Why Children Are the Most Affected by the Media

The group of people that are most affected by the media in contemporary society are children in their pre-teens to early teens. The media in our society affects everyone but it is generally going to affect people who are inexperienced in life issues and people who have not fully developed certain skills and knowledge yet. These people are children in their pre-teens to early teens. They are the ones who are most likely going to be influenced most by the media because they are in a stage where they are not only going through physical changes, but emotional changes as well. Children in this group are in a stage where they are looking for emotional support and a easy way for comfort and support is the media, which they can become very dependent and easily influenced by.

Children in this group are in the early stages of developing attitudes, behavior patterns, and values about social interaction. The Comstock psychological model demonstrates this by showing that behaviors are influenced by televised actions and says, "A person learns some behavior by watching it presented on television, and the person may adopt the learned behavior, depending upon the salience and the personal excitement or motivation gained by engaging in such behavior". It also goes on to say, that "the more realistic the media portrayal, the greater the psychological effect on the viewer and the greater the potential influence on the viewer's behavior" and children, who most likely have not seen many "realistic" media portrayals, are going to think the ones they see are realistic, which is going to influence them a lot more than an adult would be.

The amount of time that children in the United States spend watching television is an average of about 3 to 4 hours a day. Which leads to about 100 hours a month. This also leads to dependency because children become dependent to watching television if they become accustomed to it. Children become even more dependent than others because unlike others who can drive and go out on their own will, children who are at home will most likely watch or read the media because they are unable to go elsewhere unless they have permission or are taken to other places by their guardians.

Because the media can be such an easy access, children younger and younger are using it to learn. Whether it be a good or bad influence, media will continue to influence the lives of everyone, especially children because most are dependent on it and use it as a way to learn about the world. Until they can one day experience what it is like in the "real world", they are being taught by the media that they have access to for now.