Status of Childhood
February 14, 2011 by Michael Pagan
Childhood in the current generation is dwindling every year. Children are eager to grow up faster each year thanks to modern technology and the media’s exposure of sex, violence, and profanity in television. They are not, however, entirely to blame for this new movement.
If you look 0n television now, it is much easier to find television involving sex, drugs, and violence than it was ten years ago. Children now watch MTV with shows like Skins and Jersey Shore instead of more appropriate television shows. Movies such as Transformers contain more and more visual effects to portray violence as cool. Video games now, such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, contain characters killing others in or doing illegal acts involving drugs and sex. Since video games are becoming more realistic in graphics, it is easier for children to relate to the characters in the games as well. Even sporting events which generally are considered safe for children are getting worse thanks to athletes getting arrested or being involved in scandals more often and cheerleaders wearing more revealing clothes. Approximately 6.6 million children aged between 2-11 witnessed the famous wardrobe malfunction during halftime of the 2004 Super Bowl. Even if a child does not play games or watch tv, it is easy for anybody with a computer to search for these things on the internet. The lack of role models and the ease of information make it too easy for children to be exposed to things too early.
As a baseball coach, I’ve noticed that one problem is the way parents raise their children. Today, it seems as if children are controlling the parents more than the other way around. It is not uncommon to witness children around the age of 10 using cell phones or and Ipod. When I was growing up, I had to use a quarter at a pay phone if I was going to make a call. Instead of drawing a line for the kids, parents give in to the demands so that their kid won’t feel out of the loop. Kids now use profanity when speaking to their parents and instead of reprimanding them for using it the parents just let it go. It is should also the job of the parents to supervise what games and television the kids watch and play. Although it is hard to do so because you cannot watch the child every second, there are controls that the parents can use to prevent them from watching certain things when they are not around. The problem is most parents do not know how to use it. The ones that do know how to use it sometimes go too far and do not know where to stop and as a result encourage the child to rebel because they cannot do it. Unfortunately with growth of the internet seeing no end in sight, I do not see this trend ending anytime soon.
Sources:
http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/facts/mediafacts.asp
http://www.theimproper.com/798/tiger-woods-scandal-rachel-uchitel-a-hamptons-party-girl
http://www.destructoid.com/grand-theft-auto-hot-coffee-class-action-suit-settled-147140.phtml
