By Matt Watkinson
Technology is ironic. From the invention of the wheel to flying airplanes, humans have relied on it to overcome obstacles.
But many argue that for every problem solved, a new dilemma emerges.
Cable television, home video and the Internet have allowed access to more information than was once fathomable.
This information has the potential to enrich minds, but can also lure the easily influenced away from essential activities — especially children.
Jane Ledingham, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa and a clinical therapist, says some television programs can help children develop essential skills like reading.
But, she adds, many studies have shown television can reduce a child’s interest in hobbies, sports, social interaction and community involvement.
The Media Awareness Network was set up to address these kinds of concerns.
“Children’s access to a wide variety of media has a huge influence on their socialization,” says the network’s Jan D’Arcy.
Set up by the National Film Board of Canada, the non-profit network developed teaching units on media issues for use in the school system.
All provincial education ministries have now included media studies in their curriculums.
D’Arcy stresses the network wasn’t created to decide whether information technology has a positive or negative effect on development, but to help families learn to manage the influence of the information age.
An influence that’s by no means small.
Statistics Canada reports 74 per cent of Canadian homes subscribed to cable packages in 1994 compared to 60 per cent in 1984. Seventy-nine per cent of homes had VCRs in 1994 compared to only 13 per cent 10 years earlier.
The Disney Corporation has seen subscribers to its cable channel jump to more than 30 million from just 5.3 million in 1990 and plans to launch a new 24-hour cartoon network this month.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission has licensed 54 new specialty cable stations since 1984.
Marita Moll, head of research and technology for the Canadian Teacher’s Federation and a frequent speaker on media issues, says this variety will encourage children to be more selective in what they watch.
Either that, or they will be overwhelmed and spend more time in front of the television flipping aimlessly from channel to channel.
Ledingham supports the latter. There’s already too much on the tube, she says.
And too much television can be a dangerous thing.
A joint Ontario Medical Association and Alliance for Children and Television study claims television inhibits active play time which strengthens the lungs, heart and muscles.
The study also says children who get ideas about nutrition from television are likely to make poor food choices. That’s because low-nutrition food like high-sugar cereals are the most frequently advertised products during children’s programming.
The study says children between the ages of two and five are preoccupied with on-screen action and can’t follow story lines.
Before the age of four, they can’t tell the difference between commercials and regular programming and are easy targets for advertisers.
But there are ways parents can control and shape the impact television has on their children, says Kealy Wilkinson, the executive director of the Alliance for Children and Television.
Along with placing limits on the amount of time spent watching television, the alliance recommends talking about what’s on the screen.
It suggests asking children why they like some shows more than others and getting kids to guess the outcomes of programs and how characters will react.
The Media Awareness Network recommends a similar strategy that applies to the Internet and video games as well.
A section of its Web site on becoming a “media-wise family” says: “The best way to capitalize on the media’s best offerings and to combat the negative influences of your child’s entertainment, is to watch, play and surf (the Internet) with your children.”
In today’s world, media literacy is important. When the Internet and video games are added to the mix, the variety of on-screen amusements available to children becomes even larger.
And while monitoring what kids are watching is important, many experts still say the key is concentrating on what they are doing, or not doing, in the real world.