MORE BAD NEWS ON THE WAY

 

Children and lockdown-obliged extra exposure to TV news.

Following on from our last post on the dangers to our schoolchildren of their current  incarceration, I am adding extra exposure to media and especially TV news. I am, of course, using the word 'news' sarcastically, ironically and contemptuously. As adults we can choose to expose ourselves to this canned misinformation and misdirection, and then adjust our reception accordingly. The child cannot do this and only reacts emotionally to the stress of it all.

   Pre internet days generally saw children outdoors and not exposed to media news. If a child had a particular interest and the necessary intellect, they could peruse a newspaper. Most children, of course, would never do this. The TV and the internet is the game changer, here children cannot avoid the news, even as babes. And are thusly exposed to the misinformation, fear and paranoia visited on our homes daily. As we note:

We are not neurologically equipped to manage media news information, presented as it is, relentlessly and continuously, without our personal understanding of context and hierarchy, and thus a proper order in which to process or ignore it. Our minds are battered by the apparent urgency of it and especially its visuality.

 

Although the issues presented are usually remote from our lives, and perhaps culturally alien, nevertheless, the familiar language and style of delivery, tends to result in the primitive parts of our mind processing the dangers and confusions as if proximal. Almost everything is understood emotionally. These archive over the years as a continuous never-ending anxiety attack. How much more so this effect on children?

 Fear stockpiles in our psyche, the endless media reference to inchoate hostility, and the general confusion attendant on topics being introduced before one is ready for them, cannot be without negative consequence. This is then, diabolically, reinforced in school, but as a good thing! Referred to as ‘keeping our children informed’ and thus more able to contribute to debates on global and societal issue; AS IF! Our children’s view of the world is forever changed by this relentless news exposure, making them easier to manipulate and activate as required, and not least ruining their peace of mind. Perhaps this forever, should they become, as many adults are, addicted to media news.

Have you had your daily media dose of Soma today?

Today’s chosen narrative; an examination of brave African transgender children breaking weightlifting, and prejudice, barriers in the sport they love.

And BBC Newsround, ...don't get me started. (see 'BBC Newsround How do I Hate Thee' entry from August 2020) I don't even watch it and its driving me crazy.I urge parents to treat the presence of TV news in their child's life as they would a porno or violent movie.