Childhood and the Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Argentinian Government established a nationwide policy of Preventive and Mandatory Social Isolation. As a consequence of the measures, children were confined to their homes. During this period children adopted multiple symbolic images gen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pablo Vinocur, Patricia Ferrante, Belén Igarzábal, Monica Waisman, Martin Rajnerman, Raul Mercer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2021-12-01
Series:Çocuk Dergisi
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/BFD9C33F57D44297AAB36CBB307F14AD
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850274592092848128
author Pablo Vinocur
Patricia Ferrante
Belén Igarzábal
Monica Waisman
Martin Rajnerman
Raul Mercer
author_facet Pablo Vinocur
Patricia Ferrante
Belén Igarzábal
Monica Waisman
Martin Rajnerman
Raul Mercer
author_sort Pablo Vinocur
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Argentinian Government established a nationwide policy of Preventive and Mandatory Social Isolation. As a consequence of the measures, children were confined to their homes. During this period children adopted multiple symbolic images generated by the media. In order to evaluate how children were affected during the first months of lockdown we decided to analyze the way in which children were considered on digital media. Objectives: To identify the space children had on digital media in Argentina at the beginning of the pandemic and to characterize those aspects related to child rights during that period. Methods: Using a quantitative method, information about children and digital media in Argentina was collected from 10th March to 9th June 2020. In total 119,103 news items which made reference to the COVID-19 pandemic were found. Out of this universe, 14,543 (12.3%) matched the selected search terms. All the articles were checked one by one to discard those that did not make reference to the selected dimensions related to child rights. Descriptive statistics was applied for selected categories. Results: The news reports analyzed (a total of 1,620) were distributed between the following categories: Education (26.42%), Play (26.05%), Health care (18.52%), General care (11.23%), Violence (5.06%), Nutrition (4.94%), Protection (3.95%), Children’s voice (2.28%), Poverty (1.54%). The way the media characterized child rights categories varied according to the type of media (national or regional) and the rights considered. The space given by the media to children at this stage in the pandemic was much lower compared to that given to the adult population. Conclusions: The space devoted to childhood in the digital media was based on emergent situations associated with COVID-19. During the period of analysis, and in the light of the rights paradigm, children were affected in the recognition of their rights. This situation demands a proactive response from different sectors of society to identify and recognize child rights violations.
format Article
id doaj-art-707cbcdc39f740f8a360ea692763e2f1
institution OA Journals
issn 1308-8491
language English
publishDate 2021-12-01
publisher Istanbul University Press
record_format Article
series Çocuk Dergisi
spelling doaj-art-707cbcdc39f740f8a360ea692763e2f12025-08-20T01:51:06ZengIstanbul University PressÇocuk Dergisi1308-84912021-12-0121323724610.26650/jchild.2021.1005536123456Childhood and the Media during the COVID-19 PandemicPablo Vinocur0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3820-9614Patricia Ferrante1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1994-0759Belén Igarzábal2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4720-6623Monica Waisman3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1857-1640Martin Rajnerman4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5906-4824Raul Mercer5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8616-0827The Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Buenos-Aires, ArgentinaThe Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Buenos-Aires, ArgentinaThe Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Buenos-Aires, ArgentinaSAP (Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría), Buenos-Aires, ArgentinaThe Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Buenos-Aires, ArgentinaThe Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Buenos-Aires, ArgentinaIntroduction: During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Argentinian Government established a nationwide policy of Preventive and Mandatory Social Isolation. As a consequence of the measures, children were confined to their homes. During this period children adopted multiple symbolic images generated by the media. In order to evaluate how children were affected during the first months of lockdown we decided to analyze the way in which children were considered on digital media. Objectives: To identify the space children had on digital media in Argentina at the beginning of the pandemic and to characterize those aspects related to child rights during that period. Methods: Using a quantitative method, information about children and digital media in Argentina was collected from 10th March to 9th June 2020. In total 119,103 news items which made reference to the COVID-19 pandemic were found. Out of this universe, 14,543 (12.3%) matched the selected search terms. All the articles were checked one by one to discard those that did not make reference to the selected dimensions related to child rights. Descriptive statistics was applied for selected categories. Results: The news reports analyzed (a total of 1,620) were distributed between the following categories: Education (26.42%), Play (26.05%), Health care (18.52%), General care (11.23%), Violence (5.06%), Nutrition (4.94%), Protection (3.95%), Children’s voice (2.28%), Poverty (1.54%). The way the media characterized child rights categories varied according to the type of media (national or regional) and the rights considered. The space given by the media to children at this stage in the pandemic was much lower compared to that given to the adult population. Conclusions: The space devoted to childhood in the digital media was based on emergent situations associated with COVID-19. During the period of analysis, and in the light of the rights paradigm, children were affected in the recognition of their rights. This situation demands a proactive response from different sectors of society to identify and recognize child rights violations.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/BFD9C33F57D44297AAB36CBB307F14ADchildhoodmediapandemicargentinachild rights
spellingShingle Pablo Vinocur
Patricia Ferrante
Belén Igarzábal
Monica Waisman
Martin Rajnerman
Raul Mercer
Childhood and the Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Çocuk Dergisi
childhood
media
pandemic
argentina
child rights
title Childhood and the Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full Childhood and the Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_fullStr Childhood and the Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Childhood and the Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_short Childhood and the Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_sort childhood and the media during the covid 19 pandemic
topic childhood
media
pandemic
argentina
child rights
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/BFD9C33F57D44297AAB36CBB307F14AD
work_keys_str_mv AT pablovinocur childhoodandthemediaduringthecovid19pandemic
AT patriciaferrante childhoodandthemediaduringthecovid19pandemic
AT belenigarzabal childhoodandthemediaduringthecovid19pandemic
AT monicawaisman childhoodandthemediaduringthecovid19pandemic
AT martinrajnerman childhoodandthemediaduringthecovid19pandemic
AT raulmercer childhoodandthemediaduringthecovid19pandemic