Sociology- The future of childhood
- Created by: Daisymac
- Created on: 29-01-19 16:37
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- The future of childhood
- The disappearance of childhood
- Postman 1994 argues that 'childhood is disappearing at a dazzling speed'.
- He points out a trend towards giving children the same rights as adults, the disappearance of children's traditional unsupervised games , the growing similarity between adult and child clothing and even cases of children committing adult crimes
- In his view, the cause first of the emergence of childhood and now its disappearance is due to the rise and fall of print culture being replaced by tv culture
- Postman 1994 argues that 'childhood is disappearing at a dazzling speed'.
- The information hierarchy
- Postman argues that childhood emerged as a separate status along with mass illiteracy from the 19th century
- As reading creates an information hierarchy-- adults who can read and children who cannot read
- This meant that adults could keep knowledge about sex , money etc a secret from children, and so childhood became associated with innocence and ignorance
- TV blurs distinction between childhood and adulthood by destroying information hierarchy
- So ignorance and innocence is replaced with knowledge and cynicism
- Postman argues that childhood emerged as a separate status along with mass illiteracy from the 19th century
- Evaluation
- Opie 1993 argues that childhood is not disappearing but there is strong evidence to show of the continued existence of a separate children's culture
- Postman's study is powerful as it shows how different types of communication technology can influence the ways in which childhood is constructed
- But he over emphasises a single cause
- Childhood in postmodernity
- Jenks 2205 believes childhood is not disappearing but changing
- Jenks feels modern society is concerned with futurity and childhood being seen as preparation for adulthood-- Child is protected and controlled
- Argues that childhood is changing from modernity to postmodernity as in postmodern societies, adults relationships are less stable -- Divorce
- In a postmodern society, relationships with their children become adults last refuge from uncertainty.
- Means they are more fearful for their children
- The disappearance of childhood
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