It was difficult at first because I would get invited to go watch a movie at a friend’s house or to go play video games but I stuck with it and a few weeks in I began to notice several changes. First of all I obviously had a lot more time on my hands and was having much less difficulty keeping up with schoolwork. The second thing I noticed was a general happiness and positive attitude that I had not really had before. I noticed that it was far easier to not curse or say things I knew I would regret. I also noticed I didn’t get angry as easily and didn’t have as many lustful thoughts (and that’s saying something for a college student). Yes, I eventually went back to my old ways and I do watch television these days (although I am often more careful about what I watch).
However, this did teach me something about the way the human mind works. We tend to adapt to what we surround ourselves with. We often try subconsciously to fit ourselves into the media that we take into our brains. Without even knowing it, watching a lot of violent or action packed television may change my mindset entirely. It may make me think more assertively and make me less compassionate towards others. This is obviously just one of many examples.
When I got married and had kids I have remembered this experiment. I know better than to completely shield my kids from all media because I know they are going to be exposed to things outside of my household that are out of my control and because I know that they need a firm grip on what things are like in the real world. I do, however, keep a close eye on how much time they spend immersed in video games or other media. I also make sure that they get plenty of positive reinforcement and take in media that has a positive and uplifting message. By limiting the time that they spend watching television and playing video games and spending more time with them myself I hope that I’m ensuring that they will grow to be responsible adults with a positive outlook on life.
What about you? Do you think the media that we watch, listen to, and interact with changes the way we think? What kind of boundaries do you have for your children in this area?
Comments
5 responses to “How Does Media Affect the Way Our Children Think?”
I do think most definitely that it can have an affect on your thoughts. We have a toddler in the house and I won’t even let him watch cartoons his dad likes (like Family Guy or The Simpsons) because I don’t want those thoughts even being in his head that he’ll hear. I wish everyone in the house felt that way, but that’s a post for a different time. 😉
I really enjoyed reading this! I do feel media changes the way we think because most of the time, media tells us what to think (whether it’s the truth or their decided truth). I get sucked into watching TV, but I watch it much less than I used to. I have my favorite shows that I watch, and other than those, I am quite happy to turn the TV off. I do listen to the radio a little bit. I never watch the news anymore.
i grew up completely sheltered I learned a lot of things early on because I was always parent less pretty much as a foster kid. For that I turned to games music and other media. Media raised me almost literally because none of my foster parents bother to put any effort into me. I played voilent video games listend to explicit music and honestly it didn’t really mold me at all. I never wanted to mimick them because to me the things in media weren’t real because most of the time they’re not. Though your article has some understandable points I think the what has the most effect on your child will be the people in their life not the ones they see on tv because those are the most inflincal. Being “raised” the way I was I saw a lot of bad and a lot of good things in people. Things like drugs and violence are what ruined my childhood because my parents we abusive and disgusting, because of them I have never touched a drug in my life or raised my hand other than to defend myself from harm. I had a physical therapist that helped me learn to re-walk after breaking several bones in my legs and she was kind and i learned a lot from her, I take the good qualities I learn from people and live by them and avoid anything involving the things I know are bad. I have never played a video game or watched something on tv that made me want to be cruel violent or vulgur. i believe that people turn on based on experiencing other people. BUT I grew up very unconventionally and I have no kids so I may not even have a clue… Just a few thoughts I thought I would share. Lovely article,
I agree that we can and should have more affect on our children than the media that they consume but if most of us are honest, the media can often occupy more of their time than we do. Most healthy kids know the difference between reality and what they watch on a TV show and I’m not saying if someone watches something violent on television that they too will be violent. But I do think that it can affect the way we think in more subtle ways that add up. It could be something that just changes our attitude towards the world. I don’t think that we can really say that one thing that stimulates the brain such as our relationships with people can affect our decisions and that something else, whether real or otherwise, does not.
Good thoughts. Thanks for your input!
sorry for the bits of errors in that lol