The Impact of the News on Children and Children’s Perception of the News

Abstract

The research aims to examine the impact of watching the news on children in line with the answers received from them. In the research conducted in the phenomenological design, interviews were conducted through a semi-structured interview form created by getting expert opinion. The data obtained after the interviews with 105 children between the ages of 6 and 8 were analyzed with the descriptive analysis method. Consistent with the purpose of the research, the following themes were obtained from the data: "the purpose of the news", "the meaning of the news", "the emotional impact of the news" and "the news and the family". As a result of the research, it has been concluded that the news has a positive purpose but a negative meaning for most of the children, the color that attracts attention is red, the news that makes children sad is more, and the families watch the news unresponsively. The research provides significant clues for researchers, educators and families working on media literacy and child development.