Dr. Vartika Nanda: Media Educator & Prison Reformer: Marginalised Communities: Children and their representation in media

Apr 2, 2018

Marginalised Communities: Children and their representation in media

Abstract

Media’s presence in children’s lives is vehemently ubiquitous. Today, Indian children spend almost six hours a day with media. The potentially negative consequences of children’s media consumption receive a lot of attention. Yet media’s unique power and reach can also be used to educate children and enrich their lives. Television, which once dominated children’s media consumption habits, is now joined by computers, video game players, cell phones and other connected devices. The result is that children today are completely immersed in media experiences from a very young age.

Introduction

Media is everywhere. TV, Internet, computer and video games all vie for our children's attention. Information on this page can help parents understand the impact media has in our children's lives, while offering tips on managing time spent with various media. Today's children are spending an average of seven hours a day on entertainment media, including televisions, computers, phones and other electronic devices. To help kids make wise media choices, parents should monitor their media diet. Parents can make use of established ratings systems for shows, movies and games to avoid inappropriate content, such as violence, explicit sexual content or glorified tobacco and alcohol use.

Studies have shown that excessive media use can lead to attention problems, school difficulties, sleep and eating disorders, and obesity. In addition, the Internet and cell phones can provide platforms for illicit and risky behaviors.

By limiting screen time and offering educational media and non-electronic formats such as books, newspapers and board games, and watching television with their children, parents can help guide their children's media experience. Putting questionable content into context and teaching kids about advertising contributes to their media literacy.

Taking into account this great amount of engagement & rising violence against children receiving media coverage, all journalists and media professionals have a duty to maintain the highest ethical and professional standards and should promote within the industry the widest possible dissemination of information about the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and its implications for the exercise of independent journalism.

Media organisations should regard violation of the rights of children and issues related to children's safety, privacy, security, their education, health and social welfare and all forms of exploitation as important questions for investigations and public debate. Children have an absolute right to privacy, the only exceptions being those explicitly set out in these guidelines.

Journalistic activity which touches on the lives and welfare of children should always be carried out with appreciation of the vulnerable situation of children.

Even the journalistic coverage and subsequent exposure of the Swat Valley encounter experienced first hand by Malala Yousafzai falls in the grey space of such vulnerability that children are put in, themselves. The journalistic question raised by Malala Yousafzai's tragedy is this: when parents make their children vulnerable by placing them in the media spotlight, are journalists ever obligated to act in loco parentis and exercise restraint? And if so — when and how? In Malala's case, at least, there's no easy answer. Perhaps the extensive coverage of Malala helped put her at risk. But it also highlighted her passionate and courage — and the brutality of the system she was fighting against. Whether that trade-off was worth it may depend, in the end, on whether she survives.

Guidelines

Journalists and media organisations shall strive to maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct in reporting children's affairs and, in particular, they shall

● strive for standards of excellence in terms of accuracy and sensitivity when reporting on issues involving children;

● avoid programming and publication of images which intrude upon the media space of children with information which is damaging to them;

● avoid the use of stereotypes and sensational presentation to promote journalistic material involving children;

● consider carefully the consequences of publication of any material concerning children and shall minimise harm to children;

● guard against visually or otherwise identifying children unless it is demonstrably in the public interest;

● give children, where possible, the right of access to media to express their own opinions without inducement of any kind;

● ensure independent verification of information provided by children and take special care to ensure that verification takes place without putting child informants at risk;

● avoid the use of sexualised images of children;

● use fair, open and straightforward methods for obtaining pictures and, where possible, obtain them with the knowledge and consent of children or a responsible adult, guardian or carer;

● verify the credentials of any organisation purporting to speak for or to represent the interests of children.

● not make payment to children for material involving the welfare of children or to parents or guardians of children unless it is demonstrably in the interest of the child.

Journalists should put to critical examination the reports submitted and the claims made by Governments on implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in their respective countries.

Media should not consider and report the conditions of children only as events but should continuously report the process likely to lead or leading to the occurrence of these events.

Principles

For the benefit for children themselves, how events including them are covered, how events are presented to them; 4 basic ground Principles were laid down to keep children both informed yet at the same time not deter their development as individuals. Why does this separation become important for children? It is because they are directly affected by the things they see on the screens. Children are neither mentally developed enough to question things or rationalise fantasy from reality nor hold the mental grit to distinguish right from wrong(morals & ethical dilemmas); any biased information or ethically wrong or immoral information can affect them negatively which is antithetical to their development.

Over the past 30 years there has been extensive research on the relationship between televised violence and violent behavior among youth. Longitudinal, cross-sectional, and experimental studies have all confirmed this correlation. Televised violence and the presence of television in American households have increased steadily over the years. In 1950, only 10% of American homes had a television.Today 99% of homes have televisions. In fact, more families have televisions than telephones. Over half of all children have a television set in their bedrooms. This gives a greater opportunity for children to view programs without parental supervision. Studies reveal that children watch approximately 28 hours of television a week, more time than they spend in school. The typical American child will view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including more than 16,000 murders before age 18. Television programs display 812 violent acts per hour; children's programming, particularly cartoons, displays up to 20 violent acts hourly. Schools, hospitals, and community groups may hold free workshops on topics such as taking control of kids' TV watching. They can make a difference in the way media impacts on their kids. If they limit, supervise, and share media experiences with children, they have much to gain. When parents help their children understand how their media choices affect them, they actively control their media use rather than giving in to the influence of media without thinking about it.

● Children have an absolute right to privacy. The highest ethical and professional standards in reporting and covering cases of children must be observed such that in all publicity concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be the primary concern.

● The child’s dignity must be respected at all times.

● Children have the right to be heard. Access to media by children should be encouraged.

● The mass media is a partner in the promotion of child rights and the prevention of child delinquency, and is encouraged to relay consistent messages through a balanced approach. Journalistic activity which touches on the lives and welfare of children must be carried out with sensitivity and appreciation of the vulnerable situation of children, so that children are not re-victimized or re-traumatized.

Bibliography/Sources

1. https://www.unicef.org/southafrica/SAF_publications_soulbuddiez.pdf

2. http://aaina.org.in/kallola/docs/NCPCR-media-guidelines-for-children.pdf