cONTEMPORARY cHILDREN's Culture
Overall, children's own culture takes up a certain space which adults do not have access to. It is their own culture, and adults need to remember this, especially when conducting research with them. In Researching Children's Popular Culture, Mitchell and Reid-Walsh argue all children's lives and spaces are political. This is because the politics of popular culture play an influential role in children's own lives and the way that they express themselves (16).
Share also reinstates this by listing multiple statistics:
What this means is that children are heavily impacted on a daily basis by the media and the messages that come with it. Their own culture is created and based upon popular culture and media, and this is why it is extremely important to begin teaching children critical media literacy as young as possible. This entire website is based on children. We have looked at how children can be liberated through problem-posing methods like critical media literacy, how the filter bubble denies them accurate information, and how their rights support critical media literacy. In all of these aspects then, it is important for children to be informed and taught critical media literacy, which will inform their own culture, and how they express themselves.
Share also reinstates this by listing multiple statistics:
- Practically every U.S. household has at least one television set and about one-third of young children live in homes where the TV is on most of the time (108)
- Before most children are 6 years old, they spend about 2 hours a day with media. This doubles by the time they are 8 (108)
- Before children are 18, they spend approximately 6.5 hours a day with various types of media (108)
- Nearly all young children in the U.S. have products based on television shows or movies (108)
What this means is that children are heavily impacted on a daily basis by the media and the messages that come with it. Their own culture is created and based upon popular culture and media, and this is why it is extremely important to begin teaching children critical media literacy as young as possible. This entire website is based on children. We have looked at how children can be liberated through problem-posing methods like critical media literacy, how the filter bubble denies them accurate information, and how their rights support critical media literacy. In all of these aspects then, it is important for children to be informed and taught critical media literacy, which will inform their own culture, and how they express themselves.