ABSTRACT
Children invest extraordinary levels of attention and self-directed learning in their engagement with television and digital media. This chapter takes as its premise that moving-image media are not simulacra of real life but human artefacts, using distinctive and complex codes and conventions that are learned very early in life. It uses detailed evidence from observation of two-year-olds’ viewing behaviour and an analytical approach drawn from embodied cognition. Challenging established assumptions about media effects, it argues for the need to recognise and understand this vital aspect of early learning.
