Skopje, November 30, 2021 – As part of the Media Literacy Days 2021, the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and the Resis Institute yesterday held an online debate on the topic “Analysis of gender aspects in TV programs for children: Are we building critical awareness among children?” . The discussion covered several segments, from what is the psychological impact of children’s programs on their growth and development, to the way in which the policies and programs of the media intended for children should be created.
Giving an introduction to the debate, Dr. Zoran Trajchevski, director of the Agency, pointed out that the findings showed that the Public Service leads a planned and designed program policy in relation to the child population, but this finding is much more valid for MRT1 than for MRT2. Regarding the programs of commercial television, the findings show that there is no thoughtful and careful editorial approach in the selection of shows intended for different age segments of the minor audience.
Igor Micevski, M.Sc., from the Resis Institute, presented the findings of the research “Analysis of gender aspects in children’s programs on national terrestrial television”, which was prepared for the needs of AVMU. In doing so, he gave more examples of how the general lack of conception in the selection of shows for children is also confirmed in the presentation of gender roles. Domestically produced drama programs are dominated by series that mimic the patriarchal notions of gender roles of 19th century societies, while shows with contemporary viewpoints that treat gender issues from a liberal standpoint are lacking. On the other hand, feature programs from foreign production are downloaded without taking into account whether they are part of some kind of franchise (selling dolls, video games, children’s school equipment and other products), thus developing consumerism among children. These shows abound with hard-to-achieve idealized depictions of the female and male bodies.
Regarding the results of the research, and in relation to the developmental aspect of children, Dr. Ana Blaževa, from the “Psychotherapika” Institute, pointed out that the representation of the patriarchal matrix and values in a large part of the contents, especially in game programs, which do not correspond to today’s way of living, creates a frustrating situation and can lead to destructive behavior.
The creation of an educational television program intended for young people that will respond to both European and national needs is a feature of the whole world, not only for us, stressed the editor-in-chief of MRT1, Aneta Andonova, M.Sc. It is very difficult to create an educational television program that will keep the children’s audience in front of the screens, because research shows that children no longer trust television.
The participants of the debate agreed that a lot of work needs to be done to create quality program concepts and content that will meet the needs of children and youth and create an audience that is critically aware and media literate.
