This is Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary, and it's amazing to think about the changes in the media landscape since that time. What has remained constant is the need to harness the educational power of television, and the need to limit the potentially harmful influences.
In the 2010 context, however, aspects that informed the Children's Television Act have become obsolete; today's children will never know a world without cell phones.
Today, there are 47 pre-school educational TV series; in 1969, there were two. The big need is for the next age group -- 6-12; there is almost nothing for them.
We are pleased that the new Broadband Act emphasizes education; as we see the merger of formal and informal learning via technology this will be crucial.
We should also be attending to public health issues regarding children and media. We have made progress on healthy foods and marketing guidelines among media, marketing and food companies; however, we need more than ever to focus on media as a health solution.
No comments:
Post a Comment