Jenn+Lacko's+memoir+page

Mass Media and Children Weekly Response #1 2/3/10

**__ A Media Jungle __** By: Jenn Lacko

Thinking about the worn out rustic orange colored carpet in the living room of my old house causes memories of when I was young to come rushing back at full blast. This is where a significant part of my childhood took place. The laughter, the screaming, the crying, the running around, and the media engagement all took place in the overused and over cluttered living room. Every toy, book, movie, and things of the like somehow made its way into the living room, causing a crazy and chaotic learning environment. What I have learned over the years from personal childhood experiences is that using and watching television and movies in the presence of family also provided me with one-to-one communication. Being engaged with a movie while my parents were around allowed for me to focus and gave me more appreciation for that movie and the media involved. What I have found looking back is that when my parents weren’t around I was less likely to care about the movie and would be overwhelmed with my disorganized environment. A perfect example of the observations I made above could be seen through my countless experiences watching //The Jungle Book.// As a child this was my favorite movie that I would often times run around screaming about, until someone would help me put it in the VCR. All of the stuffed animals and dolls in the world never make me as happy as //The Jungle Book// did. I have vivid memories singing along and dancing around the living room, dining room, and kitchen, pretending I was in the jungle with Mowgli and Baloo. While indulged in my fantasy Jungle Book world I would push my luck jumping up and down on the grey couches causing the pillows and cushions to go everywhere. I would also torture the cat and pretend he was part of the story. These acts were usually quickly followed by some kind of yelling from mom or dad saying “Jennifer, leave the cat alone, get off the couch and put the cushions back the way they belong,” thus causing my Jungle Book world to fade away. This experience of watching //The Jungle Book// brings me back to my original point of human interaction while using media. When my parents weren’t watching me closely while I was watching //The Jungle Book// I would become overwhelmed and over stimulated with my surroundings ultimately causing myself to multitask. Multitasking when I was little usually meant that the TV or a movie was on while I was playing with toys; however when my parents were engaged in the movie with me I had a tendency to interact with them and quietly devoted my attention to the movie. I must say as a child I was lucky because my mom stayed home with me and we spent a great amount of time together, looking back those were very precious moments to have. The connection I was able to make between my own experience and what is presented in the pages of Sonia Livingstone’s //Young People and New Media// is what she suggests about a family’s involvement in their child’s exposure to media. “When one’s starting point is a focus on the media, the story rapidly becomes one of ‘it depends on the context’, but when the starting point is a focus on family life or the home, the story instead become one of ‘look how important the media are” (Livingstone, 2002, p.11). I interpreted this to mean that a family who simply places their child in front of a movie with grow up to become less appreciative of media and will depend on it without completely understanding it. On the other hand when a family has intentions of interacting with their child while they watch a movie the child will become more aware of the importance of media. Human interaction while engaged will also lessen the likelihood for a child to multitask, (playing with other toys or engaging in something else that distracts a child’s full attention) and will teach them to be respectful of the media’s ability and importance. When parents interact with their child the child is also receiving the attention and love that they need at such a young and impressionable age. In retrospect I know that the experiences I shared with my parents while watching //The Jungle Book// were much more positive, because I received love and attention. These experiences also gave me more appreciation for the movie and the media than jumping on the couch and messing up the cushions ever did.

Edited by: Chris Kology

Livingstone, S. (2002). //Young People and New Media.// Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
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