Eng.2 Media Literacy Essay

Eng. 2 Media Literacy Essay

Parents should not tell their children that they should doubt everything they see on TV. Children don’t really think about the things that are happening on the TV. If their was something about the war in Iraq or about some political issue the children don’t understand and don’t really care. Children only pay attention to commercials and shows that excite them. Parents do know about all the stuff that is happening on TV. They can’t really talk to their kids about doubting everything on TV because they don’t fully understand everything. Some kids know what is happening on TV but they still don’t fully understand everything. The right time to talk to your kids about something is when they are a teen and they fully understand what is happening.
If children were to doubt everything on TV then they will probably go through life thinking that everything isn’t true. People would stop watching the news or reading the newspapers. Some parents and their kids watch the television together and talk about the things that are happening on the TV. Some of the parents or older guardians of the children will tell them that everything on TV are usually all lies, and the kids will listen to them just because they are older and they think that older people know everything. I think that is the wrong thing to do.
Some parents tell their kids that the stuff on TV is true but not to believe everything that they say and the children will listen to them. I think that tell your kids that the stuff on TV is true but not all of it is the best way to tell your kids. When I was in about fourth or fifth grade my dad and I watched TV all the time together and my dad would always blab on during the commercials about how he doubted that any of the stuff on the commercials really worked. He would tell me that the stuff they talk about on TV is true but not to believe everything that I hear. He would even say that about magazines, newspapers, and even the computer. I new he was right so that’s why I believe that parents shouldn’t teach their children to doubt everything on TV.
Studies have proven that children, ages 8 to 18, spend more time (44.5 hours per week) in front of computers, televisions, and video games than any other activity in their lives except sleeping.
Now if they spend that much time finding out all that information in their head then I think it is important for them to know that some stuff is true and other stuff is not true. Just think of all the things that your kid does in his or her life from ages 8 to 18 that watch TV or getting on the computer is the thing they do the most besides sleeping. As children get older and fully understand what is happening on TV they will be able to decide if they think it is true or not for themselves. That’s why I think it is best as an adult to tell their children when they are younger not to doubt everything on TV, not to think that everything isn’t true, but to know that some things are true and some things are not.

By: Kevin Vermillion