Now or Later

Parents have the task of bringing their children up in the admonition of the Lord and the influence of the Scriptures, yet they cannot go on dates with their kids to keep them in line. Parents always must be a resource of God’s standards when a young person needs an answer, but kids ultimately make their own decisions. The more they are taught from their early years to make proper choices, the easier it will be for them to stay on the right course when temptation comes.

Sure, you may have to expend more time and energy to guard yourself and your children against the onslaught of lies being propagated through the media. And you may need to mount a personal campaign to confront your local television stations and the advertisers who sponsor them. But if you don’t make an investment in your kids now, you may have to later, after the unchallenged lies of the media have made a shambles of their personal lives.

Helping Our Kids

How much guidance have you given your children and youth about what television programs and movies to watch? What about the music they listen to? Have you ever written a letter of protest to your local television stations when they broadcast inappropriate programming? In most cases we have lost the battle without even putting up a fight. Many of us have been silent both inside and outside the home concerning the dangerous effects of what our kids watch and listen to.

No, I’m not advocating that we throw out our TVs and radios, destroy our computers, boycott movie theaters or video rental stores and toss all paperbacks and magazines into the furnace. These avenues of communication all have a positive upside. We just need to help our kids sort through what they watch and listen to, recognize the lies that are being communicated, and put appropriate filters in place.

“Quantity” Time with Media

What gives the media such power over young people? It’s the amount of time they spend listening, watching, reading, and absorbing what it purveys. Consequently, young people spend less time interacting with real adults. “Teenagers are inordinately influenced by the media. They have less interaction with real adults than ever before, so their friends and the ‘models’ presented in the media have an even greater impact.”

Sad to say, most young people, even from church families, have not learned about their sexuality in church. Even a greater tragedy, most did not learn about their sexuality at home. They have learned it from television, movies, music, and the Internet.

The Influence of Television

What impact does the deluge of television viewing have on kids? It is anything but neutral, as several studies have documented. Television can and does influence behavior, often in a bad way:

· Adolescents who watch a lot of television consistently score lower on academic achievement tests. Researchers have found that high levels of television viewing have a negative impact on school performance.

· Adolescents who were sexually active or used alcohol, tobacco or other drugs listened to the radio, watched music videos, and viewed movies, cartoons and soap operas on television more often than other teens who did not participate in these behaviors.

· Those fifth and sixth graders who had a greater awareness of alcohol advertisements in the media than their peers intended to drink as adults, had positive associations with drinking, and were more aware of beer brands.