Children and Media.

This was the theme  for the forty first world communications day was Children and media: a challenge to education. This theme invited us and still continues to invite us to the challenge of education. It invites us to ponder upon two topics of importance: namely the formation of children and formation of media. This topic is relevant and right in the technology driven era. Today's generation can rightly be called media generation .This media generation has too many information and too many opportunities. As they are technology driven they seek solution to all their problems in the technology itself.  Many of the parents, at least some, avoid their responsibility of caring them by putting on video games and similar types of media materials, so that they are undisturbed in their daily activities after the heavy schedule of the day.

People, of all walks of life spent their time, energy and money for the media materials. For good or ill media has a great responsibility in educating the children effectively. It is not an isolated phenomenon that children who are exposed to media; internet and other educational programs questioning even the teachers and want to share their knowledge, or else they feel bored and restless.

There are varieties of programs that are available in the television channels for children. Children are glued to the television cartoon channels and other entertainment programs catering their need for entertainment. Most of the advertising companies create and impression that children are an inevitable part of selling of a product.  As vulnerable as they are, they are influenced by what they see and hear. Prioritizing the need and responsibility becomes secondary to them.

Media prompt to change the dress code, way of living, talking and the behavior itself Children look for role models in elders, parents and teachers. Can any parent today courageously say, "Learn from me or imitate me?" Failing to see role models in the-above categories they seek role models in films and televisions. as small as they are, an inclination to imitate the pop stars and film stars is enforced into their minds.

Television the dominant medium today captures the attention of sight and bearing. Children are unable to discern what is good and what is not so good.  Constant watching of poor quality programs makes the children to drift themselves away from the real life. Today reading habit is, on the decreasing end. Children are happy to get even the class room lessons on to the CD, VCD etc. This reduced level of reading decreases the creativity and writing ability in children. Violence disguised in entertainment makes children act out reel into the real life situations. Thus media that can do tremendous amount of good turn out to be harmful in itself

Today even a three year old can manipulate the mouse of a computer .The complex challenge of educationalist (parents elders, and teachers) is to watch the pervasive effect of the media, because media can form the children's behaviour  attitudes and the way they think it-self. The children must be taught to respond to the media appropriately. The primary role of the educationalist is to educate the children to have a right judgement which will enable them to accept or reject the harmful programs.

The media that does much harm to the children can be used to enhance the moral and cultural values in children. Teaching can effectively be done by using different genre and the text in the context creates the desirable effects.