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The grown-up talk of consuming news
152
SALA DE MEDIOS
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The grown-up talk of consuming news
Abstract
This essay analyzes the challenge and importance of integrating kids and teens into the news audience, and the dilemma of achieving it through regular content or by making a transition to “adult news” from specific projects. On one stand, there is the duty that news media outlets have to recognize them as part of their digital editions’ audience and producing attractive pieces according to their profile. On the other, there is the parents and educators’ task to encourage from an early age a responsible consumption of news as part of their development as active citizens.
SALA DE MEDIOS 153
“The news bore me, and I also feel like I cannot do anything, so that is why I do not see them”, confesses Ramiro. The 13-yearold boy reveals that the last time he consumed news voluntarily was on April 11, the day of the Ecuadorian Presidential elections because he wanted to see if now President-elect Guillermo Lasso triumphed. He believes that the relevancy of consuming news depends on the age. “If you are young, it may not be as important because you consider it boring or not interesting. But if you are older, it is since it helps you be up-to-date with what is going on”, manifests (R. Velásquez, personal communication, May 10, 2021).
Ramiro spends his free time playing Minecraft and on social media; on the latter at least 5 hours per day according to his phone’s screen time. Still, he only consumes news regarding things he likes, such as youtubers and videogames, and through apps like Instagram. The 2017 State of the World’s Children reported that kids and adolescents account for an estimated one in three internet users globally. According to UNICEF (2017), “smartphones are fueling a ‘bedroom culture’, with online access for many children becoming more personal, more private and less supervised”.
Ramiro’s high levels of online presence and lack of interest for the news reflect how the youth is a segregated group within the internet universe that media outlets are not considering. Their demographics do not match with the type of content that they put out on digital spaces. Thus, the problem does not rely on the platform itself, but within the vision that journalistic companies are executing.
Mónica Maruri (personal communication, April 26, 2021), expert in child media and education, explains that traditional journalism is oriented towards adults, but it does not mean that they cannot create a space for this specific target; however, she warns: “First they have to understand that children are not mini adults nor little persons that cannot understand the news. In order to make news for kids, you need to understand in first place that children deserve to know”. Maruri states that the editorial line will have to consider what they need to know, what previous stories are required, and how these events affect their world. And also, enhances the importance of research: “You have to observe them, talk to them, and specially listen. […] and look for the experts, here in Ecuador and around the world”, adds (M. Maruri, personal communication, April 26, 2021).
But the involvement of parents and teachers is just as important, since they have a lead in showing good habits of consuming news and its significance, affirms psychologist and educator Laura Cruz (personal communication, May 8, 2021). She considers that the concept of the news will not be unknown or have a negative connotation to the youth, and will contribute to the child’s academic development, like an increase in their vocabulary. Cruz announces that in the short term, the exposure will make them more critical and open, and will not be estranged by the daily news consumption. In the long term, she points out that children who grow up with the news will learn to appreciate what it is to be informed.
In relation to Ramiro’s outlook on the news, Cruz reflects that “learning serious topics can be boring and teaching serious topics can be challenging, but once you find the best method, the results will be rewarding”. She recommends parents and educators not to fear having the youth exposed to the news. “As the adults in this situation we have an upper hand and this enables us to supervise the content and decide when we deem it appropriate for the child to be more directly exposed to it”, declares. She also suggests regular inclusion of the news in their daily routine, such as playing the news in the background of other activities, reading, and sharing snippets of information, as well as discussing them both in class and at home (L. Cruz, personal communication, May 8, 2021).
Childhood is a special time of vulnerability but also of opportunity. The consumption of news has to be viewed as part of the mental nutrition that kids and teens need in order to continue developing and learning, but also exercising their participation rights as active citizens in the length they feel comfortable to do so. The chance that social media presents can perform positively as an ally for news outlets, parents and educators to strike an effective space of communication and conversation between the youth and the adults regarding events that affect both, so it can be demonstrated that the news are not just grown-up conversations.
References
UNICEF. (2017). The State of the World’s Children 2017: Children in a Digital World. https://uni.cf/3ft0co2
