. For children that are older the media can have intellectual benefits, I believe that the best and most educational programs that a child or anyone can learn from would be documentaries, simply because they are insightful and educational and don’t favor nor is it biased towards the good side or the bad side of a current event or topic, they allow you to see both sides of a situation, the pro’s and con’s only then you can make a fair decision based upon what you observed. Certain video games can help develop problem solving skills and help develop critical thinking skills. Sitcom television shows can help develop a child morally by comparing the lives and families of the ones on tv to their own. There are many social benefits as well like joining online chat groups like myspace or facebook. These websites not only teach children how to type...