Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/watching-television-what-are-children-learning-about-race-and-ethnicity/5012850/
Whether we turn on television to be entertained, educated, or informed, the images we see can profoundly influence our view of the world, including how we perceive our own race and ethnicity, as well as the race and ethnicity of others. For many reasons, young children are especially vulnerable to television's messages. Because children often have difficulty differentiating between reality and fantasy, they are apt to accept what they see on the screen as true. In addition, their experience of, and knowledge about, how the world works is limited. Therefore, their beliefs about it - including their attitudes about race and ethnicity - are still malleable._ The Development of Racial Attitudes
A black doctor was walking down a street in a white suburban neighborhood when a five year old white boy greeted him. "Hello, Mr. Garbage Man," he said, cheerfully.
Why would a five year old assume that a black stranger in his neighborhood was a garbage man? How do children learn stereotypes and negative or positive attitudes about race and ethnicity? Studies indicate that children absorb messages from their parents, caretakers, and from the world around them.
The foundation on which we build our attitudes about race and ethnicity is ...