The Light Millennium, Charitable Global Human Advancement Organization, proudly presents the below research by Senadi Ranasinghe, Whyteleafe Junior Researcher (Sri Lanka), in support of the 2022 #WorldScienceDay theme’s #BasicSciencesForSustainableDevelopment, along with encouraging students toward further research-based projects.

The theme of World Science Day on 10 November 2022 is Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development. It is being celebrated within the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, which kicked off on 8 July 2022. Scientists, science communicators, and science enthusiasts are encouraged to prepare their events to celebrate #WorldScienceDay.
“The annual observance of theInternational Week ofScience and Peace, 9-15 November (A/RES/43/61), is making an important contribution to the promotion of peace. The Week encourages greater academic exchanges on a subject of universal importance while also generating greater awareness of the relationship of science and peace among the general public. Based on observances of Science and Peace Week to date, it may be expected that participation each year will increase, contributing to greater international understanding and opportunities for co-operation in the applications of science for the promotion of peace throughout the year.” #ScienceForDevelopmentAndPeace 
Source: https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-science-day/week

Whyteleafe Junior Researchers Series

Children Vs Media: The Quality of Children’s TV programs in the Sri Lankan TV Context
by Senadi Ranasinghe, Whyteleafe Junior Researcher

29/09/2022

Introduction

TV context plays a major role in the media world in Sri Lanka. Children’s TV Programs are designed for children’s entertainment and education. So, it is essential to create them and design them with higher standards. This research is done to analyze and explore the quality level of Children’s programs in the Sri Lankan TV context. This research will help to find out whether the Children’s programs on Sri Lankan TV channels are in good standards or should be improved or aren’t they satisfying. It is a widely known fact that children’s TV programs should be made with high standards. 

To conduct this research, questionnaires were sent to a selected group of children between 5-13 years, and adults and interviews were conducted with related professionals which were analyzed quantitatively, qualitatively, and with mixed- methods. However, due to lack of time and inability to consider all the TV channels regarding their children’s programs, there are limitations within this research where it has only considered 8 TV channels namely, Jathika Rupavahini, TV Derana, Wasantham TV, Hiru TV, Shakthi TV, Sirasa TV, Swarnavahini and Independent Television Network.

Explanation of research question

The country’s future is derived from the young generation’s behaviors and attitudes. To develop them, they should always have good lessons and teachings. Children nowadays seem to be addicted to TV programs. So, the children’s programs should be with higher standards. But, in society, there is a concern regarding the standards & qualities of those. It urged us to analyze this concern and find what type of programs & standards are expected by society.

Objectives of the research are;

1. Examine whether the programs nowadays are of the right standards and qualities. 

2. Determine whether children nowadays are addicted to television 

3. Find out the types of programs children most admire

4. Examine how long children watch television in a day

5. Determine the types of children’s programs expected by the society

Theoretical Framework 

According to research (Guide to Children’s Television Classification, 2013), CTS 6 (b) States that Indicators of an entertaining children’s drama may include a good story, humor, unpredictability, a pace appropriate to the style of storytelling, and that maintains the audience’s interest and a contemporary visual style.

According to this research, they have stated when assessing programs, indicators of whether a program is made specifically for children may include the following: 

• Children are the central focus of the program. 

• Child characters behave according to their ages. 

• Where a program does not include children, it deals with issues and themes of interest to children and conveys the child’s perspective.

• The action and themes are ‘child-driven’.

A study by the Gampaha divisional secretariat about the quality of television children’s cartoon programs in Sri Lanka states that a high level of violence in cartoons can make children more aggressive. It says that young children tend to mimic the negative behavior they see on television. (Liyanachchi, 2010)  

Analysis of the impact of cartoons on school-going children has taken the sample from Gujrat city of Pakistan. It states that cartoon series are highly affecting children physically and psychologically. The children that are not administered are affected the most. Children are being violent. Children prefer to watch cartoons and hence waste their time. Cartoons have a great influence on language. They are adopting inappropriate words and imitating the style and language of cartoons. (Yousaf Zahir et.al., 2015)

Methodology

The data for this study was taken from online surveys shared among the society and answered by children aged 5-13 and a separate survey for adults which was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Interviews were done with related professionals which were analyzed qualitatively and with mixed- methods. In the children’s survey, a sample of 98 children was taken as data sources from 3 districts. In the adult survey, a sample of 36 adults was collected from 4 districts.

Discussion

This study reveals that children’s programs in Sri Lanka are not too high standards and if there is a specific criterion with terms and conditions when creating a children’s program it would make an influence on the children’s program directors, producers, and the crews which will lead to more outcomes of standard children’s programs with good qualities. We found that our country’s programs need to be significantly improved when compared to foreign programs. This study revealed that there should be a strict specific criterion fulfilling all the conditions to create standard children’s programs for all the media channels so that the channels can approve only standard children’s programs when casting.

According to the analysis, Sri Lankan children’s programs telecasted nowadays are not up to standards and should be developed in every aspect namely, plot, content, language, themes, models, techniques, and meanings. This study reveals that adults and parents are not satisfied with children watching Sri Lankan children’s programs as they are not of high standards and qualities. This study, reveals that children expect more useful, meaningful, interesting, and enjoyable children’s programs than the programs that are telecasted now on TV. We found that children prefer to watch programs using the internet instead of watching TV. So that they can watch the desired program without advertisements also they prefer to watch foreign programs which are of higher standards than watching Sri Lankan TV programs. Some programs are designed for adults with the heading for children with little use of children and with contents relevant to adults. Here, those children are publicly abused though it is not a concern for the producers and directors.

According to the discoveries of the research, Sri Lankan children’s programs should be made by creators who think of children, who feel the child’s mind, who are not profit-minded, and who will make a good impact on the child watching, at the end of the program.

Conclusion

This research is done because there is no research done previously considering the quality of children’s programs in the Sri Lankan TV context so this will be an influence for the media, adults, kids, and the children’s programs creators to make qualified, standard children’s programs for Sri Lankan children to watch. 

This research was helpful to find out that there are many foreign children’s programs cast on TV by dubbing in the Sinhala language than Sri Lankan-produced programs which lead children to learn only foreign cultures and aspects which makes a big loophole in the media industry. Through this research, we found that when compared to foreign children’s programs there is a higher gap for Sri Lankan media to move forward in the children’s programs aspect which would create an impact on the society in the long run.

The standards of the children’s programs cast in TV should be more developed without violent scenes but with interesting, meaningful, useful, enjoyable, and knowledgeable scenes and storylines that would finally make a positive impact on the child.

– . –

Declaration

“I certify that the content of this research is my study findings. The information and data given in the report are authentic to the best of my knowledge.”

Senadi Ranasinghe 
A Different Flower -Trying to be the change I want to see in the world.-

Whyteleafe Academy

Dedicated to the 2022 World Science Day & International Week of Science and Peace byThe Light Millennium, Charitable Global Human Advancement Organization (LMGlobal.Org; 2001, New York); associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (formerly, UN.DPI) since 2005. www.lmglobal.org

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