The Deterioration of Childhood Innocence Due to Media and Consumerism

Children have no preconceived notions as they are not yet tainted by experience and they say things both honestly and sincerely as they were taught. They don't ever sugar coat what they say because they have no reason to and they have not adapted that practice yet into their young lives. They are spontaneous and are very perceptive. They are very focused in what they want and there is no question about it. I always remember when I was a child and I would say something to catch my parents attention they would always exclaim "out of the mouth of babes!" I find I say that as well when our son says something that brings a smile to my face and a realization that he makes some amazing observations as he expresses them in his own way.

In the article entitled “Screen Addiction Is Taking a Toll on Children” Jane E. Brody discusses how the youth is facing a problematic issues with electronic media causing them to become unhealthy and hindering their normal development. First, Brody points outs that a great deal of electronic media usage can conflict with children’s schoolwork. The writer also indicates that adolescents who spend a great deal of their time playing video games tend to block out the outside world and become anti-social. In addition, she states that “young children under the age of two should not be exposed to electronic media because a child’s brain develops rapidly during the first years”. The author also indicates that young children learn more efficiently by

Childhood is a social construct that has been weaved together by societal norms and domineering perspectives. Childhood is not a physical or mental state but an abstraction that has been melded by society as time has progressed. In Karen Sanchez-Eppler’s excerpt titled “Childhood” from the novel Keywords for Children’s Literature, she explains how the attitudes and atmosphere surrounding childhood have vastly changed throughout history to yield the general, modern conception of childhood. Children have been deemed adults in the Middle Ages and childhood has been a vaguely regarded concept. However, as society has become more progressive and developed, an interest in distinguishing the young from the older individuals

As a little girl, I saw the world in the best light simply because innocence clouded my judgement. As a child, I was innocent of mortality, as a teen hope, and as a young adult love. However, later on that innocence took on the role of ignorance. Not in the sense of not being knowledgeable or educated on the matter, but rather knowing it all too well that I choose not to acknowledge it. Innocence can be served as an instrument to block out surroundings when problems arise. It is an illusion of reality to protect what the individual desires to be true to what is actual. In Wendy Cope’s poem “Reading Scheme,” Cope writes about an affair more from the perspective of children by using the villanelle form to illustrate the inability of the

Childhood is an important time in a person’s life, a time where one can be carefree and do as they please without having to worry about what others think of them. During this stage of life, children are groomed and prepared for the transition between childhood and adulthood to be as smooth as possible. However, in Heather O’Neil’s novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, Baby throws herself into the adult world without giving any second thought or even having the proper knowledge to survive or even to manage herself. This causes her to follow the wrong paths and trust the wrong people. Baby grows wise beyond her years, and soon becomes stuck in the middle of the two worlds, as she is too young for the adult world but too old for the child world. This traps her with her having nowhere else to go except continue on the path she is already heading. Baby’s loss of innocence at such a young age showcases that one cannot properly mature and be ready for the future without having a stable childhood. This loss is shown through Jules’ lack of parental ability, her exposure to the adult world at a young age, and her struggle with herself. Adding all three together causes damage to Baby that no one should experience.

Throughout time and history, the concerns of many have been made regarding the influence of the media on children and our young people. Although media, its various forms and those who are in control of them have changed throughout as time has progressed, the concerns still are the same. Plato wrote about the influence that poets had on young people of his time in the same way that those who have analyzed this issue today have revealed the effects of literature and television on today's children.

When reflecting on one’s childhood, one either views it as a blissful time in their life, or a hellish society in which they suffered greatly. While both scenarios are very different from one another, it is arguable that both parties experienced a loss of innocence in this time frame.The loss of innocence is something which happens to everybody, sooner or later. Growing up in society, children are exposed to many different concepts. While these concepts play an important role in everyday life, some of them may end up destroying a child’s innocence. Dealing with other people and communicating properly play an essential role in everyday life, but people with malice on their agenda may end up destroying the innocence of others. Even something as simple as learning the countermeasures to deal with the malevolence of others causes a person to lose their innocence. In order to be successful in everyday life, it is necessary for one to confront the harsh reality of our world, which would destroy their innocence.

Benjamin Alire Saenz in his novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of The Universe, John Knowles in his novel A Separate Peace, and Sarah Ladipo Manyika in her article “Coming of Age In The Time Of The Hoodie”, demonstrate that coming of age involves a loss of innocence.

Many parents agree that their children grow up entirely too fast. The phrase “don’t link” is a common phrase parents’ use as they see their children’s innocence disappearing in front of their eyes. In Sharon Olds, “Rite of Passage”, she presents a mother’s observations of her son and his friends’ mannerisms and behaviors at his birthday party. Through her use of uses of imagery, irony and similes Olds shows how a boy’s exhibition of stereotypical adult behavior, in his attempt to prove he better than his friends, results in a premature his loss of his boyhood innocence.

Postman (1994:75) argues, it is television as we know it that is causing childhood to ‘disappear’. He believes there are several reasons to support this notion, most importantly, is the idea of accessibility to adult information. Prior to television only fully literate adults had access to this information. People watch

Childhood is an important part in a person’s life; it is a time when children can be carefree without having to worry about the future. During this time, children are groomed and prepared for the transition between childhood and adulthood to be smooth. However, in Heather O’Neil’s novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, Baby throws herself into the adult world without having any knowledge on how to survive. This causes her to follow the wrong paths and trust the wrong people. Baby grows beyond her years, and soon becomes too old for childhood, but too young for adulthood; she is stuck in between the two worlds with nowhere to go. Her loss of innocence at such a young age showcases that one cannot properly mature and be mentally stable in the future. Baby loss is showcased through Jules’ lack of parental capability, her exposure to the adult world at a young age, and her struggle with herself. Adding all three together causes damage to Baby that no one should experience.

Television is affecting childhood on many different levels. “Many parents have misgivings about the influence of television” states Marie Winn author of “The End of Play”. (Winn 76) One concern is the introduction of adult issues. Marie Winn’s article reflects on what children are being exposed to. Stating today’s “Counterculture kids were [are] casually exposed to all sorts of adult matters-drug taking, sexual intercourse”. (Winn 77) She then points out the “interest in boy-girl interactions is replacing play in preadolescents”. (Winn 78)

Television, music, video games, and other form of media are all things that are fun and sometimes educational for kids, but can be a bad influence on children, depending on the content. These all should be used to teach children how to solve problems and expand their mind, rather than teaching them to kill people and portraying someone negatively. The images and stories shown to children and teenagers make it difficult

In today’s society, there are a number of factors that affect a child’s ability to learn. The media, for good and for bad, is the primary teacher of American youth. This environment reflects life itself, sometimes in a corrupt way, including the positive and heinous parts, along with the beautiful and hideous parts, as well as the charitable and violent parts. It is almost impossible to protect American youth from experiences reflecting the adult world when the media invades homes and becomes so much a part of everyday living. “American teenagers spend 31 hours a week watching television, 10 hours a week online, 4 hours a week reading magazines, and 17 hours a week listening to music” (Miss). Even though mass media is a huge part of a

"Impact of media use on children and youth” explores the good and bad effects that media can have on a young child’s development both mentally and physically. In the beginning of the article, they provided examples of how watching television can expose young children to violence, sexuality, and offensive language. The author made an interesting point that connected an increase in violent behaviors with children who watch violent