Communication Aspects of the “Media Lifestyle” of Kindergarten Children

Abstract

Development of information technology and of the media gives the basis for a change in the conditions of life as well as of lifestyle, both in the individual dimension and in the social one; in this way it defines new patterns for the formation of personality. Interactive multimedia seem to exert a special influence here. They present reality in the form of ambiguous generalizations, in this way becoming, especially for children, very attractive and at the same time possessive, as in a way they force children to accept the promoted behavior patterns, and they induce aspirations to a new quality of lifestyle – the ‘media lifestyle’. Hence taking care of this kind of educational contact, and especially of children and their development, is very important. Such interest in the issue is concerned with the presence of the child in the world of the media, and it concerns the contents the child may accept; the criteria of choice he may use; his communication competences; and the advantages he may have from the contact with the media. Presenting the connection between the communication aspects of the schoolchildren’s lifestyle and global media messages, the author focuses mainly on discussing the mental processes taking part in the reception of the media and on the child’s functioning in the ‘media reality’, which may allow one to understand the specific character of the ‘media lifestyle’.