Gym class teaches children advanced sitting techniques
How many people do you see texting on their cell phones, instant messaging their friends, or watching the TV instead of going outside and exploring? These are only a few examples of the way media outlets have taken over people’s lives. We have allowed the media to change the way we socialize because people want an easier way of living.
The media has geared its products toward the very young and middle-aged population. Children would much rather stay inside and watch television than explore the environment they are exposed to everyday. Preteen’s now have cell phones that they text message on to keep up with their friends instead of going to friends houses to play, talk or watch movies. Many young adults use AOL Instant Messaging, Yahoo Messenger, or MSN Messenger to “chat” with friends instead of having face-to-face conversations. The media have evolved the traditional postal system into electronic mail; instead of sending hand-written letters, most people now use E-Mail accounts, Myspace, Facebook, or myYearbook.
A worrying consequence of all this media attention has been child obesity, which is at its all-time high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compared surveys from 1976-1980 and 2003-2004 to find obesity increases. They found in children aged 2-5 the obesity increased from 5.0% in 1976-1980 to 13.9% in 2003-2004, children aged 6-11 increased from 6.5% to 18.8%, and those aged 12-19 increased from 5.0% to 17.4%. Schools have now replaced dodge ball and basketball in their physical education curriculum with Dance Dance Revolution and Wii video games because children were getting hurt. Children play rough and there is always a risk of injury no matter what. But, in the scheme of things, a sprained ankle is a far less health risk than childhood diabetes. The physical fitness test, which was to reduce childhood obesity, is now being changed so that the mile is instructed from a CD player which is played indoors and challenges students to sprint a total of twenty-five yards twenty or so times. Media are changing these things because parents complain that their obese children feel bad because they are the last ones to finish running 4 laps around the track. Physical education class is probably one of the only forms of exercise obese children get these days.
It is the parents fault for letting the media take control of their children’s health. Young children do not understand why carrots are better than fries; they just understand that fries taste better than carrots.
Young children do not understand that exercise keeps you healthy and in shape. However, parents know these things, but would rather not have to be responsible for watching their children because they have a lot of work they need to do in order to be prepared for the following day. The television, video games and computers have become our children’s babysitters. They are convenient and reliable.
Jess Burks
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