I was listening in on an adolescent conversation as I awaited my bus this morning. The topic was divorce, or perhaps marriage? But the discussion consisted of reasons why couples should not marry; ever. This was a conversation that took my thought took my thoughts into overdrive. I could not fathom how this group, of no older than thirteen years, could even begin to understand the odds and ends of a obtaining a successful marriage. They shared ideas such as “why would you want to spend money on an expensive ring, when it’s just for show”, and “there’s no point in wasting time getting married, just stay with that person for a while and have kids because if you piss of your lady she can take half of everything”. In these types of situations the question is no longer where do these children get this, because society has established that the fault is due partially to the media, but the new issue at hand becomes: where are the parents and what are they doing about it?
What do teens know vs. what they think the know? There are a bunch arguments being made today based on media and the information that is being fed to the youth. I personally suggest that the problem has emerged elsewhere. The attention should be drawn closer to the ‘parental controls’ from which these medias are distributed around or even to their kids; t.v. shows, movies, magazines, internet, newspapers and etc.
For example, a survey done through the New York Times newspaper had revealed that 50% of kids enrolled in United State Schooling System have televisions in their bedrooms, and 70% of our populations third graders in this country have televisions in their bedrooms. This same study had also revealed that students without bedroom televisions perform substantially better on school administrated tests and exams. Imagine what these kids are watching on late-night t.v., and do these kids have accessibility to the parental controlled programs after hours that they wouldn’t normally have access to otherwise? The amount of media usage has drastically increased from 2004 to today. In 2009, children between the ages of 8-18 had acquired 1 hour and 17 minutes more then they had in 2004.
As active parents, institution faculty, and leaders of this media frenzied country it is our new responsibility to modify the amount and explicitness of the media reaching our children.