Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence in an Urban Context

The question of whether or not childhood exists today is a question that can be answered differently depending on which culture and society you are coming from. But in our scenario,  in the United States, I do believe that childhood exists. However I also do feel as if childhood is slowly disappearing as well. I agreed with much of what Postman was arguing in his statements. I was very much surprised when I found out that this was written many years back. If this argument about the disappearance of childhood was proposed many years earlier, then it is not surprising that this is a bigger issue now in our current society. “What was happening then is happening now. Only worse.” In our current society I believe that the media and technology is taking a great toll in the lives of many children. The media plays a HUGE role in the disappearance of childhood. Children these days have access to literally everything on the web. There is no stopping their curiosity. They have full access to the internet which may lead them to see and read things that are very inappropriate for their ages. This is where the children start to lose their innocence. I am a Sunday school bible teacher for 4th graders at my current church. Just a week ago we had a new comer come to our church. He was in 2nd grade and was using language that really bothered me. He was using profane language to all the other little children and there was no stopping him.

The music, the clothing that these children are wearing and listening to, isn’t much different from what an ordinary college student would wear or listen to. I am not trying to say that the clothing of children are EXACTLY the same as an adult would wear but their styles are very similar. Nowadays you see children trying to fit in with the latest fashion. I can no longer tell the difference of a Junior High school student from a college student because of the massive amount of makeup that they apply daily. Their way of dressing has changed so drastically that they almost look too mature for their age. The music that children listen to these days are the same music that is played on z100.The SAME music that older people listen to. I for one also listen to z100 and I find it very astonishing when I hear the music that a 4th grader today would listen to. Sure there are musical artists and bands that are solely directed toward children such as Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Justin Bieber and many more.

However in my opinion I do not see these artists as a great influence to the children in our society. What you see in the Disney shows are different from the gossip and the pictures that you see and find on the internet and in the media. In a recent document I have found states: “If you have a pre-teen daughter, you know that Miley is the star of “Hannah Montana,” the hugely popular Disney television series. This 15-year-old is the singing-acting-dancing daughter of country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus. “Hannah Montana” and Disney have crafted the image of this young lady as a safe role model for little girls. Even if you don’t have a pre-teen daughter, by now, you know all about the Annie Leibovitz photographs in the May issue of Vanity Fair. The photographs depict this 15-year-old girl in semi-nude poses with clearly lewd overtones.” This is where sexuality comes in. Sexuality might be the biggest concern in our society today. The children today have full awareness of what sex is and many start young. Shows about teenage moms of 16 are airing everywhere.

Today we live in a society where too much of anything is not good. Sure, the technology has its good uses, we now have access to everything.  However, technology is available for everyone to use, even children. The minds of children are being corrupted by the media and something has to be done to prevent this.