January 30, 2008

ARTICLES: War for the Hearts and Minds of Our Children (NZ)

War for the Hearts and Minds of Our Children

By Mark Rais

Today, neither parents nor government are the primary influencers of children’s behaviours. As much as parents and even those in government believe that they have the ability to effectively influence children’s motivations and actions, there is a far more effective influencing agent at work in the hearts and minds of our children. 

The bombarding of thousands of messages across media has instructed children in ethics, moral principals, and priorities often in conflict with those of parents and government.

A Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation report on the exposure to media messages sheds light on the true intensity.  The report titled Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds, notes “that a typical 8 to 18-year-old is exposed to 8.5 hours of recreational media content daily.”

FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0801/S00248.htm

No comments: