Pleased read the assigned reading for class and then respond to the following questions: To what degree might children and adolescents be vulnerable to media messages and images? What role does our level of cognitive complexity (make sure you understand this concept) play in the deconstruction and interpretation of media messages? To what degree do we "use" the media to create our own experiences and effects? How do the media affect the socialization process? Can you cite an example from your own life?
Due: Sept. 9 @ 5 p.m.
It's interesting to note the year this was published- 1995, even before the penetrating ever-present mobile internet media became available. It even sights at that time the decline of the role of family in adolescent life. I like how teens don't use media for information.
ReplyDeleteThe article states that no matter where a teen moves in the country they can find someone in their area who has a similar interest- I think this is far less true today, exacerbated by the idea that they can find kindred communities online more easily. The article also discusses how teens are carving out a sub-culture for themselves as determined by their choices in media. A step deeper into modern times and we can find these sub groups segmenting themselves- Just because a kid likes punk rock doesn't determine he will be full engaged in that community or lifestyle. This was previously dictated by those in your immediate area and it was much easier to asses the effect of a media choice on a lifestyle.
This freedom to choose lifestyle not only affects the ability of one media message to influence an adolescent, it also effectively creates a wider gap between teenager and parent. Because the parent is far more our of the loop on the collection of media messages the adolescent is engaging in (not only because the choices are "over the heads" of parents, but also partially because of the new access issues that come with mobilized teens), they have a decreased ability to create an environment or culture from them at home. The power to determine socialization is now in the hands of the adolescent more than ever before.
Also previously where less media was offered at one time, I believe the media needs to be far less generalized or "broad". The media pie may stay the same size as far as consumption, but it's far easier to catch and hold a nitch audience than before as well.
As the article sites, entertainment media content is often consumer based. But compelling stories in any form are so because of the admiration they inspire. The very purpose of entertainment media is to glamorize or highlight an aspect of real-lives. Comedia-Del-arte would show evidence that the most compelling stories in history are about average people in relate-able situations that an audience can identify with who overcomes despite incredible odds. And this has been the pattern from the dawn of time. In the development of a teenager in adjusting to the reality of becoming a functioning adult in society, naturally seek out these patterns of acceptability more hungrily than adult or children. As media becomes more individualizes and messages vary to a greater extent, the compiling of this data can be overwhelming in accomplishing this task thus relying on mimicking what popular media is available is naturally appealing and a source of comfort. What might also be interesting to note is the hipster movement which is in my view, defining what is "cool" by what sets you apart from your peers, is actually encouraging a uniformity in teens seeking for uniqueness. (It really manifests itself as short sighted shallow thinking which was always at the heart of fads.)
Basically I think the media reflects society as society reflects media in a co-dependent relationship. One glaring example is that of beautiful perfect looking women on house-cleaning commercials. Studies and practice have shown that one reason to use a unrealistically beautiful woman instead of a homely person is that average people identify better with the subject. Not only do they ASPIRE to be that perfect and in-control of a perfectly clean kitchen, but average people believe they ARE that perfect. Thus we can see a double-edged sword.
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DeleteYou make a great point citing the date the article was published. Thanks for calling that out!
DeleteI like your thoughts about media and society in a codependent relationship. I'd like to read that article. Do you remember the name of it?
DeleteSeveral thoughts ran through my head reading this:
ReplyDelete1) I was 13 when this article was written, and it induced some nostalgia in me as it listed the popular media for teens at the time.
2) I remembered an anthropology class that had an hourglass shaped model for family life involvement. The top was our baby years, which are heavily entwined with our families. Then it thins out until the center of independent single adulthood, and then grows larger again at the bottom as we begin to build our own families...hmmm….maybe there should be a narrowing part on the bottom again for empty-nesters (sorry tangent).
3) I was interested by the themes of why people want to socialize teens (for passing on values and social order) vs. why media does (for money). And the irony of the teen finding themselves more reflected by their media, which was quite frequently (especially in the pre-uncontrolled-internet of 1995) really just a façade of being like the teen. Behind that mirror was “the man in a suite” who the teen would probably actually find more a reflection of the society they are rebelling against than their own parents.
4) I loved the teens wanting to be individuals together thoughts – such a reflection of teen mentality. I think few of my high school peers had the well-formed confidence needed to really be an individual. We all seemed to need a little subculture back up of a peer or two being different in the exact same way.
5) thinking about the merging I see of self-identification and subcultures in fandoms. People define themselves by what media they like so much, that they go beyond saying “I like this” and go to “I AM THIS” i.e. “I am a trekie, I am a whovian, I am emo, I am...
I loved your memory of the hourglass model. It was a great visualization for me.
DeleteI wrote out this big paragraph about how wrong Arnett is about the media being super diverse, and then almost at the end he says “oh by the way I’m a little bit wrong…” but I’d already written the whole thing, and it’s what I thought reading through the first few pages. So. I’m sorry if I sound half-informed.
ReplyDeleteArnett writes that "as a socialization influence, the media tend toward broad socialization..." (526) which he previously defined as promoting "a broad range of variability in social and psychological development among the members of a culture, as each person is allowed and encouraged to pursue their own preferences to a large extent" (526). I don't think I agree with this point about the media - I would say that it has the opposite effect. In a gatekeeper role, the media are effectively enforcing a narrow socialization by omission. Because media sources are fairly liberal, in general, cultivation theory may come into play and contribute to adolescents cultivating a world view that tells them that society is liberal, and therefore they must be liberal. Arnett even later says "media producers are likely to provide to adolescents whatever it is they believe adolescents want."
I remember having a difficult time with media growing up, thinking that I would probably get in trouble for most of the choices that were available to me, so I had to choose nothing. Unlike Daisy & Casey, I was 4 years old when this article was written, so my experiences may have been very different. From my personal experience, I would say that adolescents have no idea what they want. That's the whole point, isn't it? There is very little difference among media options in values. Arnett gives the examples of Seventeen, Newsweek, and Mad, as well as public television and MTV, and finally hip-hop and heavy metal. I will readily admit that, at some point during my teenage years, I participated in every single one of those. None have stuck.
I think that when he talks about adolescents' self-identities, he actually is referring to a form of experimentation with the world. Adolescent socialization does not create lasting identities, relationships, or preferences. I felt like his analysis lacked this insight when talking about adult socializers. He also makes it seem like adolescents are just crazy people with no self-restraint (see pg. 527), even though impulse control is one of the goals of socialization. He writes, "adolescents sometimes make choices...that adults find troublesome but can do little about." This is absolutely insane and incorrect... adolescents do not make the rules. Parents do. Society does. The law does. Stop pretending like adolescents have always been out of control and always will be. Raise good people, dang it!
Also, he confuses peers and friends throughout the article. "...[adolescents] make choices about media and peers more or less independently of the preferences of their parents..." (527). Peers have tremendous influence, but you do not choose them. Friends, however, can also have tremendous influence, but in completely different ways.
He makes a really interesting point about how media choices allow adolescents to become independent of their parents and other adult socializers. I learned about most of my favorite media as a teenager from my dad. We used to watch TV shows together at night, and we would talk about them. I feel like a lot of other people have had similar experiences – my husband also talks about doing the same thing with his mom. Our parents/“adult socializers” became sources of finding media, and that media brought us closer.
I was kind of frustrated because he didn’t actually use/explain the term “self-socialization” until pg 529, and it’s in the title! I was waiting for it the whole time. I didn't agree with many of the points he made, although some of the studies he cited sound extremely interesting. I think that he kind of missed the point with regard to media.
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ReplyDeleteChildren and adolescents are vulnerable to media messages and images to the extent in which six of the principle sources of socialization, Arnett names, are present or absent: family, peers, school, community, the legal system, and the cultural belief system. Arnett stated these socializers encourage adolescents to accept attitudes, beliefs, and values they have to “preserve social order and pass the culture on from one generation to the next.” In contrast, the “big bad media” neither pursues its self-interest promotion of social order nor to pass on culture. Along these lines, Arnett states adolescents may use media in ways their parents and adults find disturbing. For example, children may find an “action” movie entertaining, but an adult may see it as too violent.
ReplyDeleteOne’s level of cognitive complexity plays a role in the deconstruction and interpretation of media message. Cognitive complexity refers knowledge on a certain topic one develops over a period of time. Individuals with higher cognitive complexity have the ability to analyze a phenomenon from different perspectives, searching for connections and relationships among its components. In the case of childhood development, newborns, toddlers, children and adolescents differ cognitively. For example, children and adolescents may watch the animation film, “Monster,” and find it entertaining and comical. Toddlers may watch the same film and find the “monsters” frightening and be scared to death. Because adolescents have higher cognitive complexity than toddlers (at least one would assume and hope), they are better able to differentiate between reality and fiction in media depictions and messages. A monster to them is merely a fictitious character, whereas to a toddler, it’s a tangible being.
Arnett described five uses of media by adolescents: entertainment, identity formation, high sensation, coping, and your culture identification. One uses the media to create their own experiences and effects to a degree based partly on whether one’s culture promotes broad socialization by stressing individualism and independence, or narrow socialization which “encourages members of a culture to adhere to a prescribed standard of beliefs and behavior,” as Arnett puts it. Because we in the Western society have freedom of the press and the government uncensors media content relatively, media leans toward broad socialization, Arnett says. Because of this, adolescents have more freedom to choose among diverse and vast media content. Of course, one would have to take into account parental styles. An adolescent who is ruled by “restrictive mediation” may have limited access to media content than a child whose parents utilize the media monitoring strategy of “deference.” In this sense, restrictive mediation equates to narrow socialization and deference mirrors the principle of broad socialization.
When adolescents consume media, it affects the socialization process. Arnett states socialization involves “learning to accept and embrace the ways of one’s culture.” The author says media allow adolescents to engage in self-socialization by selecting media most “attractive” to them.
Media allowed me to engage in self-socialization when it came to music preference. Growing up in a predominantly multicultural neighborhood, being black meant you were supposed to listen to hop-hop music and rap. Then my parents moved to a more affluent area. I was one of only a couple dozen black students out of 1,600 in a predominantly white high school. In an architecture class, the teacher allowed students to take turns picking a music station to listen to each day. I was exposed to all genres of music, and developed a liking of many different types. Today, I am a black man who listens to rock, country, hip hop, pop, reggae, gospel, classical, R&B, and jazz music, but not a lot of rap. I credit that one high school class for helping learn to “embrace and accept” the ways of many cultures. In turn, media impacted my self-socialization.
@Othello, The example you cited in your write-up is quite apt with my situation..."Children may find an "action" movie entertaining, but an adult may see it as too violent."
DeleteI came home one afternoon from work only to be startled by my son, who jumped out from hiding behind the door armed with his "school ruler" pointed at me like a pistol and commanded..."get on your knees with your hands on your head." That was a sharp departure from the traditional "welcome Dad." To him, he had put up a good act mimicking an actor from an "Action" movie with terrorists plot and extreme violence scenes.
I panicked, as i imagined his continued exposure to such movies unsupervised and the attendant possible effects. I just knew intuitively that something wasn't right and i needed to step in asap! but with caution.
When you factor-in the position reached by researchers that "media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both immediate and long-term contexts"(Anderson et al.,2003, p.1). You won't want to blame me, would you?
This is really not one of those "irrational fears" especially coming from a different cultural background as evident in Arnett's submission on "The Uses of Media with respect to Socialization"-However, even in many non-Western countries today, the introduction of Western media is opening up new possibilities to adolescents, loosening the extent of parental control and increasing the extent to which adolescents choose the materials of their socialization (Davis and Davis, this issue; also see Burbank, 1988; Condon,1988).
Perhaps, i do have some fears and that is how to strike a balance between Broad socialization (which encourages individualism and independence) and Narrow socialization (which sounds more like a "command and obey"). I won't want to fall into the category of parents you described as using "restrictive mediation" and then again this is really a two edged-sword! as Casey McDonald also submits.
Research has shown that "restrictive mediation" is one of the least effective parenting styles among adolescents. The challenge is how to control a teen who's losing his or her way, according to gospel standards. I don't look forward to the teenage years when my child grows up. When children are born, they love you. Then they turn teens and they hate you. You ship them off to college, and they love you again (in-part because you are helping to pay their tuition :)
DeleteThe proliferation of the media and how it impacts the society have continued to imbue in researchers how exposure to media content exerts its effect on media consumers, especially children and adolescents. Even more critical is the introduction of digital technology to the already saturated world of Television, Movies,Magazines/Newspapers which places sundry electronic and digital forms of media in the hands of the youth.
ReplyDeleteThis translates to an unrestrained access to electronic and digital forms of media for instant communication, games and global connections, thus validating the Authors position in the introductory part of the journal, "Teenage Adolescents watch more movies than any segment of the population".
Though the last decades have seen enhanced education among the youth through various media interface, connection with more diverse groups, increase social skills in children and opportunity to stay connected with friends and family. However, this is not without a down side.
The society today, is replete with reported cases of growing "Cyberbullying", sharing of inappropriate information through websites and a new trend-"Sexting", all putting a toll of distress and insecurities on the youth. This alarming vulnerability is reinforced, according to Arnett, by a socialization influence from media dimension than from family, school, community and the legal system.
I am of the opinion that adolescents, irrespective of the array of media available to them, can safely sift through "The good, The bad and The ugly" of exposure to media content and mitigate its influences and effects if their cognitive complexities are developed. This could be achieved through conscious training to help the youth make informed choices, create distinctions and perception skills in the face of alluring media influences.
Few years back, i observed how my then 7 year old boy started incorporating words and phrases from Cartoon characters into his daily language use. I was impressed to say the least. He made references to Bambi, The Lion King and sometimes Spiderman. I recall him saying something like "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I watched him express the fantasy of the police enlisting the services of Spiderman to "catch villains just like mice" and rid the society of bad guys. Now, at 14 years of age, I have been mediating countless times between him and his siblings whenever he manifest aggressive tendencies or blow up his temperament fuse.
On enquiry,he admitted acting out a character from a movie he saw at a friends, titled "24" and the actor (Jack Bauer) is notorious for taking down terrorists. My panic mode was immediately activated as i pondered, How many of such Movies has he been exposed to, How many more of such characters would he attempt to mimic before it starts to take a life of its own in his mind?
The reality of my "Gatekeeper role" in my experience my son and from a non-Western culture is that, no matter how hard we try, the extent at which parents can monitor the content of what their wards are exposed to seem very slim. I could be wrong! Perhaps, more research is required in this direction. At least, Arnett alluded to this on pg.529.
Amid the growing concerns inherent in media content as a socialization floodgate, one thing is yet sacrosanct- The benefits and problems associated with media use is not likely to abate anytime soon. With the ever increasing media based technologies, it's accessibility and affordability, my guess would be to engage in deliberate capacity building efforts to help the adolescents set reasonable limits around media usage, develop school curriculum around it, if need be. It sounds ambitious, but i can't take my mind off a world populated by adolescents with high cognitive complexity.
Bayo first of all I personally think you are doing the best you can as a parent communicating with your son the possible socializing effects of the media. I do like your point that perhaps a greater in depth research study may be needed to study to what extent adolescents socialization is influenced by media opposite to parents restrictions. As I mentioned in my post i know i went outside those restrictions. But I like how you mentioned how adolescents can differentiate what will be most beneficial if their cognitive complexes are trained enough. Perhaps this will be motivation for parents to continue to try encouraging their children to make sound socialization choices.
Delete@Daniel Montez, Your last comment here, frankly is why i was wary of being enmeshed in the web of narrow socialization in an attempt to provide a platform for broad socialization. I do not have a yard stick to measure our (most respondents on this blog) cognitive complexities at various stages of our exposure to media in shaping our identity but we seem to survive the onslaughts. The Media and how it exerts it influence is getting more compelling today and Adolescents who do not have such access is presumably going to end up disadvantaged. So how do we strike a balance? We survived it, Can they?
DeleteAlthough not an expert on media effects yet (maybe one day…), I found the key points brought up by Arnett to ring true – mostly due to personal observations in my own life. As a teacher of elementary and middle school students in Korea, I saw daily examples of students defining themselves in terms of which musical groups they supported, grouping with friends who wear the same kinds of fashions made popular by their favorite actors, and so on. The way they dressed, spoke, acted, and the way they chose to spend their free time, was clearly guided by the media.
ReplyDeleteThis, in fact, seems to contradict Arnett’s theory that in non-Western cultures, adolescents are less likely to use media for self-socialization to the extent Western adolescents do. I might even argue that because Eastern (or at least Korean) adolescents do live in more controlled societies, their main forum for youth culture - popular media - becomes the dominant influence for their self-socialization. Rarely did I hear a conversation that did not, in some way, revolve around the media (aside from conversations about school and classmate-gossip).
From my experiences and observations in both Eastern and Western cultures, I also noticed that adolescents HAVE to be tuned into certain media (a specific TV show, video game, follow the same people on social media) in order to participate in every-day conversations with their peers. The media they choose to consume determines the friends they associate with (or vice versa). To me, it seems that peer influence and the media’s influence are intricately connected.
On another note, I like that Karen brought up the point that, although the media plays a role in the self-socialization of adolescents, it doesn’t necessarily mean that those influences are lasting. Fashions and trends in the media are constantly changing and the meaning behind specific markers of youth sub-cultures do as well. For example, I remember when I was young, rap was only for those identifying with a very specific sub-culture. But now, almost everyone I know enjoys rap, whether they identify with the traditional sub-culture or not.
This makes me think that adolescents, who tend to have less cognitive complexity compared to adults, experiment with different identities by following different trends in the media, but as they develop more complexity, begin to realize that following the messages in the media can only take them so far. Instead of a main source for self-socialization, the media turns into a mere tool or reference.
Looking back on my life, that seems to be how I developed (and continue to develop) my identity. The media’s role in my self-socialization decreased with time – although it still does play a role. So perhaps the power of the media’s influence on most adolescents isn’t as strong as some might fear.
I like how you added your experiences from Korea into this reading. It really is amazing how easy it is to gain access to media from all parts of the world. I agree with you that in order to participate in conversations, you kind of have to be tuned in to media because so many people use it in their daily conversations.
DeleteSo much of our identity is tied to the media messages that we embrace or reject over time. The adolescent years are full of rapid transition and development. During this time, exposure to media is at an all time high. Arnett defines five uses of media by adolescents as being: entertainment, identity formation, high sensation, coping, and youth culture identification. Balancing all of these forms of media in a healthy and meaningful way at such a young age is no small task. While small doses of each type of use may offer a healthy balance, any extreme use of the media can also bring about negative consequences.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that adolescents cite music as something that makes them happy while also being the very thing that disconnects them from reality and helps them to be in their own world. Again, while this may be good in moderation, it can also be seen how negative effects may occur when there isn’t a proper balance. If TV and Music are the only medicine used by an adolescent feeling angry, anxious, or unhappy (Arnett 523) they may not properly learn to deal with emotions in a healthier manner.
Parents may draw on past experiences to warn their teenage children of certain forms of media messages, but often with no avail. While parents may have the cognitive complexity to warn a child of unhealthy media behavior, they are often unsuccessful. Arnett explained that parents may impose restrictions on music, TV, movies, and other types of media, but a determined adolescent child will find a way to get access. My youngest brother is 11 and loves video games. My parent’s do whatever they can to reduce the number of hours my brother spends gaming. They understand that endless hours of gaming can be unhealthy many levels, but my brother successfully takes advantage of any chance he can get to sneak in a few games.
Critical aspects of socialization include developing an understanding of identity-related issues, gender roles, and overall values and beliefs (520). There were seven principal sources of socialization cited by Arnett including: family, peers, school, community, the media, the legal system, and the cultural belief system. As Arnett mentioned, we live in a country where freedom of press is valued and largely uncontrolled. The broad socialization found in the U.S. allows for more freedom of thought and expression of ideas. The confusion of the adolescent years is compounded by the endless supply of varying and often contradictory messages. One of the strongest messages of the millennial age group is that you need to “be yourself”. But how can you “be yourself” when you are still trying to figure out where you fit within your family, peers, school, and community?
The correlation between media use and negative emotions is something that I found of particular interest. When my stress levels are high, I typically turn to some form of media to tune out the negative emotions that I am feeling. Media can also be used as a quick reward or break from a task. During the time I have been writing my response to Arnett’s paper, I have checked Instagram twice and email and Snapchat a handful of times as well. I hypothesize that this type of behavior is exponentially higher among adolescents.
That phrase "be yourself" is a really hard thing to figure out even when you are growing out of your adolescent years. When there are confusing messages that contradict each other, it's difficult to know how because you will be offending somebody somehow. I definitely agree with you on the distractions while I wrote my response. I'd like to blame it on my break from school (2 years) and trying to focus again, but it probably isn't just that.
DeleteThe Social Learning Theory (Bandura) explains a socialization process that takes place through observation of behavior, where a person can learn behavior through the observation of others performing this behavior. The Social Learning Theory also applies to viewing media, including but not limited to children and adolescents learning violence and other aggressive behavior through viewing violent or aggressive behavior in the media (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). All humans have the propensity to learn from the media they consume, but I feel that children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable because they are still searching for identity and constructing the self.
ReplyDeleteCognitive complexity is key in the interpretation of media messages. A person with high cognitive complexity is able to think abstractly and is more cognitively flexible. This is important in interpreting media messages because as different images are seen in the media, whether they be violent, prosocial, sexual, etc. a person with high cognitive complexity is able to look at it from different perspectives and judge the situation appropriately. Perhaps the violent scene isn’t as effective for them because they realize that it is not real or even feasible. Children especially, with lower cognitive complexity cannot understand the difference between virtual and reality. They are unable to break down each piece in order to judge what is real and what is fake, thus becoming more frightened by a monster in a television show.
The media is a major form of socialization for children, adolescents, and even adults. What we view in the media helps us to construct our reality. Much of a persons ideas about how families work, what school is like, human sexuality, etc. is learned, in some part from the media. I believe that some adolescents are more socialized by media than by parents and peers (not all adolescents, of course…. But we live in such a media saturated world with Facebook, Instagram, blogs, texting, Netflix, Hulu, music, etc.). A child with permissive parents and few friends may spend 8 hours a day watching television. The things we view in the media shape who we become, and I believe that effect is even stronger for children and adolescents developing their self.
I have seen myself socialized by the media throughout my life. Whether it’s the information I’m receiving about my friends lives through Facebook or Instagram, the articles I read online, or the television shows I watch. Without even noticing, I model behaviors seen in the media in my own life.
As noted by Arnett (pp. 520), adolescence (and childhood) are influential times and media is a new source of socialization for this age group. Recent research shows that children and adolescents are exposed to various media for an average of 10 hours and 45 minutes per day (Kaiser, 2010) so media is a potentially serving as a primary socializing factor for many children and adolescents. It is important to note that children and adolescents are learning about a range of topics though media use, including aggression, prosociality, sex, friendships, dating relationships, parent-child relationships, drug use, socially acceptable behavior, etc. As such, it is likely that children are creating social scripts, other life expectations, goals, and even their identify based on the media they use.
ReplyDeleteCognitive complexity is the extent of one’s perceptual abilities, as well as the integration of observations into one’s behavior. As such, someone with high cognitive complexity will notice small details and will reflect this in their life and work, while a person low in cognitive complexity will not notice subtle details (and as a result will not incorporate observations into their behavior). Taken into a media context, those with a high cognitive complexity will be able to recognize, separate, and conceptualize the messages portrayed in media; as a result, these individuals (high in cognitive complexity) will be enabled to correctly interpret media messages.
Consistent with the ideology of self-socialization and the uses and gratifications theory, media users likely select the media they do in order to satisfy curiosities, reinforce beliefs or ideas, create patterns of behavior, etc. In turn, the lessons taken from media use will enable children and adolescents to behave in ways they deem consistent and appropriate with the behaviors they have viewed. I think this process is more common and more powerful than one may expect, with media possibly influencing users to a greater degree than any other socializing factor.
The media serve as a source of socialization, affecting individuals’ cognitive processes and teaching individuals of all ages what behavior is appropriate. For instance, in my own life I always loved watching the Bachelor and Bachelorette (trashy, I know). From watching these shows, I came to understand dating and relationship habits common to non-LDS communities. I have not acted in those ways, but watching these shows definitely changed my over thoughts on dating, as evidenced in my conversations with non-member friends.
Just as "we are what we eat" are we not products of our media choices as well? This includes not just children and teenagers, but adults. As Othello mentioned, and as Arnett (1995) explains in his article - youth are looking to media for some pretty specific needs -- many of which are deeply associated with their identity as a person. Adolescents and children are as vulnerable as they choose to be when it comes to media. The old adage states (man, I'm full of old adages today): You find what you are looking for; which I interpret to mean if a person searches for entertainment in the media, he will be taught what "entertainment" is, and might possibly apply that later in his life. If he looks for ways to cope with problems, or form his identity, or socialize with others - media will teach him through the lives of those it portrays.
ReplyDeleteAs we spoke of in class, our cognitive complexity or knowledge on a certain topic varies with time, with our age, with our involvement and many other factors. Specifically teen cognitive complexity can be informed by those around them who are intent on passing on their values, but also by media driven by teen uses and popularity (p. 526). Arnett also states that teens essentially can choose what they want to hear and be from media, though this is not unlimited. Likewise, there is still the involvement in a community that may counteract and otherwise inform a teenager, and those of all ages. Arnett alludes to alienation of teens from their family groups and a heavier dependence on the media and peers for socialization and education, which may negatively affect the ability to understand media messages from various perspectives. Though these effects are seen in Western families rich and poor alike, many studies have focused on lower income families and problems with socialization and the law because of an increased dependence on television and media (as the parents simply were not or could not be present in the home with the kids).
As far as media affecting the socialization process, Hailey had mentioned in her post about Social Learning Theory - which finds some similarities to cultivation theory, fathered by George Gerbner and Larry Gross in 1976. Humans are like sponges, and will learn from the environment that they are exposed to. Cultivation theory speaks about how humans as homo-narrans (we like to tell stories) and how with TV and media we now look to the screen to inform and teach what our community "elders" once taught us. Socializing is so different now, even than it was when I graduated high school. I recently began to work with the Young Women of my ward and so much is focused on trying to get the girl's minds to pull out of media and to focus on an un-mediated relationship with themselves, with their families, and even with the other girls in the neighborhood, let alone with God. While media and technology have facilitated so many teaching and learning resources for me and for them, and as Karen had mentioned in her post, it was an amazing way for her to bond with her Dad, I am now wary of a possible addiction to movies, Facebook, texting, Twitter and Instagram that interferes with true socialization, true cognitive processing and thinking for oneself. That being said, there may be no way to avoid the pervasive limbs of media into the home, but by understanding youth needs as specified in this article, media can be mediated accordingly.
I found this reading to be interesting because most of the examples given seemed dated. So I went back to see when this was written and that was ten years ago. It is amazing how quickly media has changed from when this was written and how this reading compared media to the beginning of the 20th century being “limited to print media such as books, magazines, and newpapers” (Arnett).
ReplyDeleteChildren and adolescents might be vulnerable to media messages and images depending on what grabs their attention. Arnett uses five categories that focuses on adolescents’ vulnerability: entertainment, identity formation, high sensation, coping, and youth culture identification. Entertainment is a huge one because similar to literature, I think adolescents and more so with children and adults, it creates a world outside of their own reality, especially watching shows on TV. They are able to live through another person or character. They are able to drift away from their “personal concerns” and be entertained from an outside source. Identity formation, I believe, has changed drastically over the ten years since this article was published. However, looking at the context of the article and when it was written gives a lot of interesting thoughts. I feel that back then and even now that forming our own identities does rely somewhat on media and the media also relies on people and culture. For example, the media likes to follow influential celebrities, and depending on what celebrities choose to do in their life, like eating choices, clothing choices, etc., the media will take those things and put them in the spotlight and say that that is the “cool thing,” the “in” thing to do. Thus, adolescents will use some of the influences from the media to become part of their identity. Children and adolescents can be vulnerable to high sensation if they think media messages and images are cool and gives the high-stimulating appeal like hard music and action films.
I remember when I was younger, I definitely used music as a coping mechanism to get through tough times, but it wasn’t nearly like my younger sister. She listened to The Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift throughout her high school years. She did not listen to heavy metal to purge her anger or to calm her down. She felt that Taylor Swift knew exactly what she was feeling and listening to her music helped her feel better.
Our level of cognitive complexity plays a huge role in the deconstruction and interpretation of media messages. I find that the older I get, the more knowledge I receive through my experiences and others’ experiences. I am able to decide for myself what is good and what is bad, and I can determine what influences me. We “use” the media to create our own experiences and effects to use towards our socialization. It is how we become the people we are through the sources of socialization Arnett lists: “family, peers, school, community, the media, the legal system, and the cultural belief system.” The media affects this by having the freedom to provide differences in society so people can choose what they like and dislike and then be more assertive towards the media that interest them.
It's interesting adolescents aren't the only ones who the media influences. Adults are a huge culprit, especially when it comes to fashion. One celebrity is seen wearing those big "bug-eyed" sunglasses that were popular during the '70s, and all of a sudden the oversized spectacles are seen everywhere. Then comes the aviator sunglasses. Apparently, you have to wear them these days to be cool. Overalls have made a comeback too. I remember they were popular in the early '90s then faded out of style within a couple years. After that, you wouldn't be caught dead wearing them, and now...they're back. I'm just waiting for "Starter" jackets to hit the store racks again, because the paparazzi spots some celebrity wearing one.
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ReplyDeleteI think the best way to answer this entire question is using my personal experience with rap music!! My former “hip hop life” as an adolescent leaves me with a profound relation to this article now that I am able to identify my personal self-socialization through the perspective that comes with age. As a recap of my young manhood, I became heavily interested in the hip hop/ rap subcultural that was pervasive in the early 2000’s. I felt that it permitted more ethnic freedom than the rival “skater” subculture in school. So I tried it. I listened to it on the radio (I had no money to buy rap cd’s myself and my parents would never condone it), I watched rap videos on TV, I also went one step even further and learned how to rap myself, similar to Arnett’s suggestion of identity formation with heavy metal fans inspired to become future rockers (p. 523). I was totally vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteArnett illustrates two uses in his study that I think are also points of vulnerability. I feel both affected my teenage cognition. First is identity formation, using the teenage girls who learn what romantic relationships should entail. I bet most of these girls have never been in these relationships, but these mental pictures is what they bring with them when they begin to date. Similarly, watching rap videos and listening to hip hop stations molded my identity as been cool and tough, even stylish or “fresh”. Second, Arnett delves into youth culture identification with the example of resistant youth neo-fascists subcultures who, as Arnett cites Roe (1985), used music as a “medium for the expression of adolescent-specific values” (p. 525). Furthermore, Arnett cites Lull (1987) who examined how youth that fail in school take an interest in oppositional music. I could be left to conclude that rap, particularly hard core rap, may be an oppositional youth subculture. I had to leave it eventually, if I wanted to be associated with doing well in school.
I believe the degree to which we use this media can depend greatly on what forces of socialization are available in our lives. The theoretical framework that Arnett later mentions in the article also supports my teenage example. Arnett refers to broad and narrow socialization to examine media in self socialization. Broad socialization is more common in cultures that embrace individualism and narrow socialization is more associated with conformity to standards (p. 526). So on the one side I have American media letting me watch rap videos and on the other I have the standards set by parents and religious values. But Arnett also mentions how many individuals accept their culture’s mannerisms, despite the oppositional culture (p. 528). So it was for me. But I can see how many youth that lack that narrow socialization to which I was exposed can totally turn to the broad socialization explored in their youth, never really expanding the cognitive complex, or never really growing up. Basically they may be limited to how they self-socialize.
At the time my cognitive complexity led me to believe that hip hop rap life was what was desired and necessary in order to be cool. I could not interpret that most of these rappers sang about drugs, alcohol and sex as the “life” because that was theirs. Interpret rap and hip hop as you may, I did not take some of these facts into consideration or did not process the severity of them. At the time it was big for me. But the more advanced in age I became the more I could deconstruct the agendas and reasons behind rap. With that the more power I had to what I chose to identify myself with. I like a wide variety of music and I like clothes that aren’t too baggy. But it took my bouts with rap to help me see that.
I think those adolescent years, especially during junior high school, is when socialization really kicks into high gear for teens. I believe those are the most difficult grades to teach because that's when teens are going through puberty and still trying to figure out who they are. As Arnett mentioned, media and peers could really have a huge influence, if the gospel is absent from the home.
DeleteDaniel you talked about the hip hop life. I remember in my junior high school, if you were African American, you better know how to dance. If you didn't, you got made fun of. I would spend a considerable amount of time watching music videos try to learn different dance moves such as the "Roger Rabbit," "Kid and Play," and knowing how to do the "Running Man" was a necessity. Then I went to a high school full of "nerds" where hardly anybody could do those intricate moves, and I could be myself-- an athletic nerd -- pressure gone.
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ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I just had to comment on the timing of this article. Within a few years of writing this article, I bet our friend, Arnett, was just blown away by all the new trends in media. This article limits media to TV, videos, magazines, and newspapers! This is further proof that the media has been a hot topic for years. With the addition of social media networks, increase in video game play, ipods, cell phones, YouTube, etc., the question of whether or not the media is a socializing agent has become somewhat obsolete. The real question is how it is a socializing agent.
ReplyDeleteWithout getting too boring and wordy, it has long been known that the executive functioning of children and adolescents differs from that of adults due to the slow formation of the pre-frontal cortex in the brain. Studies have suggested that young children have a hard time differentiating between TV programs and the advertisements, making them more susceptible to believe that the products portrayed will actually make their lives as happy and grand as suggested. Though teens are much further along developmentally than young children, the sexually explicit, violent media climate is not very promising. A study done by the Kaiser Foundation in 2010 found that children and teens ages 8-18 participate in media activities at an average of 7 1/2 hours a day, 11 if you count media multi-tasking. And yet, there are not media education programs in the schools when they spend just as much (if not more) time with media as they do sleeping. I had the opportunity to teach a high school class about media and body image. I thought that bringing up "photoshop" and other media tricks would be old news to them, but they were completely baffled at the fact that almost all models are airbrushed. Did they ever wonder if the models were somewhat fake? Is this a developmental issue? I would say part of it, but I also think that media is changing so fast that parents and teachers can't keep up and teach them otherwise.
I think we use the media to some degree to create our own experiences and effects. For example, I choose who I am friends with on Facebook and then they post content. If I want to filter someone who only posts cat memes then I do so. If I constantly interact with specific people then more of what they post ends up in my newsfeed.
Emilie excellent experience you shared about how the teens didnt know how models are airbrushed. I feel like maybe some of them have been told that but at that age, as I remember, I just wouldnt believe some truth like that it until someone physically showed me or explained to me in great detail. So you are right that our brains just dont get it until we get older. When we are older we say, "of course that makes sense", after years of experience, but when we are young we say, "no! that's impossible!!!"- to quote luke skywalker.
DeleteThis article was so interesting. Even though it was a tad bit dated, I still could see how these principles could easily apply to our media today and the influence it can have in the lives of our children/adolescents. I think the degree in which children might be vulnerable to these messages is not easily determined. There are so many other factors to consider; family background, standards/principles/values that were introduced to them, and personal differences. I think that in the age group where we start feeling the need to be independent
ReplyDeleteand explore ourselves, is when this media might have more of an influence.
When we see/hear media messages, our own knowledge and experiences come into play. We each interpret these messages differently based on what we know or what is familiar to us. I think this also plays on how vulnerable we can be to media messages. Because I was brought up with parents who set standards and taught values, and with my knowledge of the power of media, I feel like I am more equipped to guard myself from some of the influences from media. I don’t feel as vulnerable to the messages because I personally have a level of cognitive complexity that allows me to have more educated insights.
I feel like we use the media even when we are unaware that we are doing so. Arnett discussed how media allows us to pull gender roles, social norms, relationships and much more from the content. We may not even realize that some of our personal perspectives are influenced by the “social norms” we are seeing or hearing in media. When we also relate personally with the media, we start to include the media in our own experiences.
Media can affect the socialization process depending on what culture we come from. Whether we come from a culture that teaches more independence creating more broad socialization or a culture that focuses more on “obedience and conformity” (Arnett), media can have an effect. I agree with Arnett in the sense that media has more of a broad socialization feel. Media provides diversity and options which I think gives youth a feeling of control. The media seems like it could be a prime force behind some of the “rebelliousness” of youth not wanting to conform to the values taught by the adult/parental figures or “narrow socialization”.
I remember as a kid knowing how bad weed was. I had hear it from my parents, at church, in school, everywhere. As I grew older, the presence of weed also grew. It is not constantly in movies, music, tv shows, and in reality. Family members of mine who had grown up with the same mindset I had, now feel that weed is “no big deal”. “Everyone is doing it”. I even see adults being influences. Due to my own knowledge, I use my own level of cognitive complexity to know that marijuana is not good, and that media portrays it as popular and cool. It is shocking to me how influential media can be in even shifting the level of cognitive influence of others.
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ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I’m wrong, but I think we can all agree that media messages and images are powerful tools that can influence people across the board, even in different stages of life—in some stages more than others because of our level of cognitive complexity at each stage. This article focuses on a stage in life where that influence is much more potent: the adolescent/teenage years. To some degree, adolescents are certain to be influenced and be vulnerable to media messages because of the stage of development they’re in, but like Othello mentioned before me, that degree all depends on the presence of the seven principle sources of socialization the author listed, or lack of presence thereof. And just like the presence or absence of those seven principles can determine the vulnerability children and adolescents have to media messages and images, from my own personal experience I believe that that presence or lack of it also determines the degree to which one will use the media to create personal experiences and let it have an effect.
ReplyDeleteAdolescents especially are at an age, as Arnett explained, where media is believed to have a significant influence in development. Arnett explains that media has five (most common) uses, which are more important to adolescents than to young children and adults. (see pg. 521) Media today is much more intrusive and even more present and available than it was 20 years ago when this article was written. But even though this article was written two decades ago, I think the core of this analysis still rings true.
It wasn’t too long ago that I found myself in those adolescent years, and much of what the author presented about socialization concerning young adults rang true from my own (or friends’) experience. I too felt a need to fit in or be a part of some group, and maybe yes, some social and gender roles were learned from the media. At the time, teen novels, teen magazines and television were the forms my media sources took. Their presence and influence made feel and act a certain way, which years later I could only label as a rush to grow up. The way I acted, the way I dressed, the use of make-up, body image, even the way I did my hair! All of this was influenced by a mixture of the media and peers—2 of the 7 principle sources of socialization listed in the article. Today I am in a different stage in life and I do still use media to help create my own experiences, but not to the same degree as I did years ago.
The degree that children and adolescents might be vulnerable to media messages and images
ReplyDeletedepends on that child's stage of development, the amount of involvement that other sources
of socializing agents in the child's life, and degree of exposure.
First, the child's stage of development can determine the receptability of the message. A
child at an early stage of development may not be ready to receive messages from media and
images. Alternatively, a child at an advanced stage of development may have already
developed to the point where they have a self identity. If the child is inbetween those
two stages they are likely to be more receptive.
Next, the degree to which other sources of socializing are present in the child's life may
effect how vulnerable a child is to media messages and images. If a parent is actively and
continually involved with the child may conteract media messages or may mininmize its
influence.
Lastly, the degree of exposure the child has with media messages and images will likely
determine how vulnerable the child is to them. A child exposed to a minimal amount of
media messages and images will be less likely internalize the message compared to a child
saturated with those same messages and images.
A child's stage of development, mentioned above, includes a child's cognative complexity.
As it increases, a child will be able to see things more in shades of gray instead of a
simple black and white comprehension. I can see how a child who is cognatively complex
could be more susceptable to subtle messages; ones that less cognatively complex children
would miss completely. On the other hand, a more cognatively complex child could
understand the type of influence a message or image might have and then be able to
actively accept or reject it.
More and more we can use media to create our own socialization. From simple blogs to more
complex video recordings, we can put our own messages out to a large audience and create
socializing groups based on our interest. Conversely, social media presenting these sort
of things can strengthen or weaken our own socialization. This can be particularly
effective because social media can create very narrowly defined and specific sub groups
where socialization into that sub group can happen. All of this is fairly simple to find,
a simple google search can be sufficient as opposed to finding these sorts of groups in
decades past. -Darren Harden
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ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the article considers media as a tool for self-socialization. Human brain typically develops until the individual reaches mid to late twenties, which technically means that media (especially if the 2hrs a day stats from the article are correct) can become one of the main influencers of emotional and mental development. I think it is scary that people who choose what media messages get sent out are concerned primarily with return on investment and not the greater good. It is like eating fast food. No wonder so many people today are "emotionally and mentally obese". Can somebody with a brain and instinct controls that are not fully developed responsibly regulate their own media consumption (quantity and quality)? Probably not.
ReplyDeleteWhile people have to be mature enough to choose what media and how much of it to consume, their level of cognitive complexity does not need to be extremely advanced in order to be heavily influenced by media messages. For example, there are studies that link heavy metal to development of bipolar disorder in predisposed individuals. Do adolescents know that? Would they care if they knew?
In my opinion, just like we try to regulate our diet we need to regulate our media consumption, and parents (or other responsible adults) need to facilitate media usage that helps their children progress as individuals, in a more wholesome way. Sporadic use of media dictated by underdeveloped instincts in adolescents ("I need to feel adrenalin rush", "I need to cope with depression", "I need to feel connected to other people", etc) seems to affect individuals and society adversely.
I’m really interested by the theory of broad and narrow socialization. Arnett wrote that non-media socializers encourage adolescents to accept the socializer’s beliefs. He then states that socialization through the media tends to be broader—“adolescents have greater control over their socialization on the dimension of the media than they do over socialization from family, school community, and the legal system” (Arnett, p. 526).
ReplyDeleteThis seems to have amplified with advancements of Internet and mobile technologies. Adolescents now have even more control of their socialization. The socialization they choose through media can vary significantly from the culture of the community and even other adolescents in the area. A recent example of this that I have found interesting is the young Mississippi couple that recently tried to go to Syria to join the Islamic State (source: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/15/us/disbelief-in-mississippi-at-how-far-isis-message-can-travel.html). Their decision seems to have defied familial, school, community, etc. socialization. The Internet allowed them to hear and choose media messages that they wouldn’t normally see in the small community of Starkville, Mississippi. More importantly, they could choose which media messages to listen to and therefore their socialization. The ISIS media they chose to listen to helped them form their identity to the point that they wanted to completely leave the community and families behind. Media allows individuals to find cultures and subcultures and communities that used to not be available.
It was also interesting to read Arnett’s argument that we should qualify the idea that adolescents use media to be oppositional. I absolutely agree that media is diverse and some of it is conservative. I also agree that families, community and culture socialization do affect media choices. However, his third point that the “media available to adolescents, though vast, is not unlimited” (Arnett, p. 528) seems a little outdated. With the Internet, it seems that adolescents have an almost unlimited access to media. While movies have ratings and the news media filters what plays on TV, the Internet doesn’t have these filters. Anything that is filtered from public radio, television, etc. can easily be found online. Also, we have greater access to cultures and subcultures than ever before. Twenty years ago it would have been much harder for individuals to learn about and join a culture across the globe.
The high vulnerability of children and adolescents to the media stems from their low levels of cognitive complexity. Most have not yet had the experiences they hear in the music they listen to or the TV shows they watch. The strong emotions that these media experiences channel, could cause the child to fantasize about these experiences and might feel disappointed when their experiences do not live up to that high standard of sensation. It might create unrealistic expectations of themselves, others and their role in society.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, despite there being a large amount of media options to choose from as a child or adolescent, I feel that the media influences us more than we use it to influence ourselves. A child could approach heavy metal music for example out of curiosity, then get drawn more and more into it due to the high sensation it creates. However, the child could now identify himself as a part of the metal community which expands the number of people that can influence this child's socialization. The child could change the way he acts, dresses to be more individualistic but it could have just happened by chance too. The child might have been as influenced by rap music that creates that same intensity but with a completely different impact on the child's socialization.
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