Parenting in the contemporary world
Parenting is one of the toughest jobs in the world. With the changing values of the society, the values of parenting have undergone a sea-change. The change has been initiated through the medium known to all of us, the mass media. The media has put unchallenged values before children; it has put forth equations never seen before in the world. The wide exposure to the media that children get has left them in a situation where they find themselves with elements of media and communication a bit too often. While adults find themselves a victim of information-overload, children assume the world of symbols as the ideal. Parents have to step forward to point out the differences between the world shown by the symbols and the real world. They themselves have to emerge out of the diverse world portrayed before them in an objective manner. They are unable to decide between the options the media puts forth before them. In its efforts to carve an accurate picture of the society through symbols, the media barons have left parents a confused lot. Parents need to be brought out of the confusion. They need to be shown the ideal form of behaviour that should be shown to children.
Parents need to be taught parenting all over again. The parent-child relationship remains the same as it was decades and even millenniums ago, but the values have changed a lot in the contemporary world. Even as children join the race for the next millennium, our values remain embedded in the age-old times. The changed values indicate a change in the manner in which children ought to be dealt with.
It is not an easy job to handle a child, and parents need to be instructed how to look after children. With the growing influences of media and the internet on children, the values associated with the task of enabling access to these avenues have become embedded in a mystery. Parents need to instruct children to formulate a correct interpretation of the symbols used by the media for communication of its message.
The correct interpretation of the symbolic communication involves a comprehension of the relationship between the signifier and the signified. An effective communication of the message in mass communication involves an arbitrary relationship between the signifier and the signified. In reality, there exists no one-to-one relationship between the signifier and the signified. The message conveyed and the agents used in the communication of the message are not related to each other in any manner.
Children need to be instructed that the punches the villain gets from the hero do not symbolise violence in life, but are merely symbolic of the truth that the virtuous are always victorious over the villains. Parents should show children that the tears in the eyes of the protagonist are merely to show that he or she is very happy or grieved. There is no other way the media could show this, so it has been using these symbols. Children should also be instructed that the behaviour adopted by the actors in the media are not the ideal, children should be helped in filtering out the undesirable aspects of the truths shown in the media.
Children need to be shown the correct and ideal behaviour; they should be armed with all the knowledge to avoid what could be detrimental for them. This is where the media has been at fault. Media has been pointing towards behaviour that has proved to be a curse to the society. Parents need to instruct children that the behaviour portrayed in the media is not the ideal form, and it should not be adopted by anyone in real life. The glamour and glory associated with whatever the media shows has made the children search for ideals in the content shown in the media. Conditions and situations in the real world are somewhat different from the conditions and situations portrayed in the media, specially the electronic media. Parents need to highlight the differences in a clear manner before the children.
There is a symbolic relationship between what is shown in the media and the message conveyed. The symbols need to be explained to children even as they absorb the message. The distinction between the reality and symbols needs to be comprehended in a complete manner by children, parents and the society could help by explaining that the signifiers used in the communication of the message are not related with the final message in any manner. They are there only to highlight the message.
The tears in the eyes of the protagonist are meant to signify joy and happiness because there is no other way the protagonist could be shown to be happy and joyous. Violence and aggression depicted in the media symbolise anxiety and dissonance on the part of the violent actor. Children should not ape their behaviour. The message should not be taken at its face-value. There is a deeper message that is meant to be conveyed. Visual communication of the message is capable of stirring-up of a lot of undesired emotions and feelings in unsuspecting children, and even adults. This introduces a lot of conventions and trends a bit different from those adopted in the other modes of communication.
The television and cinema is capable of communicating the message without the explicit use of words. This ability makes it a very sensitive and fervent medium. This is why prior-censorship of the matter is essential for all content that goes on the air for viewing. Viewers are always urged to exercise their own discretion in addition to the warnings put forth by the censoring authorities. Since children are unable to exercise and practice discretion by themselves, parents are required to step into the picture and help in the selection of content suitable for them.
The government by itself cannot exercise restraint by virtue of the agencies qualified for the task. The task is too big. Parents need to be taught the values that are specifically fit for the situation. A progress towards a healthy society could be reached in this manner.
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