Research Confirms Children’s Reliance On Media
New research has confirmed the increasing role of the media in shaping the moral and social values of children and teenagers.
The Young People, Media and Personal Relationships study was commissioned by the ASA, the British Board of Film Classification, the ITC, the BSC and the BBC. It comprised over 100 interviews with 120 young people.
The study confirmed the importance of media in shaping values, with 66% of respondents claiming media is just as useful as their mothers in providing information about sex. It also supported concerns over the growing prevalence of highly sexualised imagery in advertising, on the television and in newspapers.
However, young people’s relationship with the media is not straightforward or simple and they do not necessarily trust what they find in the media and are often highly media literate and cynical.
In spite of regulators’ overwhelming concern that risqué ads could offend children, the majority of younger consumers do not connect with these concerns. Respondents identified those who complained about such ads as “opinionated middle aged women” who “take things too seriously”.
However, the research revealed the massive degree to which media consumption is used to rehearse and police gender identities, promoting a polarised, heterosexual view of femininity and masculinity. In particular boys response to media images of men were often characterised by a form of insecurity or “homosexual panic.”
The survey revealed that boys found it unacceptable to look at pictures of men. For example responses to Levi’s recent Twisted To Fit ad featuring a half naked man, were characterised by a 12 year old boy, who claimed: “I’m a man. I’m not gay”. Some boys appeared to believe that simply looking at such images could “turn you gay.”
Female respondents also internalised potentially damaging views of femininity and it was found there was little media space for young girls who did not conform to traditional norms of “girlie girls” championed by magazines such as Sugar.
In particular the researchers noted there was surprisingly little evidence of feminist criticism of prehistoric relics of patriarchy, such as Page 3 pin-ups. In fact there were very few complaints about sexism or women being shown as sex objects. This “may mean that such images have become so comprehensively internalised that any criticism has become impossible.”
The growing cynicism of young people will be a key issues for advertisers going forward. There was a particular strong distrust and cynicism of newspapers and magazines amongst the group. Ethan, 12, describes reading a newspaper as “like Harry Potter you don’t believe it, but still you read it, because you enjoy it.”
The participants were also increasingly aware of their media consumption habits and some of the 14 and 17 year old boys expressed a “lingering sense of shame and embarrassment” at buying Loaded and FHM.
The research will provide sobering reading for advertisers seeking to connect with an increasingly jaded, media savvy generation of consumers and confirms once more the growing role of media in shaping social values and cultural norms.
The future of food advertising to children was recently put in the spotlight again after the Government’s food watchdog launched a consultation to tackle the growing problem of childhood obesity (see Food Advertising To Children Could Face Ban).
ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk
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