Recently a number of school boards and police services issued statements advising parents of an alleged cyberbullying threat called the Momo challenge.
So, while the Momo challenge may not be as big an issue as it was made to be on social media, it has raised the issue of the role of technology in children’s lives — from the very young to the older child. What is the impact on children when they are frightened by media, or when they view violence?Children understand and process more as they age.
Media violence can introduce fears in childhood that continues into adulthood. One study, “Tales from the Screen: Enduring Fright Reactions to Scary Media,” found that more than 90 per cent of the study’s participants, reported a fearful reaction to media during their childhood or adolescence. Over one-quarter of those students who had had fearful reactions continued to experience a “residual anxiety” years later.
Help your children pick media that is age-appropriate, by using parental rating guides. Understand your child’s developmental level and how media may impact them: for example, preschoolers are more likely to be scared by visual images that look quite frightening as opposed to things that could be actually harmful yet appear more neutral.