The Children’s Media Foundation launched a campaign aimed to stop the “childhood crisis”

The British non-profit organization “The Children’s Media Foundation” (CMF) has been working for several years in the United Kingdom to create a wider and more diverse media content for children. The organization has recently launched a campaign entitled “Responding to the Crisis of Childhood”.

The Foundation expresses concern about the current use of the media by children and young people. “We believe that the current media lives of children and young people are contributing to the ‘crisis of childhood’ which is reflected in young people’s mental well-being, engagement with society and culture, and formation of values”.

The campaign is based on a report from Ofcom (the British media regulator) that analyzed trends in content viewing by children. The results demonstrated the “noteworthy” replacement of public service channels by the massive adoption of online platforms, such as YouTube or TikTok.

Recognizing the existence of some quality content on these platforms, the CMF is concerned about the fact that they do not show concern, or are obliged, to provide public service content with cultural relevance for children and young people. On the contrary, according to the CMF, such platforms lead children and young audiences to consume more, either age-inappropriate products or generic content or content focused on North American reality, instead of programs centered on the needs of a British audience.

According to the campaign, “We believe the decline in the availability and discoverability of culturally relevant content for young people impacts on their individual and shared UK identity and contributes to a sense of isolation with increasing levels of anxiety and mental health challenges”.

Among the campaign’s objectives, is to alert politicians to be aware of these changes in media consumption by younger generations and consequently adopt measures to address these issues, such as funding and offering of public service content to young people in the UK.

The full campaign text, accompanied by a list of suggestions and a petition, can be read through this link: https://www.thechildrensmediafoundation.org/responding-to-the-crisis-of-childhood/campaign-document