Female Side of Media Effects on Youth

Bryan’s post on the effects media has on today’s youth is applicable to many areas of society and will raise multiple ethical dilemmas. I agree that Aristotle and Plato both believe a child’s virtues and development are heavily reliant on their parent’s instilling such qualities at a young age. Not every child is fortunate enough to have such role models. I believe the role of the parent can be extended then to older siblings, relatives, friends, teachers, and others who will help the youth develop a sense of virtue and moral values. Violent images and injustices that occur on the news should not be juxtaposed to violent video games. Real world and fantasy are complete opposites. A child should be taught not only this difference but the dangers of both. Who puts the video games into the hands of the child? Whether it is a sibling or a parent, media is not to blame.  Take responsibility for children’s development and teach them the difference between reality and fantasy. “Brainwashed psyches” and “scapegoats” really aren’t the problem here it’s the guardian and caretaker’s responsibility to instill into a child the importance of education. If a child is educated on the ways of the media, on moral values, and the differences between reality and fantasy then they themselves can develop even in a world full of violent video games.

I wanted to expand on this post because I think it’s important to balance the equation here. Traditionally video games are targeted by media for a male audience. They have been given much more notoriety and grief because of the killings and effects that Bryan mentioned. However, what happens to the young female child being raised in the same media obsessed world? Before video games there was Barbie. Barbie was launched in 1959 by Mattel and has received similar attention from parents about harmful effects on young females. The controversies surrounding Barbie are often that she promotes an unrealistic body image for young women. If young girls play with their Barbie then they will too want to look just like her and this emulation will lead to possible anorexia. A study showed that Barbie’s body if transferred to human size would be: 18 inch waist, 33 inch hips, 5’9” feet tall, and weighing in at 110 pounds.  Her BMI would be 16.24 which fit the medical standard criteria for anorexia. So is giving your daughter a Barbie just as dangerous as giving your son a video game?  The fashion industry for women and the Western ideal of beauty promote a slim tall physique. The only difference in these two comparisons is that the psyche of the child is for boys to effectively harm others but for the young girls to harm themselves. 

Video games and Barbie dolls are a part of culture. As is media so how does a guardian control, regulate, and educate a child in this current state? I bet Aristotle and Plato are pretty relieved to have lived prior to Ruth Handler.