How the Media Affects a Child’s Development Essay Example

In today’s society, there are a number of factors that affect a child’s ability to learn. Marked with indecisiveness or a lack of morality, children are influenced by excessive amounts of peer pressure both at school and at home. Taught at birth to be dependent on human care and love, infants need parents who “…meet both physical and emotional needs.” (Klein 39). One must also remember the role that discipline plays in being a good parent. The media has set a new standard for children and they strive to embody it completely. They are no longer limited to the standards their friends and family have set for them, but are challenged daily on whether or not they shall surpass those new media standards. Kids nowadays worry more about their social rank and less about how they rank academically. One cannot be cool and skip the party to go study for midterms at the library. It is not like that and it never will be again, thanks to the media’s all-pervasive presence in a modern child’s life. In order to blend in with their peers, children must be well-liked and be well put together. The extraordinarily unrealistic expectations of the media concerning a child’s development ultimately pose a negative force on the youth of the nation, which can best be countered by good parenting. It is not about how they want to perceive the world, it is about how the world perceives them. The media is all about control. Controlling what people wear all the way to dictating how people think. Some might find it difficult to comprehend the magnitude of the media. Some might not even agree with the fact that the media has an impact on our society let alone our way of life. But, according to an article from the Ecologist, “The media are thus unlikely…offering root cause…of the problems we face today.” (Edwards 21). Reading this paper with help people to understand how early the media affects a child’s development. Child development begins at the source. Even while in the womb, the child