Age and family life Flashcards
What is social construction
-This is the idea that our perception of what is real is created through a variety of historical and cultural processes rather than naturally occurring
Why is childhood a social construction
-Evidence shows that the meaning associated with childhood has been changing over time and from place to place and is not constant
this shows that childhood is socially constructed
Explain Cross cultural dimensions of childhood
Cross cultural dimensions of childhood
= Childhood is different across cultures
- This is the idea that different societies have different perceptions of childhood , they have different ideas about when childhood ends and its characteristics
-Evidence -> Malinowski (1922)’s study
-Being a teenager and its characteristics vary from culture to culture.
For example in some cultures children are considered adults after they undergo a rite of passage and not when they turn 18 and legally become adults.
give points for - why childhood is socially constructed
1) Cross cultural dimensions of childhood
2) Childhood today and its characteristics were not the same in the past
Explain Philippe Aries as evidence
-According to Aries childhood as it is perceived today , did not exist in pre industrial society.
-He argues that childhood only came into existence around 3 centuries ago , and uses paintings of children in the past wearing adult clothes to prove this point.
Points that support the idea “childhood has disappeared”
- Children are getting exposed to images of adulthood - Postman
- Childhood has become toxic - Sue Palmer
- Children are being encouraged to be consumers to goods that were formerly available only to adults - Robertson (2001)
Explain Malinowski (1922) as evidence
- He did a study on the Trobriand islands of Papua New Guinea and found that their perception of childhood was different to western societies perception of childhood.
e.g the islanders gave their children more responsibilities and rights
Robertson(2001)
a factor of the disappearance of childhood is that children are encouraged to be consumers of products that were formally only available to adults e.g phones
this has led to consumption culture which makes the world of childhood more like the adult world
Postmodernist view
Children are increasingly consumers of products
Postman
a major reason for the disappearance of childhood is the development of “open admission technologies “ that expose children to images of adulthood e.g sex , violence, news
the internet gives children access to information and images that were denied until adulthood in the past
Postman
A
Postman argues that childhood is only possible if children can be separated and protected from the adult world. The mass media and television in particular, have brought the adult world into the lives of children. They behave, speak and dress in more adult ways, while adults have enjoyed looking more like kids and youth generally. As a result, the boundaries between the worlds of children and adults are breaking down, Which eventually will lead to the end of childhood.
the
Sue palmer
she argues that childhood has become toxic in a range of ways including ;
- lack of opportunities to learn through play
- being restricted to the home because of parents fears for their children’s safety
- exposure to violent computer games and drugs
A
On the other hand, Sue Palmer claims that parents increasingly use television and electronic games to keep children entertained and they put less effort and time into interacting with their children.
