blog #6 rough draft essay #2

Blog # 6 rough draft essay # 2

Jonathan Alter is a senior editor for Newsweek and author of its ‘between the lines’ column, which examines politics, media, and society at large. He is also a correspondent for NBC News. ‘Who’s Taking the Kids’, is an article that appeared in the July 29, 2002, issue of Newsweek.
Jonathan Alter talks about how media hype is affecting the way we live out our every day lives. Some believe that it is no longer safe to send your child to the market or that it is dangerous to let their child play in the back yard. But where do we draw the line. Jonathan Alter asks us how much of our fear is common sense caution and how much is fueled by media hype, and is the media preying on our insecurities?
When I was a child my parents allowed me to do a lot of things that today might be considered dangerous. From the age of at least eight years old I was aloud to ride my bike alone as long as I stayed in the neighborhood. When we would summer on the cape we were aloud to take walks through woods or go to the beaches alone. My parents had no fear of us being abducted or lured by a sex offender. In fact they were more worried about us hurting somebody else.
Today there is so much media hype about child abductions that parents are being forced to fear for their child and their safety. I have an eight year old brother and for my parents to even think about letting him have the freedom that his older brothers had is forbidden. Maybe they are being overprotective and I can understand why. If I had children I would probably be just as paranoid about leaving them unattended as my parents are. I understand that the media has a huge influence on the way my parents are raising my brother. Although sheltering will keep him from harm it will also keep him from healthy childhood adventures like riding his bike with his friends or exploring the trails in the woods, or building forts. Sheltering him will most certainly keep him alive but it will also distance him from life.
The emphasis in recent years on child safety has most certainly been a tremendous life saver but sheltering your child from normal activities may, in some cases, do more harm than good.


Work cited,


Gary Goshgarian ‘What Matters in America’
Chapter 3 do the media promote a culture of fear

Jonathan Alter Who’s Taking the Kids
Newsweek Magazine July, 29, 2002.