Fact, Fiction and flicks Shelley (SB)

While much of what we see on television is fictional issues arise when children and young people are unable to make the distinction between reality and TV. And while fictional constructs have always been part of children’s worlds from oral story telling to children’s books; television ‘stories’ complicate the situation with actors, real settings and environments taking place of the imagination. The realism involved with television often blurs the boundaries between what is real and what is constructed.

As a mother of three I have seen all my children at one time or another engage in ‘conversation’ with the characters they see before them. I have also seen them re-enact scenes and mimic characters, questioning why the people on TV can do something but we can’t. This does not make me rush to turn the television off, it does however make me think about the impact certain television programs may have on children who do not yet have the cognitive skills in place to make the distinctions between real and otherwise. But in this case I am talking about children under 8- what about teenagers?

As a secondary teacher I have often heard students say that wish they were like such and such, or that their life was as interesting as it is for a character of the latest 'in' show. For many students they seem to make very real connections and relationships with celebrities-imitating their style or defending them in conversation. They seem to have in depth conversations about what happened in the the last episode, who did what to who and what will happen next. They defend, debate and deliberate about the characters as though they are a real. With new environments online, fan sites, Twitter and Facebook groups that allow people to engage further in the on screen narratives and connect with other like minded people where does television stop and reality begin? SB (Shelley) Interested in following your favourite TV Show then check this site out for the top fan sites on Facebook and Twitter. With Family Guy and the Simpsons at the top of the list I am interested in how Peter Griffin and Homer manage their Tweets with only four fingers.