Media is the mirror of a society. It portrays the existing condition of a society. Media like movies, advertisements and news stories emphasize the lifestyle of people living in a particular area. Not only does it portray, but media can even manipulate the audience as it creates huge impact on people. It can lead the people to think in a structured way. It is true that “media tell us what to think about”. Thus, representation of all things in the media has to be taken into great consideration. People are likely to believe whatever the media want them to. At times, it gives a completely different and fake representation of everything. Representation of children in media can be taken as an example. The media has convinced the world that children are supposed to behave in a particular way, neglecting the fact that it cannot be true always.
Today, every child has been exposed to media in many ways. Advertisements, Movies, Magazines, Social media platforms etc. have been opened to anyone irrespective of their age. Children are now free to engage in the media world just like the adults. So, it can be said that media not only influence or affects adults but children also. It creates a huge impact in molding a child’s attitude as children can see how they have been represented in the media. It has been noticed that media is a powerful tool in creating and manipulating perceptions of audience towards anything that they represent. So, it is very much important to portray them in the right path.
Since, children belong to an inferior and minor community in the media world, they have been exploited in many ways. They are represented in more a negative way. It is a true fact that children are being under represented in the media more than being portrayed positively. This negative tendency can be seen everywhere in the world irrespective of the cultural diversity. They have always been represented as inferiors or dependents. Children are always given the tag of ‘cuteness’. The whole purpose of being present in an ad or movie is to just to remain cute. Media under estimate the capabilities of children by considering them as a cute creature. Most of the advertisements and movies portray this type of stereotype, where children remain cute and inactive. They are always guided and controlled by elders. It gives a false assumption about kids to the society that children can’t do anything on their own.
It is hard to believe that, this negative portrayal are done on the basis of gender also. The representation of child in terms of gender is quite stereotypical. The portrayal of girl and boy child are very much different in the media. Boys are always presented as active, noisy and even wild whereas in the advertisements that features girl child, girls are quieter, their actions are slow paced and general atmosphere will be softer. The girls are more likely to present in stories about child abuse, ads about beauty products and household activities. On the other hand, boy child is being appeared in ads related to automobiles and sports. Ads are less likely to focus girls who are active in sports. Girl children are mostly associated to craft related items and boys are associated to games and sports. The representation of children influences the children themselves and their attitudes and views on their own roles in the society. It also creates a huge impact on adults and their opinions about the children. So, it is extremely important to represent the children in the right way.
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