Children growing up today use and learn from a wider range of media than ever before and we hear them referred to variously as ‘the digital generation’, ‘the net generation’ and the ‘electronic generation’. For some years now teachers of all age groups have been giving more attention to the new media and the ‘popular culture’ it propagates because of their place in the lives of children. So they should: the time children spend with television and other media sources such as films, magazines, computer games, popular music and the Internet takes up by far the most significant part of their leisure time (Buckingham, 2004). And it is from these sources of a popular culture that even young children begin to develop attitudes, values, priorities and preferences (Close, 2004).
So the products of the mass media pervade children’s lives, products where the main motivation can be the maximisation of profit rather than quality. We worry with some cause about young people being exploited by programme makers and advertisers and being introduced to unsavoury things like violence, extravagant celebrity lifestyles and what some would consider worthless activities.
But many educators want us to accentuate the positive contribution of the new media to knowledge and understanding about the world. We can help here by encouraging young people to be critical and reflective about the information and influences coming from the new media and not to be merely passive consumers. One great appeal of the new and popular media lies in the communication between young people it makes possible. Websites are usually interactive and many children enjoy surfing pop fan websites, playing computer games and seeking out information about hobbies and interests on the Internet. And of course e-mailing and texting are extremely popular ways of keeping in touch. According to information on the Nesta website children read books only for about 15 minutes a day, watch TV, DVD or video-film for about 200 minutes a day and use the computer about 80 minutes a day. But often some of these activities take place simultaneously, and while doing their homework! The following facts and figures show how far the new media have become embedded in the everyday lives of children.
Facts and figures based on David Buck-ingham’s paper given at the ‘Beyond the Blackboard’ conference, 2004
The following percentages refer to children in the UK
80 per cent have a home computer
70 per cent have Internet access
80 per cent have a games console
55 per cent have cable or satellite TV
25 per cent [of households] have a video camera
4 per cent attend museums, art galleries or the theatre
46 per cent do not read books for leisure
What is the significance of all this for the classroom? It is bound to be of concern to many of us that more than half of school-aged children say they do not read for leisure and only a tiny number seem to participate in traditional cultural activities such as going to the theatre. Some would say that the new media is rich and varied enough and, in some cases, of a quality to offer alternative satisfactions and benefits. Others, myself included, believe reading a book calls on the mind and its imaginative processes in a way that offers a unique experience. So there is a strong case for valuing the traditional cultural forms alongside the new. Nevertheless, as other entries suggest, teachers need to be aware of the aspects of the newer media that have captured the interest and imagination of children (Bromley, 2002; Lambirth, 2003). They can bring into play the skills on the computer and the Internet children have acquired to enrich class activities and projects. Digital cameras can be used to create images to add to computer produced stories and non-fiction accounts. There is every reason to hope that children’s embracing of the new media will stimulate creative activities of all kinds, rather in the same way as has happened in the artistic community.
Please see the above ‘see also’ entries for information about the contribution of particular media like television, radio, the Internet and film to children’s learning and enjoyment.
Bromley, Helen (2002) ‘Meet the Simpsons’ in The Primary English Magazine, 7(4).
Buckingham, David (2004) The Other Teachers available on www.nestafuturelab.org/events (based on a paper given at the ‘Beyond the Blackboard’ conference at Robinson College Cambridge, September 2004).
Close, Robin (2004) Television and Language Development in the Early Years: a Review of the Literature. This is a summary of evidence given to a Literacy Trust conference exploring the relationship between television and early language development, in March 2004. It is available on The Literacy Trust website: www.literacytrust.org.uk/research/TV
Evans, J. (2004) Literacy Moves on: using popular culture, new technologies and critical literacy in the primary classroom. London: David Fulton
Lambirth, Andrew (2003) ‘They get enough of that at home’, in Literacy, 37(1).
Marsh, Jackie and Millard, Elaine (2000) Literacy and Popular Culture: Using Children’s Culture in the Classroom London: Paul Chapman.
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