Do you think that childs bad/good behaviour springs from content they consume through mass media? e.g. tv, films, radio etc?

I think it’s influenced, but it doesn’t spring from it by far. The #1 cause of a child’s behavior is the way they were parented. Case in point: there were bad kids (bad eggs if you would) long before there was mass media.

Mass media always taught me stuff, good things, and bad things, but at least I learned.

“Case in point: there were bad kids (bad eggs if you would) long before there was mass media.”
QFT.

My parents were never really there, I was mostly raised by my grandparents, so I use TV/radio/the internet as an escape. Yea, there has to be good parenting.

Mass media does affect children’s behaviors. If parents are not there and willing to step up and explain these behaviors so the child understands why they are wrong , you have a problem. Children can’t raise themselves. Parents need to be actively involved and unafraid to parent their children by telling them certain things and behaviors are unacceptable, and by providing good examples of how they should live and treat others.

My son will certainly repeat things, both verbally and behaviorally which he heard on TV which are not acceptable. But I think I wouldn’t characterize this as a phenomenon related to the media. He also repeats things he sees other kids do or hears them say in real life as well, or adults for that matter. ANY part of a child’s environment influences his behavior, if they’re not consuming mass media as you put it, they are still observing SOMETHING, and it is WHATEVER they observe that influences their behavior, and this is a completely natural thing.

Children learn every behavior they have from observing it somewhere. But whether or not it influences their PERSONALITY is a different question, because what really has the most impact on that is the reaction they receive whenever they test out a new behavior pattern. Let’s say I drop a cast iron skillet on my big toe and the pain is so intense I scream out, “FUCK ME WITH A JACKHAMMER.” Like my 7 year old is not going to repeat what I just said…of course he will. Now, if mom and dad laugh because they think that’s funny to hear a 7 year old saying something inappropriate, that will positively reinforce the behavior. This is an opportunity for a child to repeat behavior he’s observed, but it’s also an opportunity for a parent to mold the child’s personality. One might address that by correcting the child and telling him why it’s wrong/socialy unacceptable to say things of this nature. Now of course, you also run into the opportunity to make it look like there’s a double standard unless I too suffer some consequence. There are a variety of ways one could react to this, and as with most behaviors, the reaction will be far more important than the action. And it’s not always easy to know what the best reaction would be.

But in terms of behavior as a pattern vs. as a one time occurrence, a child’s good/bad behavior in general as it relates to who they ARE all the time is going to be far more influenced by their role models. If the child does not have strong role models and is left with a steady diet of uncensored media consumption, and has no one to put these behaviors into proper context, then the child might indeed pattern his entire behavior set on what he observes.

Kids are like sponges, so I’ve heard. They are going to mimic what they are frequently exposed to.

My 6-year-old niece is really bad about this. She watches Disney shows and acts like the really dumb girls on the show. Drives me crazy. Too much TV is not good for kids. My 11-year-old niece is going through an emo phase and I don’t know where she got that from. Are there any emos on Disney because I think that is the only channel they are allowed to watch and they watch it 24/7.

No. Ineffective and inattentive parents allow unacceptable behavior in their children.

I think there is some influence there.

Undoubtedly media has an enormous influence on children (&adults). As to whether or not it influences their behavior, I think that depends on the context in which their exposure is viewed. My youngest loves the Disney Channel, and watches shows like Hannah Montana & i Carly. She is looking at their clothes, the mannerisms, the activities…all of it! What happens whiles she’s viewing is most important; we talk about it! “I would never behave like that”, “That could never happen in my school”, In turn I chime in and say, “look how inappropriate that outfit is”, “I hope you would never speak to an adult like that”, etc. Our reactions as adults to these influences never goes unnoticed by our kids.

My son, is far more influenced by music than tv. When we thought his musical tastes were too mainstream and perhaps dark; we steered him toward new kinds of music; classic rock, classical, jazz. Now he has an eclectic taste and broadened horizons. He’s has actually admitted to loving the beat of some rap but being totally offended by the lyrics. Differentiating reality from what they are exposed to on screen, and in music is a constant challenge.

Unfettered listening & viewing of the trash that is mainstream could be disastrous for any child without a barometer from which to measure fact from fiction.

yes, but I am only 14 and I personally some people on those stupid TV channels like [am i allowed to list a brand name?] or [ditto] shows are stupid….but not all of them. i watch them anyways——and make sure i don’t learn.

Like others have said, it’s not the media per se…it’s anything they are exposed to. Parenting (along with in-born personality) is the ultimate influence on behaviour.

Also, I don’t think shielding them from all the atrocities of the world is going to do them any good when they become adults. As long as they are told that the bad things are bad then it should be fine.

to an extent. i think it depends a lot on the individual kid. i’m in high school and i see a lot of kids that are definitely heavily influenced by stuff they see on tv or in movies or in music, and i won’t pretend i’m not influenced at all by any of this, but i am aware when i am for the most part. some kids can enjoy media related stuff but know where to draw the line between television and reality. some kids will do whatever vanessa hudgens is doing.

I Don’t think you can cast the blame on one side or the other. It’s a combination of negative media and poor parenting. It’s when things are out of balance and there has been a shift in priorities that you see unwanted issues show their face. eliminating the unnecessary habits or tasks first in your own life and then in your families. These steps are key to solving parental problems.
Teens and Video Games:link