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19
Oct 19

The Influence of The Internet & Media

The Internet has created super-fast flowing streams of information. Human as a biological being does not change its input/output parameters of information. When the streams accelerated dramatically, the long texts had to give way to the short texts. This has affected not only the volume but also the content. We have become people of both short texts and simple content.
Information technologies do not repeat each other at a new level, but begin to differ, not in terms of channels or media, but in terms of their fundamental characteristics, different from others. If the book was a carrier of knowledge, the Internet has become a different speed, that is, where a more important component is not knowledge, but transportation.
To recall the sensational article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr in the Atlantic magazine, which was followed by the book, he touches on the topic much more extensively (2008). Interestingly, after Gutenberg invented the printing press, Italian humanists talked about the future “intellectual laziness” that would come with books, that people’s brains would weaken (Winston & Edelbach, 1998). Now we hear the same words in relation to the Internet.
Our fear of the disappearance of the book under the pressure of the coming Internet is not yet justified. However, people are reading less, particularly children Naomi Baron believes that digital media is changing even language (2009). First, it’s a shift toward changing the rules. Second, it changes the control of our communication. And this is understandable since SMS messages do not have editors, only authors who do not always own the rules. By the way, spelling changes are clearly visible even to the naked eye. Baron surveys have shown that while reading online, students are more likely to be engaged in other tasks, it is easier for them to concentrate when reading printed publications. 91% chose the book for the case of concentration rather than other platforms. 43% reported problems with concentration and complained of eye fatigue (2017).
The Internet has created super-fast flowing streams of information. On them, as on fast rivers, built analogs of power plants-information search systems. They began to generate new energy — information, creating its potentially infinite variety, to which the human brain has not yet grown. A human being is essentially very inertial. But in the case of electronic communication, he was suddenly ahead of the rest. And now this result cannot be unambiguously estimated, either as a positive nor as a negative.

References:

Baron, N. (2009, March). Are Digital Media Changing Language? ASCD. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Are-Digital-Media-Changing-Language¢.aspx

Baron, N. (2017, December 6). Why Reading On A Screen Is Bad For Critical Thinking. Huffpost. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/read-on-screen-learning_b_6681500?guccounter=1

Carr, N. (2008, August). Is Google Making Us Stupid? The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/

Winston, M., Edelbach, R. (1998). Society, Ethics, and Technology. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=g9g-MTzCIJ0C&pg=PA282&lpg=PA282&dq=Italian+humanists+talked+about+the+future+intellectual+laziness&source=bl&ots=QMRO8wbLj8&sig=ACfU3U1-XLc19l6WFm24sDL-45MLv3g-mQ&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj50KfevKjlAhXLZd8KHWHaDZsQ6AEwAHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Italian%20humanists%20talked%20about%20the%20future%20intellectual%20laziness&f=false

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16
Mar 19

The Mortifying Truth

Smile and nod, perhaps fake a laugh so they think you know what they are talking about. I became a master of reading the situation so that I would not have to reveal the mortifying truth of how disconnected I was from those around me. I was raised in a cult (and homeschooled) from a young age and was prohibited from the forms of media that other kids my age spent most of their free time consuming. I was not allowed to watch television or movies; even listening to the radio was forbidden. Most books (other than the bible) were taboo as was reading news articles and magazines. These rules were strictly enforced and refusal to abide by them was swiftly punished in a way you would feel for weeks. In an almost outlandish question, Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts (2012) ask “Can you think of anyone who does not listen to the radio, read newspapers or magazines, or go to see movies?” (p. 136). If you are reading this blog, you can now answer that question in the affirmative.

When I tell people about the way I was raised, some initially think it must have been great to have avoided the negative influences associated with the media, but I view the situation very differently. When I finally mustered up the courage to separate myself from the situation at the age of 23 (which resulted in being disowned by my family), I had so much to catch up on. I found that I was unaware of an embarrassingly large number of world events, was woefully uneducated on many topics, and had only seen a handful of movies. Most social communication is based on movie references, television shows, music, or recent news events. It is hard for most people I meet to imagine how truly disconnected I was from society. (For example, imagine someone making a reference to “not being in Kansas anymore” and having no idea what they are talking about.) It has been 10 years now and I am still trying to catch up on everything I missed growing up.

While it is easy to condemn the media and view its influence on children as negative, I believe it is a powerful tool that just needs to be utilized properly. According to Strasburger, Jordan, and Donnerstein (2010) media can foster empathy, increase acceptance of diversity, provide prosocial benefits, enhance children’s literacy skills and “foster social connectedness” (p. 756). It can also deepen their views of self, enhance their understanding of their community and the world around them (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). I believe that we need to be more focused on encouraging the right types of media that can improve the overall wellbeing of children and adolescents in addition to limiting their exposure to harmful media. I believe the most effective way to accomplish the goals of decreasing children’s exposure to the negative influences of the media and increasing their exposure to the media’s prosocial benefits is two-fold.

First, parents must be educated on how media can affect their children. Proper education for parents will help them understand that exposure to many forms of pro-social media (in moderation) is good for children. They also need to be educated about the detrimental effects on children of violence, pornography, drugs, alcohol, negative body image, etc. in the media. Importantly, because parents cannot control everything their children see, they need to understand how beneficial discussing these issues with their children can be. One of the most successful ways to mitigate the harmful effects of negative media exposure is to inform the viewer about the negative effects in advance (Schneider et al. 2012). If parents are taught to discuss these issues with their children, then we will see an increase in those individual’s ability to cope with the toxic side of the media.

The second way to help change the manner in which young people consume media is to educate them directly. I think it would be beneficial to introduce media literacy classes in our public school systems, starting at a young age, about how easily people are influenced by all forms of media. These classes should be ongoing, building on and deepening their understanding of the effects of media, throughout the entirety of a child’s school years. Young people need to be taught that what they read, watch, listen to, and participate in will influence their action and lives. They should be taught how to identify the nature of the media they are interacting with and how to either avoid it or use it to their advantage. Most adolescents will admit that others are strongly influenced by the media but underestimate their own susceptibility to being influenced (Strasburger, 2004).  This type of education will enable young people to voluntarily abstain from harmful influences and encourage them to seek out helpful, pro-social, and healthy forms of media.

 

References:

O’Keeffe, G., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800-804. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-0054

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Strasburger, V., Jordan, A., & Donnerstein, E. (2010). Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 125(4), 756-767. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-2563

Strasburger, V. (2004). Children, adolescents, and the media. Current Problems In Pediatric And Adolescent Health Care, 34(2), 54-113. doi: 10.1016/j.cppeds.2003.08.001

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12
Mar 19

Pornography & Juvenile Sex Offenders

Pornography is defined as sexually explicit material meant to sexually arouse the viewer via the media (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). During this week’s assigned readings in Applied Social Psychology, Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems, by Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts, we learned about the effects of long-term exposure of nonviolent pornography (nonaggressive, casual, nonromantic) and the effects of any exposure of violent pornography (male-dominated, degrading). According to Schneider et al. (2012), research studies have shown that the long-term exposure of nonviolent pornography can increase negative attitudes towards women, can influence changes in family values, increases interests in other types of pornography, and can occasionally result in sexual callousness. Furthermore, research studies regarding any amount of exposure of violent pornography in men have shown an increase in sexual arousal, an increase of rape fantasies, desensitization of embedded sexual violence, acceptance of violence towards women, and desensitization towards rape and rapists (Schneider et al., 2012). Applied Social Psychology, Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems, by Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts dabbles in the effects of different types of pornography, but I wanted to know how pornography effects the population I am most interested in: adolescents. After applying knowledge from my personal experience and the information I found through research, I have come to the conclusion that pornography can influence adolescents to sexually offend others.

Personal experience: During the summer I was lucky enough to have an internship at an adolescent residential treatment facility. The facility was comprised of boys and girls from the ages 12 to17 on three different floors:

  • First floor: Boys with severe behavioral and psychological disorders.
  • Second floor: Girls with severe behavioral and psychological disorders.
  • Third floor: Juvenile sex offenders (boys).

Many people read “juvenile sex offenders” and think “CRIMINALS! SEND THEM TO JAIL!” I was actually one of those people before I began my internship. However, I quickly learned that adolescents do not randomly become sexually aggressive. During my internship I took a training class regarding the treatment of adolescent sex offenders and learned a few factors that can contribute to a child becoming a sex offender:

  1. They have been sexually abused themselves
  2. They have been exposed to sexual content at a young age: pornography and/or parents are not maintaining age-appropriate boundaries

It makes sense to me that exposure to pornography could be a factor that influences juvenile sex offending because of social learning theory. For example, a ten-year-old boy sees a man receiving oral sex in a nonviolent pornography video and in turn, this ten-year-old boy wants to give or receive oral sex.

Research: Even though I was taught by clinicians that pornography can contribute to adolescents sexually offending other children, and I can make connections between theories from my psychology courses, I have never done outside research regarding pornography and juvenile sex offenders. According to Dr. Sharron Cooper, pornography makes adolescents believe the sexual situations (violent, nonconsensual, unprotected, emotionless) they are watching are normal and acceptable in their own lives (Baxter, 2018). Dr. Cooper also believes that adolescents are more likely to replicate the explicit sexual acts they are watching via pornography because they feel like they are experiencing what they are watching due to mirror neurons (Baxter, 2018). Another study on juvenile sex offenders yielded significant results that watching pornography before and after the age of 10 was correlated with sexual offending in adolescents, compared to nonoffender adolescents who had not watched pornography before the age of 10 (Burton, Leibowitz, Booxbaum, & Howard, 2011).

After reading Applied Social Psychology, Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems, by Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts, it is obvious that long-term exposure to nonviolent pornography and any amount of exposure to violent pornography has negative effects to the viewer. However, because the effects of pornography on adolescents were not explored, I examined my personal experience at my internship and did outside research to conclude that pornography can influence adolescents to sexually offend others.

References:

Baxter, A. (2018). How Pornography Harms Children: The Advocate’s Role. ABA. Retrieved from: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/child_law/resources/child_law_practiceonline/child_law_practice/vol-33/may-2014/how-pornography-harms-children–the-advocate-s-role/

Burton, D. L., Leibowitz, G. S., Booxbaum, A., & Howard, A. (2011). Comparison by crime type of juvenile delinquents on pornography exposure: The absence of relationships between exposure to pornography and sexual offense characteristics. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 7(1), 54. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/867317020?accountid=13158

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2012). Applied Social Psychology. Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

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