This article explores the disparities between the public discourse and recent academic research i... more This article explores the disparities between the public discourse and recent academic research into children and television, reflecting that positive findings from the research about children's engagement with television rarely surface in the dominant and negative media discourse on the subject. Existing research with children shows how they respond to and engage with narratives in television and it touches also on how they are re-‐telling these narratives through their access to the new technologies. This article suggests that future research with children could both inform the public debate and further the academic research in the field, producing a broader understanding of the social and creative value of television programs and the new technologies for children.
Theoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 257-266.Abstract -- Candidate's statement -- Acknowled... more Theoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 257-266.Abstract -- Candidate's statement -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Television terrors: psychopaths, coach potatoes and panics -- Chapter 2. Methods and approaches -- Chapter 3. Innocence or ignorance? how we safeguard in our own interest. -- Chapter 4. Entertainment, fun and the influence of the negative public discourse -- Chapter 5. The funnest thing in the world' : what children enjoy about television -- Chapter 6. Sharing pleasure, humour and the feel of utopia -- Conclusion - Bibliography -- Appendices -- Stories -- DrawingsIn this thesis, I explore the role of pleasure in children’s consumption of televisual content and seek to discover what it means to them and how it potentially enhances their lives in ways that are not contended with in the dominant discourses.examine what they say in their own words about what they enjoy watching on television and how they interpret and engage with the programs that th...
This article explores the disparities between the public discourse and recent academic research i... more This article explores the disparities between the public discourse and recent academic research into children and television, reflecting that positive findings from the research about children's engagement with television rarely surface in the dominant and negative media discourse on the subject. Existing research with children shows how they respond to and engage with narratives in television and it touches also on how they are re--telling these narratives through their access to the new technologies. This article suggests that future research with children could both inform the public debate and further the academic research in the field, producing a broader understanding of the social and creative value of television programs and the new technologies for children.
If our toddlers had been outside playing in the ‘fresh air’, speaking words precociously or giggl... more If our toddlers had been outside playing in the ‘fresh air’, speaking words precociously or giggling with delight at something ‘real’, we would have happily celebrated this behaviour. But we weren’t about to admit that our children were excited about television. Being happy about our children watching the ‘idiot box’ was not something we could admit to. Troubled by what her daughter was watching, and by how this made her feel as a parent, Emily Booker set out to learn more about children and television: listening not only to scholars and experts in the field, but to children themselves. What she found was that the ‘problem’ of children’s addiction to screens is actually, in part, a grown-ups’ problem. Speaking to children about what they watch and why reveals a steadily consistent response: they love to seek out programs that are ‘fun’. But their choices are often a source of anxiety for parents, and appear to provoke a need to censure and control the child’s enjoyment. At a time when children’s lives are increasingly regulated, and the pressures of parenting are felt ever more keenly, this important book teaches us much about the value of entertainment, not only for children but for adults.
This book is an exploration of the ways in which children enjoy television and of how the dominant public and media discourses curtail our understanding and appreciation of the value of this entertainment to children.
Published by Monash Publishing. http://www.publishing.monash.edu/books/se-9781925523584.html
This article explores the disparities between the public discourse and recent academic research i... more This article explores the disparities between the public discourse and recent academic research into children and television, reflecting that positive findings from the research about children's engagement with television rarely surface in the dominant and negative media discourse on the subject. Existing research with children shows how they respond to and engage with narratives in television and it touches also on how they are re-‐telling these narratives through their access to the new technologies. This article suggests that future research with children could both inform the public debate and further the academic research in the field, producing a broader understanding of the social and creative value of television programs and the new technologies for children.
Theoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 257-266.Abstract -- Candidate's statement -- Acknowled... more Theoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 257-266.Abstract -- Candidate's statement -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Television terrors: psychopaths, coach potatoes and panics -- Chapter 2. Methods and approaches -- Chapter 3. Innocence or ignorance? how we safeguard in our own interest. -- Chapter 4. Entertainment, fun and the influence of the negative public discourse -- Chapter 5. The funnest thing in the world' : what children enjoy about television -- Chapter 6. Sharing pleasure, humour and the feel of utopia -- Conclusion - Bibliography -- Appendices -- Stories -- DrawingsIn this thesis, I explore the role of pleasure in children’s consumption of televisual content and seek to discover what it means to them and how it potentially enhances their lives in ways that are not contended with in the dominant discourses.examine what they say in their own words about what they enjoy watching on television and how they interpret and engage with the programs that th...
This article explores the disparities between the public discourse and recent academic research i... more This article explores the disparities between the public discourse and recent academic research into children and television, reflecting that positive findings from the research about children's engagement with television rarely surface in the dominant and negative media discourse on the subject. Existing research with children shows how they respond to and engage with narratives in television and it touches also on how they are re--telling these narratives through their access to the new technologies. This article suggests that future research with children could both inform the public debate and further the academic research in the field, producing a broader understanding of the social and creative value of television programs and the new technologies for children.
If our toddlers had been outside playing in the ‘fresh air’, speaking words precociously or giggl... more If our toddlers had been outside playing in the ‘fresh air’, speaking words precociously or giggling with delight at something ‘real’, we would have happily celebrated this behaviour. But we weren’t about to admit that our children were excited about television. Being happy about our children watching the ‘idiot box’ was not something we could admit to. Troubled by what her daughter was watching, and by how this made her feel as a parent, Emily Booker set out to learn more about children and television: listening not only to scholars and experts in the field, but to children themselves. What she found was that the ‘problem’ of children’s addiction to screens is actually, in part, a grown-ups’ problem. Speaking to children about what they watch and why reveals a steadily consistent response: they love to seek out programs that are ‘fun’. But their choices are often a source of anxiety for parents, and appear to provoke a need to censure and control the child’s enjoyment. At a time when children’s lives are increasingly regulated, and the pressures of parenting are felt ever more keenly, this important book teaches us much about the value of entertainment, not only for children but for adults.
This book is an exploration of the ways in which children enjoy television and of how the dominant public and media discourses curtail our understanding and appreciation of the value of this entertainment to children.
Published by Monash Publishing. http://www.publishing.monash.edu/books/se-9781925523584.html
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This book is an exploration of the ways in which children enjoy television and of how the dominant public and media discourses curtail our understanding and appreciation of the value of this entertainment to children.
Published by Monash Publishing. http://www.publishing.monash.edu/books/se-9781925523584.html
This book is an exploration of the ways in which children enjoy television and of how the dominant public and media discourses curtail our understanding and appreciation of the value of this entertainment to children.
Published by Monash Publishing. http://www.publishing.monash.edu/books/se-9781925523584.html