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The use of the covisionado before the impact of the means in the childhood

The use of the covisionado before the impact of the means in the childhood

March 29, 2024

We are in the midst of a technological revolution and in the midst of globalization, a combination of two social phenomena that contributes in a key way to the fact that there has never been such a broad cultural leisure offer. As always, the initial euphoria of these media has given way to regulation, taking into account the great power that these media can exercise in the public , especially in its children audience.

Thus, the legendary Lucky Luke cigar became a healthy spike, the Spiderman villains guns did not shoot bullets, but stun rays (or something) and the ninja turtles became heroic turtles, all in favor of limiting the advocacy of tobacco, weapons or violence in content aimed at children. The situation is complicated if we pay attention to the huge amount of cartoons that have been criticized and censored for promoting racial stereotypes, especially by the all-powerful Disney.


  • Related article: "The Theory of Cultivation: how does the screen influence us?"

Sensitizing children through the media

And it is true that the promotion of stereotypes can be as harmful as drugs. The sensitization to what we see in the media Regarding race or gender, it is growing, but more subtle archetypes continue to appear frequently. In Friends there is more than one scene where canned laughter is activated with the mere appearance of an overweight character dancing, and in The Big Bang Theory there are more than two occasions in which the protagonists make fun simply by using scientific terms and being " smart "and therefore" rare ".


Faced with this situation, following the path in which we have embarked until now, what is imposed would be to restrict the appearance of similar stereotypes on screen, but where would we put the limit? Is it feasible that all minorities are represented in all artistic works? Can drama be affected if we renounce certain elements? What do we do with the animated films before this time and its thousands of stereotypes? And the most important thing: Through this "censorship", Do we lose the opportunity to educate in values?

  • Maybe you're interested: "Education in values: what is it?"

The importance of covision

Fiction works do not cease to be a reflection of their time and, normally, they represent the audience they are shown to. In that sense, however much we protect children from their influence, they will find it sooner or later in their own lives. Therefore, cartoons give us an opportunity to work in a controlled context, in a "laboratory", before children face the dangers that these stereotypes engender in the real world.


From this point of view, the covisioning takes on great importance , a technique that consists of an adult accompanying the child during his adventure, contextualizing all those guidelines that, although they may work in fiction, we understand that they are not convenient in society.

Special mention deserves humor, which often resorts to stereotypes or politically incorrect themes looking to make people laugh, or through socially shared elements, as in monologues ("mothers-in-law and sons-in-law do not get along") or through rejection or daring (The Family Guy, The Simpsons).

Instead of censoring that humor, children can be taught that what can be funny on TV does not have to be done in reality and that, in fact, if it's funny on TV it's partly because it's not done in reality .

Violence and television

Following that logic, something similar happens with weapons. The fiction or the game is an ideal context for the infant to develop his creativity, and limiting it by prohibiting the use of certain elements can be an obstacle to it.

So, the same way we see Superman flying without fear of our children throwing themselves out the window, we should be able to see Captain Haddock drunk without fear of developing alcoholism. Yes, it is true that the second example is less obvious to them as it is not subject to the laws of physics, and yes, obviously embodies a high risk for the development of their values if it is left to campaign at ease ... but precisely that is where the role of parents and educators comes in, exercising covision in the face of violent, sexual or stereotypical content.

At the end of the day, acting as guardians of morality, leaving without contextualizing controversial elements that boys and girls will encounter sooner or later is the most direct way for them to accept them without any more as faithful descriptions of reality.


Pulpos: suave inteligencia (March 2024).


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