Lawrence Rubin, psychologist and counseling professor, is co-author with psychiatrist Mike Brody of Messages: Self Help Through Popular Culture. See full bio
Our HD screens and surround-sound entertainment centers are now dominated by cheaply produced "non-scripted" programming, whose basic viewer hook is identification with "average people."The "regular" people on these shows are adults who make the choice to expose themselves to humiliation and rejection on network and cable. But, unfortunately, in their constant quest for freshness and ratings, producers have now brought children into the mix. Kid Nation, a kind of Lord of the Flies meets Who Wants to be a Millionaire was totally inappropriate and traumatic for the kids ages 6-16. In this show, kids were placed in a western ghost town with a sadistic host in order to provide entertainment for an audience that seemed to enjoy watching separation anxiety. The Baby Borrowers was even more bizarre, as the neglect bar was set even lower, fostering the abuse of infants and toddlers, placing them in the hands of inexperienced and incompetent teenagers.
Now we have Jon and Kate plus 8 and 18 Kids and Counting, where family activities and conflicts are filmed 24/7, making these shows fodder for the hungry tabloids. A better title for all these shows could be "What are the parents of these kids thinking? Or are they thinking at all?" In our current book, Messages: Self Help Through Popular Culture, one of the quotes selected to demonstrate a sad truth is "Sing Out Loud Louise, Sing Out!" from the musical Gypsy. In this musical, we watch as Mama Rose pushes Louise/Gypsy to stand out as an entertainer and become a star. This is much like the children of today, who are under a great deal of pressure, as their parents want their prodigy to be the best they can be for themselves and, of course, for parental enhancement. Free time is out, along with recess. Structured activities and organized sports are in. Kids are now like expensive cars and big houses, principal objects of status and enhancement. Sure, we want to be proud of our children, but not at their psychological expense. And to top it off, Jon and Kate are separating. Tune in for the reality spinoff featuring al live-in psychologist.
What is the emotional and developmental cost to these over-exposed children? Where are the parents? Or do they just play parents on TV? We already have the data about the mess former child-stars have made of their lives, as documented weekly in People and Us. We see them on Entertainment Tonight and E, coming and going from rehab, earning their living writing or staring in plays about their abused and lost childhoods. There is Lindsey, Brittany, and of course Judy, Ricky, and Liz to name a few.
Psychologically, the children on these reality shows have no sense of boundaries, as strangers are always present in their rooms and lives. One wonders what this does in terms of relationships, where issues of independence and merging become muddled. There is no privacy of the self. These children also have authority problems as they mediate between too many adult directors and producers. Who do they listen to? Authority is also undermined by the power that the kids wield, as they become meal tickets for their families. These children are objectified and not seen for themselves, but for the images they project onto the TV screens. This promotes a sense of falseness of self. What is genuine and real? This is not a healthy environment for children, and it is good that Child Labor Agencies have been investigating some of this programming.
Television not only reflects, but also resonates society. We used to be concerned with inappropriate children's media containing too much commercialism, sex and violence, while now we place children in extremely stressful circumstances to entertain us. This mirrors society, where children are often the victims in divorce, inadequate education and over-worked absent parents.
Where can we find answers to this difficult and unhealthy problem? One place may be Broadway. The award- winning show Billy Elliot, the story of a young boy who has a dream and the talent to dance, is a very arduous and demanding role for the lead child actor. True to the moral lesson of the show, valuing children, the producers use 3 or 4 Billys. When the 3 stars, who alternate daily performances on stage received their shared Tony for best actor in a musical, they appeared to be delightful and having fun. Their working life was limited and fortunately being handled by responsible adults.
This posting first appeared as an op ed piece written by my co-author, Mike Brody, Chair of the Media Divsion of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Area Chair of the Celebrity section of the Popular Culture Association.
The Favorite Child by Ellen Weber Libby, PhD
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Our HD screens and surround-sound entertainment centers are now dominated by cheaply produced "non-scripted" programming, whose basic viewer hook is identification with "average people."The "regular" people on these shows are adults who make the choice to expose themselves to humiliation and rejection on network and cable. But, unfortunately, in their constant quest for freshness and ratings, producers have now brought children into the mix. Kid Nation, a kind of Lord of the Flies meets Who Wants to be a Millionaire was totally inappropriate and traumatic for the kids ages 6-16. In this show, kids were placed in a western ghost town with a sadistic host in order to provide entertainment for an audience that seemed to enjoy watching separation anxiety. The Baby Borrowers was even more bizarre, as the neglect bar was set even lower, fostering the abuse of infants and toddlers, placing them in the hands of inexperienced and incompetent teenagers.
