3) What is happening to childhood today in post-modernity? is it dissapearing? changing? or not?

Question 1

what is happening to CH in post-modernity?

Answer 1

it is dissapearing rather than creating a seperate age status

Question 2

how are the boundaries between adults and children becoming blurred?

Answer 2

a) adults and children have the same taste in music/leisure activities/ style of clothing
b) children commit adults crimes

Question 3

how is CH dissapearing?- Neil Postman (1994)

Answer 3

-states that CH is dissapearing at a dazzling speed
there has been a trend of:
-giving children same rights as adults
-the dissapearance of childrens traditional unsupervised games
-growing similarities of children and adult clothing
-children commiting ‘adult’ crimes (murder)

Question 4

Media and the dissapearance of CH: Postman

Answer 4

cause of the emergence and dissapearance of CH lies in the rise and fall of the printing press
-CH emerged as a seperate age status along with the mass literacy from 19th century onwards
-printed words created information hierarchy
-sharp division (adults can read, children cannot)
-adult world was now a mystery

Question 5

AO3; support for Postman:

Answer 5

a) children do have access to adult knowledge- 2007 primary review report found that primary school children expressed concern over adult issues (war, terrorism, crime)
b) studies shown children have access to the media- why?
1. children have so much access to technology today, Silva states that most children have own TV and computers which are no supervised
2. parents cant regulate children access to the internet because they are not advanced to use modern techonology- why?- because in post-modernity there has been a rapid change in technology, BBC news schoool report 2011 found that 90% of 11-16 year olds had helped an adult family member go online and send an email

Question 6

AO3; criticms for Postman:

Answer 6

1. implies children had no access to adult information in post-modernity, exaggerates how much children were involved in adult issues
2. Turrow argues that the media has strengthened and not blurred the distinction between adult and children because there are different media markets targeted towards children and adults (disney, nicelodean)
3. Opie did a lifetime of research into childrens games, found that CH is not dissapearing because childrens games still exist

Question 7

Jenks:

Answer 7

-he looks at CH in post-modernity
-CH has changed
-still some overlap of adult and children things, but theres still some distinction
-in post-modernity there is instability and uncertainty (4/10 divorce rates)
-there is an instability in the job market which has increased redundancy
-‘serial monogamy’- disposable partners
-as a result, they see the bond between their child as the most important relationship- child is the only source of stability
-they prioritise relationship with child over the partner
-so children are surveillanced all the time (child centred)

Question 8

AO3; support for Jenks:

Answer 8

Gatrell- parents see relationship with child as more important than other relationships with partners

Question 9

Sociology of the personal life:

Answer 9

-criticise sociological theories on CH perspective from adults e.g. Palmer-adult perspective
-they introduced new way of studying CH- ‘scoiology of CH’- a ‘bottoms up’ approach
-theories should start from interviewing children themselves
-empowers children- experience is varied, generalising is not possible