Weekly+Response+1,+Edited

Weekly Response 1 Chris Kology, Edited Christopher Kology Mass Media and Children Weekly Response Paper January 30, 2010 **The Social Benefits of a Family Television** As a child I was primarily raised on the road. My father was a musician, and because of that my older sisters and I were always with him traveling from city to city. With that said, the only real form of media I was engulfed in was music. On my dad’s tour bus we hardly watched television, but instead listened to an obscene amount of music. However, as I grew older and my dad stopped traveling and we settled down in Asheville, North Carolina where we obtained our first, real family television. At the age of six I truly entered the world of television and film. As I stated before, we had a family television, so I have many memories of sitting around the television with my sisters, enjoying many different films. My oldest, and most distinct television memory is short, but vivid. I remember sitting down on the floor next to my sister Sam viewing the film, //Edward Scissor Hands//. Initially, I remember feeling afraid of Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Edward, but I quickly became obsessed with this film. I used to role-play the film with my sister; cutting branches outside until some sort of creature became apparent within the front bushes. I actually experienced my first of many groundings when my sister and I took my dad’s new, electric clippers in attempt to create a cat shape out of the front bush. Though media didn’t play a particular strong role in my childhood, I must state that I am extremely thankful for my parent’s strict television rules, having only one main television that was shared with the entire family. I have many friends today that were raised with personal televisions, and because of that apparent, social faults are evident when forced into a social situation. I don’t blame only personal televisions for creating this sense of awkwardness, but I do believe they play a major part in negatively impacting children. I feel as if children are unaware of family and social values, and with that noted, the media industry does nothing but manipulate children into desiring media, thus obtaining their own personal television; ultimately creating a secluded environment within their rooms. It is more than apparent today with the growing media world, but a decade ago it was hardly a school of thought. I must admit that as a child I watched a large amount of television. Every week my entire family would gather around the television, enjoying programs such as //Full House//, //Step by Step,// and //America’s Funniest Home Videos.// However, we all added our own commentary and bonded through these different television shows. Because of that very fact, I believe I am able to truly enjoy the benefit of family and the positive impact it had on my own, and sibling’s lives. Furthermore, after reading chapter one of //Young People and New Media,// by Sonia Livingstone, my theory of family life and television becomes even more apparent. Livingstone states, “Children are relatively unburdened by this sense of decline, by ideals of proper family life, of the moral superiority of reading or talking over viewing and surfing” (Livingstone, 2002, p. 23). With that said, information is implemented allowing for an even further belief that children are unaware of the impact of early media viewing and the benefits of sharing one family television. As a child, I wasn’t subject too a large amount of media, but with one television I was able to enjoy the experience with my family, resulting in a strong bond between my siblings and parents; thus creating a better knowledge of social interaction. **Work Cited** Livingstone, S. (2002). //Young People and New Media.// London: Sage Publications. __ EDITED BY: Jenn Lacko