CHILD HEALTH AND MEDIA
Mallik, Bijli
Institute of
Psychological and Educational Research, Kolkata, India
Objective: To assess the influence of the media on the decision
making process of the child in respect to their health
Hypothesis: The mass-media has a tremendous influence on the
decision-making process of children. It is the ad-world and the actively
propagated consumerism through the audiovisual media that has affected the
children and today dominated their health-habits and personal hygiene. This
has been found to influence children irrespective of their socio-economic
conditions.
Methods: The present work has
carried out a study on the extent of influence of the media on the health
habits of the children and how it has determined their sense of health and
well-being. In the second stage of the study a comparison has been
instituted between the children who come from families below the poverty
line and those who belong to the upper-middle and upper class families with
a minimum income of Rs.20,000.00 ($4000) per month. The methods adopted for
obtaining the required information were planned questionnaires, focus group
discussions, observations and interviews with the members of the family. A
sample of 200 has been selected from children of the age group 8 to 14
years for study. The findings have been verified with observed behaviours
of the children and correlated with the findingsof rating scales by the
teachers / caregivers and parents.
Conclusions: The conclusions
derived from the study fully corroborate the basic hypothesis that the
audiovisual media has a significant impact on the attitude and behaviour
pattern of children irrespective of their race, culture, social and
economic conditions though print media too has a significant role to play.