Children begin to show interest in television at approximately 18 months and become viewers at the age of 2-3. In this period, when imitation skills are at their highest, the child tends to imitate what he sees on television as well as what he sees around him. At this point, the importance of watching cartoons and TV series in terms of children's development becomes evident. Between the ages of 3 and 6, children are in search of meaning in what they watch.
When television was not so intense in our lives, children tried to form their personalities by imitating the people around them, especially their parents. However, the advancement of technology, the increase in television channels, and the availability of television broadcasts 24 hours a day enable children aged 5-6 to access almost all kinds of information through television. Therefore, the objects of children's identification are not limited to their parents and the immediate environment.
What are the reasons why children take as role models the singers, actors or imaginary heroes they see on television?
Both cartoons, children's TV series and magazine programs cause children's identification objects to increase. Children's imitation of what they watch is reinforced by adults, both by liking it and encouraging them to do it again. Due to these reinforcements, behaviors become repeated more frequently.
Over time, the child can adopt these behaviors in order to gain a place for himself, to be liked and to attract attention. He begins to dress, talk and act like the celebrities or cartoon characters he watches on television. They start to follow what he does, watch his movies, and memorize his songs.
Reflections of what they watch can be seen in their games. The positive/negative comments of the family and people around them about these characters and people cause children to become even more curious.
5-6 year old children try to make sense of what they watch. At this point, their cognitive capacity is not sufficient to evaluate every image they watch, which often causes them to have inaccurate and unreal perceptions about what they watch. As a result, it may be negatively affected They are.
Who are the characters that children see on television and look up to the most?
The characters that 5-6 year old children look up to vary depending on gender. It is seen that boys mostly watch cartoons that contain violence and aggression, while girls watch cartoons and TV series that secretly deal with elements of femininity and sexuality and contain fantastic elements.
How does taking these heroes as an example affect children's lives? Can it affect? Does it cause them to become detached from the real world?
Since the perception of reality has not yet been fully established in 5-6 year old children, they may believe that everything they see and watch is real. They may try to imitate behaviors such as aggression and violence, jumping, flying, killing and destroying, and as a result, undesirable events may occur.
Due to the emphasis on femininity, girls may behave in dressing and adorning themselves as if they are older than their age. .
Could this situation cause personality disorders in the future? If so, what personality disorders may be observed?
Research shows that images containing violence and aggression can cause adaptation and behavioral problems. It is also observed that children who watch violent scenes may experience sleep problems, become more insensitive to the emotions of others, fight more than their peers, become more anxious, tense, impatient and rebellious towards their environment, and are almost never disturbed by violent elements in real life.
It seems that problems such as losing the perception of reality, social relationship problems, depression, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder are more common in children who are especially exposed to scenes of violence. What are the precautions they can take for their children?
The main reason why celebrities and imaginary heroes are taken as role models is to be admired, loved and is not appreciated. At this point, parents' duty should be to give messages that the child is liked, loved and appreciated, even without these behaviors. Apart from this, parents
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They should not show much interest when the child behaves like an imaginary hero or a famous person,
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They should not reinforce these behaviors and avoid people who reinforce them. should warn,
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See and reward every positive behavior of the child,
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Select alternative programs appropriate to the child's age and cognitive capacity and should guide,
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They should watch together the programs that the child is influenced by and takes as an example,
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He should talk about what is watched, he should have information about the child's perception,
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They should give information that what they watch can only be on television or cartoons,
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They should create different areas of interest that can be an alternative to television,
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They should be able to set limits on television and the programs watched.
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