The use of covisioning to address the impact of media on children

Simply prohibiting children from watching controversial content on television is not the solution.

We are in the midst of a technological revolution and globalization, a combination of two social phenomena that contribute in a key way to the fact that there has never been such a Wide range of cultural entertainment. As always, the initial euphoria of these media has given way to regulation, taking into account the great power that these media can exert. the great power that these media can exert on the public, especially among children.especially among children.

Thus, Lucky Luke's mythical cigar became a healthy spike, Spiderman's villains' guns did not shoot bullets, but stun rays (or something like that) and the ninja turtles became the hero turtles, all in favor of limiting the apology of tobacco, weapons or violence in content aimed at children. The situation becomes more complicated if we pay attention to the huge number of cartoons that have been criticized and censored for promoting racial stereotypes, especially by the all-powerful Disney.

Raising awareness among children through the media.

And it is true that the promotion of stereotypes can be as harmful as the promotion of drugs. The sensitization to what we see in the media about race or gender is increasingly about race or gender is increasing, but more subtle archetypes still appear frequently. In Friends there is more than one scene where canned laughter is triggered by the mere appearance of an overweight character dancing, and in The Big Bang Theory there are more than two occasions where the main characters are funny simply for using scientific terms and being "smart" and therefore "weird."

Faced with this situation, following the path we have embarked on so far, what would be necessary would be to restrict the appearance of such stereotypes on screen, but where would we draw the line? Is it feasible for all minorities to be represented in all artistic works? Can the drama be affected if we renounce certain elements? What do we do with animated films prior to this era and their thousands of stereotypes? And most important: Through this "censorship", do we lose the opportunity to educate in values?

The importance of covisioning

Works of fiction are a reflection of their time and, normally, they represent the audience to whom they are being shown. In that sense, no matter how much we protect children from its influence, they will encounter it sooner or later in their own lives. Therefore, cartoons give us an opportunity to work in a controlled context, in a "laboratory", before children are confronted with the dangers that such stereotypes engender in the real world.

From this point of view, covisioning is of great importancea technique that consists of an adult accompanying the child during his or her adventure, contextualizing all those guidelines that, although they may work in fiction, we understand that they are not convenient in society.

Special mention should be made of humor, which often resorts to stereotypes or politically incorrect topics in an attempt to make people laugh, either through socially shared elements, as in monologues ("mothers-in-law and sons-in-law don't get along") or through rejection or boldness (The Family Guy, The Simpsons).

Instead of censoring such humor, children can be taught that what may be funny on TV is not necessarily funny in reality and that, in fact, if it is funny on TV, it is partly because it is not funny in reality, if it is funny on TV, it is partly because it is not funny in reality..

Violence and television

Following that logic, something similar happens with guns. Fiction or play is an ideal context for children to develop their creativity, and limiting it by prohibiting the use of certain elements can be an obstacle to it.

Thus, in the same way that we see Superman flying without fear that our children will jump out of the window, we should be able to see Captain Haddock drunk without fear that they will develop alcoholism. Yes, it is true that the second example is less obvious to them as it is not subject to the laws of physics, and yes, it is obviously a high developmental risk. embodies a high risk for the development of their values. but that is precisely where the role of parents and educators comes in, exercising covision in the face of violent, sexual or stereotypical content.

At the end of the day, acting as moral guardians, leaving controversial elements that children will encounter sooner or later without contextualizing them, is the most direct way for them to accept them without further ado as faithful descriptions of reality.