Psychologists say that children learn from their parents, right from the time they get delivered in the maternity ward. It is explained as the “Non-Verbal Communication” that happens between the mother and the baby through smiles and expressions. The babies learn things quickly by observing people’s behaviours and manners.
A research done on the babies has even proved to the fact that the foetuses too while being in the mothers’ wombs hear to the sounds around their mothers. Hence it is also advisable for the mothers to be around good environment that would let the to-be-born-babies to hear to something pleasant, that would have a positive impact on them.
When this being the case, let’s try and understand the power of attention and retention in children, in learning behaviours through the cartoons. Cartoons are entertaining medium for children, through which the children get to learn vocabulary, culture and values. That being said, let us try and understand what kind of cartoons are being aired in televisions today.
The things that grab the attention of children are variations in sounds, visuals and scenes that keep the children excited about every next scene to follow. The sounds too have its impact. By the way, that’s what research says. Sounds and musics can make a person feel happy or depressed; lazy or active; relaxed or anxious. I remember reading an article couple of years ago that said that the music played by Yanni could have a positive effect on the heart patients. My immediate question is: If certain music can soothe the hearts, then certain musics can harm the hearts too. Especially the heavy metal – hard guitar and drums used to show action scenes in cartoons will surely drive the children to become more violent and insensitive, that would have an adverse effect in their mannerisms with their elders and peers. One need not be a rocket scientist to understand this. Just play the sounds – the head banging ones in front of the children and see what their reactions are. I’m sure you’ll find them jumping and falling out of excitement. That’s the impact of it. For elders who go to gym, will very well know the impact on lifting weights when some hard numbers are played.
The cars that move rashly in your neighbourhood has its companion who boost up the adrenaline through woofers and systems that blast the sounds to make the drivers feel reckless and careless to the consequences. It’s the casual and the carefree attitude that is built through such music leads to rash driving that causes much of damage in our localities.
There are reports of people committing suicides after listening to music that led them to depression. Music can make one to yearn for a mate, or to go all alone in wilderness. The impact of music is truly not completely comprehended till date.
Having said that, let me bring you to the contents that the little children of 3years to 10 years watch on tv. The action scenes, that involves weapons and violence, the magical wands and mystical stories that takes the children to believe in fictitious evil ways and practices, the rock and heavy metal music that keeps the children restless, and the culture of intermingling of sexes in the cartoons, shown as a way of life in the screens will have for sure adverse effects on children who get addicted to what keeps them in jones.
No wonder the violence amongst the children are at an alarming rate nowadays across the world. In USA alone, may cases of gunfire are being reported in the schools and colleges. And when one gets to learn what went wrong, it has come to our notice that the impact of cartoons and video games have instilled a sense of mythical life – fictitious way of dealing with the real world. The children’s minds get to become insensitive to the real world and its dynamics, that has inadvertently led them to make poor choices that doomed them forever.
But the sad story is that, parents don’t know or not knowledgable enough to keep their children occupied with some other activities that will build ethical values in the growing children. They often find the television and mobile phones to be a convenient medium to keep the children occupied. Even the rhymes for children are with heavy metal these days.
Now you tell me, what kind of a generation are we heading towards?
Allah has warned us against vain talks and amusements that don’t serve any benefit in this world and the hereafter.
Quran 43:83
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فَذَرْهُمْ يَخُوضُوا وَيَلْعَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يُلَاقُوا يَوْمَهُمُ الَّذِي يُوعَدُونَ
So leave them to converse vainly and amuse themselves until they meet their Day which they are promised.
And when the people who enter the hell be questioned as to what led them to Saqar (hell), they would say many reasons why they ended up in such a horrible place; and one of the reasons given will be indulging in Laghw – vain talks that also involves music.
Holy Quran 74:45
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وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ الْخَائِضِينَ
And we used to enter into vain discourse with those who engaged [in it].
It’s high time that the believers involved in producing alternate programs for the school children and homemakers, that would keep their mental health in excellent condition, enabling them to do praiseworthy deeds that benefit humanity.
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Related Articles:
Music Therapy also has positive impacts on heart patients.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/music-therapy-can-ease-recovery-from-heart-problems
The embryos in the mothers wombs hear sounds.
https://amp.businessinsider.com/fetus-vision-hearing-development-uterus-2016-9
Cartoons have adverse effect on even children who are 3 to 5 years age.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/when-the-media-is-the-parent/201307/violent-cartoons-and-aggressive-preschoolers
The song Gloomy Sunday led to suicides, after the listeners went to depression. The song’s lyrics was even banned by BBC in 1940s. The musician who composed music to that song also committed suicide.
http://mysteriousfacts.com/song-that-makes-people-suicide/
-Umar Shariff
President, DIET
facebook.com/UmarShariff.Official
(DIET Article 03)
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