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Children of the Web


by Pat McClelland on 9 February 2009


Brandrepublic recently reported that the Advertising Authority in the UK has claimed to debunk what it calls the ‘myth’ of the ‘toxic childhood’.

Basically, the AA says it finds no evidence that modern consumerism and technology has been detrimental to children, or led to a ‘loss of childhood’. In fact, the report says that children’s values have strengthened and that “they do not see materialism as a means to wellbeing”.

This is interesting, and I understand how many aspects of the modern world could be seen to promote positive development in children. In the increasingly hyper-connected world, kids have access to information, which in the past, they had to rely on their parents for – at the touch of a button, they can find out about anything they wish.

ImageThe relationship between children and information is highly significant – something Neil Postman pointed out in his book The Disappearance of Childhood. The main point Postman makes is that Childhood and Adulthood are defined by the access (or lack thereof) to information, and that the boundaries between the two notions have blurred since the advent of TV. Although Postman didn’t refer to the internet (the book was published in 1982), its significance in this regard is enormous. I read the book way back – before the internet was dominant influence in my life – and it’s become clear to me that Postman’s message is even more pertinent now.

The beginning of childhood

Few people know that the concept of ‘childhood’ didn’t exist before the 16th Century. Before that, there was only a distinction between infancy and adulthood, and by the age of seven (the age at which a child’s adult language ability is developed), children were expected to dress, talk, and behave like adults. They worked like their parents during the day, and shared many of the same pastimes. The majority of the population was illiterate, and speech was the only means of communication for the masses.

It was the advent of the printing press in the 15th Century that led to the rise of the concept of Childhood. A greater supply of reading material led to a greater demand for literacy. The ability to read, rather than merely to speak, became the significant distinction between adult and child. Children had to be sent to schools to learn how to read, and this segregated adults from children further. It took three or four centuries for the notion of childhood to cement itself, and slowly as children were recognised as essentially different from adults, so children’s clothes were created differently and the way children spoke, behaved, and were treated by adults started to change.

Literacy segregated adults from children, not only in that one must learn how to read, but also that different books were written for children and adults. The notion that children should be shielded from some of the harsher realities of life arose and thus books for children and adults contained different information.

Childhood was created by the written word, which changed how knowledge and information was accessed, and thus made the difference between younger humans and older humans more than merely physical.

The disappearance of childhood

ImageAdult control of information has largely kept the line between childhood and adulthood distinct, and just as the printing press caused this divide, TV and new mediums of communications are breaking it down.

The nature of TV is that one doesn’t need to learn to watch it, and that it is accessible to all. This means that information is no longer exclusive to adults. Since TV was introduced in the 1940s, Postman points out that we’ve witnessed a shift in children’s clothes – instead of being different; they are now merely smaller versions of adult fashion. Of course, the consequences are far more serious than merely dress.

The blurring of the distinction between adults and children, Postman says, is leading to a new kind of ‘adult-child’ – children are becoming more adult at an earlier age and adults are becoming increasingly childlike, avoiding, or at least prolonging some of the responsibilities that traditionally come with adulthood.

I was speaking to a friend the other day about how we (those of us born in the early 80s, or around that time) are the first generation to have grown up ‘with’ computers. The ‘adult-child’ condition is already quite evident in us - how many twenty somethings are still living with their parents? How many 8 year old girls do you see who look like miniature 24 year olds? But I imagine it’s not nearly as strong as it will be in the youth of today, who are connected from the word go and know no difference.

It would be interesting to hear a teacher’s perspective on this.


Tags: society online Internet Millenial Generation youth trends fashion printing press advertising print new media Neil Postman childhood literacy TV

Comments:

com  Leigh said on 09 February 2009:
Very interesting%2c Patricia! Well researched and put together...
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