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types of consumerism. Schools and parents are far behind advertisers in
finding the most effective ways of using media.
Children are especially susceptible to electronic media, and televised
advertising has a huge effect. Heavy viewers are drawn to the advertised

products, including unhealthy food products, and they tend to eat more
snack foods and be overweight. Social interactions are also affected:
Heavy viewers hold more traditional sex-role attitudes, behave more

aggressively, are less socially competent, and perform more poorly in
school compared to light or nonviewers.
Not all TV advertising is negative, of course. There have been efforts
through TV to modify behaviors such as smoking, drunken driving, and

poor nutritional habits. How children are affected by both positive and
negative advertisements also depends on such factors as parent–child
interactions, how children are disciplined, and even to some degree on

social–economic factors.
Advertising is not the only way in which television influences
viewers. Two additional, concerns about the effects of television are the

amount of violence, in both commercials and programs, and the amount of
time children’s television watching takes away from more creative and
intellectual pursuits.

Research on the impact of television viewing on academic
achievement indicates that such influence is complex in nature. Television
viewing takes time away from important social interactions, such as
conversation, storytelling, imaginative play, and for primary-school

children, the leisure reading that promotes literacy. We must remember,
however, that the amount of viewing, the kind of programs watched, IQ,
and socioeconomic status are all factors that affect children’s attitude and

achievement.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. How are all the members of our society influenced both directly and

indirectly by powerful media vehicles?
2. How do printed materials influence emotional, social, and intellectual
development of children?

3. Comment the following statement: ”From the books that adults read to
children, children internalize attitudes, feelings, and biases about their
own and other cultures”.

4. When did television’s substantial impact on children begin?