A Question of Balance...

As my son plays his umpteenth round of Club Penguin or watches YouTube to go through Club Penguin "walkthroughs", I can see him so involved in yet another media related activity. Given popular opinion in parenting circles, should the parental guilt be kicking in? Sometimes it does when I am in a conversation about television and media with other parents, even though I know the literature is diverse on this topic. At 5, he is so mad keen on this, that is dominating his play. But then, when he was 3-4 years old, it was all about Thomas the Tank Engine day in and day out; in all its forms (books, toys & the television series in particular). It was so interesting then, that I used this play and digital media use in a small case study last year. He seemed "one track minded" (pardon the pun), but his play was far more layered than first met the eye. What he was learning and how he played was fascinating.

There has been a lot of literature, that is heavily promoted, about the negative impact of children's media use, with prominent critics such as psychologist Aric Sigman. Sigman is very vocal about young children and screen use. But opinion seems so utterly divided and scholars Catharine Lumby and Duncan Fine, here in Australia, have written Why TV Is Good for Kids: Raising 21st Century Children, which puts the issue into perspective. As Lumby and Fine (2006) comment;

"It's quite natural, of course, to be concerned about the effect of different media on children. Children are vulnerable. They need adult love and guidance. But rational concern is one thing, blind fear and unthinking prejudice is another. And unfortunately it's the latter which too often dominates debates about children's media consumption" (p. 57).

Although this book is a few years old now, it does make interesting points on these issues and it does relate to screen use, other than television. Additionally, digital media is emerging as a very valuable learning tool in the classroom and at home. From a media education perspective, such media and technology can be taught critically, and children can discern what they watch. They are already active in their media viewing.

When I observe my children's media use and play, it is multi levelled. They do not simply sit in front of a screen and passively watch it at all. They never have. We have had numerous Puffle parties, Club Penguin missions and so forth. Not merely copying either. They really think about it, and these offline Club Penguin missions are well thought out and are like problem solving role play. Also, my 6 year old daughter is so interested in ballet that she has been finding Nutcracker ballet videos on YouTube. We went to a local ballet company's performance of The Nutcracker over Christmas, and she has been enamored with it ever since. She enjoys watching the same scene performed by ballet companies from all over the world; Dance of the Dolls or The Snowflakes by The Bolshoi Ballet, the San Francisco City Ballet and so forth. Then she dances in the kitchen with what she sees on the videos and can identify the exact track to play on the iPod.

She has learnt that there are many different versions of the same ballet, and that it is a ballet that has been performed all over the world. She knows all of the music and can identify what dance belongs to what orchestral piece. The YouTube access has fuelled her learning on this topic, and she enjoys analysing, in her own 6 year old way, the variations in the same scenes between ballet companies.

From my experience, children do use media in a balanced environment and combined with their interests, it seems to work pretty well. Whether it creates an interest or enhances a current one.

References:

Lumby, C. & Fine, D. (2006). TV villains: media panics. In C. Lumby & D. Fine (Eds.), Why TV is good for kids: raising 21st century children (pp. 55-96). Sydney: MacMillan

Sigman, A. (2005) Remotely Controlled: How television is damaging our lives. Ebury Publishing: London.