Children and media

OUR NEW HEROES

Movies,TV shows,commercials, Magazines, computergames, Music-videos. WWF And so on…

POPULAR HOBBIES 3-8 years: One hour TV every day 45% of the nineyearold boys have a cell-

phone. 9-15 years : Computers are more popular

than any other activity! Teenagers: surf the Internet apprx. 40

minutes a day. United Kingdom:: kids under five: 30%

have a TV set in their bedrooms

AN IMPORTANT MEMBER OF THE FAMILY

We design our livingroom based on where the TV will be put !

We call the children in when it’s TV time! ”Important” TV events overrides any

other activity TV is used as a reward and as punishment Kids know how to…. Kids decide what to …

VIOLENCE IN MOVIES

The firste actionhero

Arnold Schwarzenegger, ”The Terminator” (1984)

INCREASING VIOLENCE

20 MURDERS

264 MURDERS

ACTIONHEROES The heroes are bullies Charming and funny The cops can kill without facing the

consequenses

ACTIONHHEROES Unfortunately – they contribute to the

build-up of stereotypes. The ”bad” guys are almost always

stupid,ugly,unshaven and colored ! The ladies rescued by the heroes are

much too often blondes and VERY stupid !!!

Above all: VIOLENCE is always the solution.

CHILDRENS TV HEROES Kids prefer cable and channels like

Fox Kids Violent heroes are ALWAYS heroes Pòkemon – Pocket Monsters Digimon

New tech Realistc and virtual characters and

environments Fact and fiction – where’s the red

line ??? Violence is more explicit New types of violence (”The Matrix”)

BECOME THE MOST POPULAR GUY ON THE BLOCK - WITH POKÈMON

95.000 Pokèmon-games sold in 2000

EVOLUTION The first

computergame with defined violence was WOLFENSTEIN” (1988)”

These are screenshots from: Return to… !

Active ? YOU are the shooting hero ! ”Virtual Reality” – inside the world of

the computer Unfortunately - you respond with

much moore violence than what is needed!

The new computergames

The new computergames- you’re using your entire body while playing

You’re using it to hurt others!

Popular violent games

”real” characters ”…like playing the

lead role in a film !” (”Max Payne”)

Grand Theft Auto 3

DOOM

CHILDRENS GAMES……..

”Aladdin – Nasiras revenge” –

6 years ”Action Man - Jungle Storm” –

4 years All Pokemon og Digimon games

..etc…

CHILDRENS GAMES……

Here’s a challenge! – Can any of you name of a violence-free game designed for children

REMEMBER: To a three year old child loud NOISE is violence !!!!

Thrilling reviews !!!!! Carmageddon: ”….the old ladies are

just begging to be run down by you car !….”

Hitman: ”..even here the game is impressing! The body is extremely natural…………………!”

www.barnevakten.no

Its easy to find – if you bother to look

“influence”

InvolvePervade

Impress

Influence

Move

Leave traces

Touch

Delude

Persuade

Stimulate

Lies !!!

WHAT DO KIDS UNDERSTAND?

1-3 : ”Anything ”live” is real ” 3-7 : ”most of what’s on TV is true” 7-10 : ”may be true” Puberty: ”it’s just a fictionary

version of the truth!

Factors that are shaping the kids

Upbringing Friends Seen violence – (eg domestic v.) Agressive in nature Mediaviolence

Violence on the screen

Kids get more afraid. Reality becomes more threatening

- ”it probably can happen here too!!” - 1 out of 5 teenagers are ARMED

Less empathy when confronted with tragedies

Violent computergames are more damaging than violent movies.

Violence on the screen

” Violent computergames are more damaging than violent movies.” WHY ?????

Because of the interaction and the fact that the child is controlling development and content

AGGRESSIVENESS -Mediaviolence > violent behaviour Smoking > lung cancer Children becomes less aggressive –

the less they watch TV (Stanford University)

ROLEMODELS 1 Kids copy violent heroes. They kick the one lying down Youth pick up ”tricks” from games

and action movies Violence has been made ”harmless”

- ”it’s only a movie……” Violence becomes the logical way to

solve disputes.

ROLEMODELS 2 Children are learning the patterns of sex roles.

Kids experience the uptight everyday life.

When seeing their rolemodels on TV the effect is enhanced

ROLEMODELS 3 Kids copy violent heroes. They kick the one lying down Youth pck up ”tricks” from games

and action movies Violence has been made ”harmless”

- ”it’s only a movie……” Violence becomes the logical way to

solve disputes.

Violence in society: The increase in facial damages –

that needed medical treatment:

1960: 3%

1995: 45%

THIS IS FROM A NORWEGIAN NEWSPAPER – ”TRIED TO KILL USING A ”SCREAM” MASK

.

VIOLENT COMPUTERGAMES

- Most games teach children to kill ! (David Grossman)

TRY TO TALK WITH YOUR FRIENDS

How do YOU feel about what your child is watching on the tube?

What computergames do fascinate your children?

Why do you think kids are drawn towards actiongames ??

What do you do when the child is saying: .. But all the other boys……

How do we take care of our children?

In Norway : 65% of all the kids under 14 !

THE BIRTH OF AN IDEA John de Mole from the Netherlands Scientists in a greehouse Big Brother-premiere fall 1999

REALITY-TV

The guy who:lies, bluffs, cheats, - and is truly an unlikeable person is highly rewarded . Gets millions of fans, hundreds of newpaperarticles and several websites !!! He is the TV hero of today !

REALITY TV ”Cops” Maybe the reason why

street viloence is so common in the USA ???

(The show is not shown in Canada - a country with a very low frequency of violent acts.)

Lots of kids are watching:

SOAP NEWS Every hour of the day !

New approaches

”Our attitudes have been turned – so that we now rejoice seeing other people in agony – when we should feel this as horrible!

Mike Presdee

THE PARENT-ROLE The less visible we are – the more

visible is the action hero Or : to ask a critical question : Why

do we have children ????

New shows ”Temptation Island” Nanny patrol The Firm ”I want to have a baby with you”-TV Millionaire

Kids are busy bees - as it comes to surfing the Internet

SECRET LANGUAGUE :-) :-D DRQL PRW RUGTDT

HappyVery happy

That’s cool

Parents are watchingAre You Going To Drink Today?

NOTE FROM A MOTHER IN SHOCK (b14) Do you want to? (g12) no (b14) are you a sissy ? (g12) no (b14) You have to undress first (g12) dunno (b14) Trust me – it’s great !….

PORN-SITES – FOR KIDS ???

Using brand names – like Barbi,Muppets etc. (Barbie, Muppets)

URL’s on ”safe” sites – are hyperlinks to x-rated sites-

Porn-sites often add a meta-tag that will take the child who is searching for – lets say – harry potter – to a porn site.

WEB-SITES FOR KIDS www.nrk.no www.tv2.no www.juniorlinken.com www.mzoon.no www.popit.no THESE ARE ALL Norwegian sites –

(but all countries have a lot of safe-sites.)

NETFILTERS

Net”nannies”…. Family filters :Can easily be disabled

……. ! Watch out for URL’s Kids a masters at code-cracking! Filter must NEVER replace the adult

responsibility to be present.

USE COMMON SENSE ! Never give up personal informations

on the net Don’t ever make a net- appointment

ALONE! Leave a chatroom when you suspect

foul play Always – tell an adult about what has

happened.

How to take care of the kids ??

How to….? By : Hide the accesscode to the internet

- Do not ever write it down under the mouse-mat!!!!!!!

Be a concerned parent ! Take the initiative ! Make one day a week a family night ! Talk about your feelings ! Be honest - and set the standards !

Health-damage - one out of every ten eightgrader

have troubles with their backs (Behavioural pshycologists Marit Boysen)

- Third graders are showing signs of stress and are more proned to injuries than before.. (physioterapist Ingeborg Laugrand)

KIDS ARE BEEING STRESSED !!! An active and very qick editing of

the pictures in a cartoon causes stress.

1997: 700 japanese kids were diagosed TV-epileptics –as a result of Pòkemon

TAKE CARE OF YOUR CHILDREN! Be a MODEL Learn the techniques Create alternatives Tell the truth Talk to other parents !!!! Be responsible

XENA

80% of the sponsors to this series were shocked to see the violence here !! As a result of one man efforts -The show was the first – ever – to be moved from daytime-screening to late night ( 04.00)

SpawnDarknessWhitchbladeInferno

OUR NEW HEROES!

WHAT CAN YOU DO ???? Be alert ! Report findings to the authorities Take action Become a member of a non violent

organisation Involve the schools in issues

concerning MediaViolence !

Researchers claim:

A fairytale about a little boy- about to be fried – is of course awful for the child to

hear – But –because it’s read on a warm grandmothers lap , The child will

get much less afraid than if it had watched the same story on a COLD TV-

screen

Internetsafety

What areas should we pay attention to ?

How can we help our kids ??

WHO IS IN CHARGE AT HOME ????

THE CHILDREN

OTHER CHILDREN FRIENDS PARENTS

Provide safety !!

IT IS YOUR CHOICE- !