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Blessing
or Bane? The Role and Problems of Media in the Modern Family
Larrie
E. Gale
Ph.D. Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602
The
Need
Traditional
family values are under increasing media attack, world wide. So much
of media today is noisier, more violent, more irreverent. To all who
value human relationships it is painfully apparent that media are
becoming ever more hostile to universal family values and roles.
These trends are not accidental, nor innocent, nor harmless. Never
has the creation of family-friendly media been as important, yet as
lacking.
Beginning
Solutions
Going
on the Offensive. The early tactic of an aggressor in any conflict
is the disruption of communication-the isolation of allies from one
another. We can change this situation with today's technologies. Let
us establish forms of regular communication and access to wholesome
information. Let us get to know each other and our commonalities-our
shared beliefs in basic family values-as we build a world-wide
community of shared values. This we can do through internet
communication, by sharing our stories and by learning about our
Joint values.
Use
and Creation of Media. Let us begin to use media well. Through
shared news releases, public relations campaigns, websites listing
wholesome media, and other strategies we can support our need to
identify, locate and access family friendly media. We could also
band together as a community to agitate for the creation of
family-friendly media from existing production firms.
We
might also create media that show us for who we are-what our values
are. We could cooperate in the production of magazine shows that
contain:
$
media literacy information that demonstrates family-friendly media
criteria, and media
use
suggestions. $ examples of practices that strengthen families;
demonstrated through anecdotes in
multiple
settings and cultures. $ prominently depicted examples of
storytelling within a family-to strengthen our youth's
knowledge
of self, of their ancestors, and of their heritage. $ examples of
fathers and mothers applying basic family values in their roles. $
how commonly shared our family values and beliefs are; how the human
family is more
alike
than different-even across languages and cultures.
Research.
And as a group we could recommend media research which points out
problems and solutions. A beginning place for the research should be
understanding the universal values which we share.
Read
The Papers' Abstract:
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