ABSTRACT
Every electronic media product, no matter its length or means of delivery, unavoidably serves an instructive function. This is as true of commercials, radio lyrics, online postings, and television sit coms as it is of “hard news” programs, documentaries, and the skilled pedagogy found on Sesame Street. As our twenty-first century perceptual world widens, physical participation in most of it becomes less and less feasible. The electronic media fill in this direct-experience gap with their dynamic and inevitable sound and sight curriculum that teaches us not only about places and events, but also about human interaction, responsibilities, and values. As Professor Mary Strom Larson points out:
All television [and indeed all consumer-focused electronic media] is to some degree educational, inasmuch as it provides a rich source of behaviors and roles to observe and from which to learn. This premise is based on social learning theory which explains that in addition to real-life models, television models are used by viewers to shape behavior and cultivation theory which explains that viewers’ expectations of real-life experiences are shaped by the experiences they see depicted on television. 1
