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Article: Media, Childhood and the
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Media, Childhood and the
By the time children reach the age of eighteen, they have spent more time with various forms of media than at school. This has been the case in industrialized countries since the 1950s, and the fact is often cited in debates on children and media. The popularity of the citation testifies to the central position the media hold both in children's lives and in adult perceptions.
The Dual Nature of Media
Modern media developed in tandem with modern childhood from the eighteenth century on. The media
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from inexpensive magazines and "dime novels," to film and radio, and onto television, computer media, and cell phones
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are at once a set of concrete ...