Üsküdar University Rector Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that Hollywood-based TV series are used as psychological warfare materials on children and said, "These TV series decide what children will like and dislike, what they will choose as role models."
Commenting on the effects of TV series on children to AA correspondent, Tarhan said that TV series should be handled in two ways: those watched by adults and those made for children.
Stating that the TV series that children watch before puberty and during puberty are very different from each other in terms of their effects, Tarhan said:
"There are 2 important factors here. When we consider children between the ages of 0-6 and 6-11, the mental and neurocognitive development related to reality assessment and reality testing is not yet sufficient in children of this age. These children do not yet have the ability to question the series presented to them. Therefore, when they watch these series without parental supervision, they are likely to perceive imaginary, unrealistic, irrational information as real information."
"Hollywood-based TV series produce Islamophobia"
Prof. Dr. Tarhan pointed out that children are likely to imitate violent events in TV series and make the same mistakes by identifying with fairy tale heroes, and continued his words as follows:
"This poses a risk for children. So how can we understand whether these series are beneficial or useless for children? There is a purity in the developing soul of the child. Empathic perception and theory of mind are not yet present in the child. He cannot distinguish between his own mind and someone else's mind. He cannot distinguish between individual benefit and social benefit. Therefore, instead of objecting to children watching TV series, it is necessary to choose TV series that are beneficial to the child and those that are not. Some of the people who make TV series do it for commercial purposes to 'sell more'. Some of them are an extension of a capitalist system, a consumer culture and encourage consumption."
Underlining that it is aimed to make Hollywood culture the only culture of the world in the future, Tarhan said, "Cultures determine what people like and dislike, what they like and dislike, what they demand and what they do not demand. By changing this, there may be TV series that will affect the consumption behavior in the society in a way that they will produce a product in the future, that all children will like that product in the future, that they will like that product, that they will denigrate a product and no one will buy that product. These can definitely have their own ideological effects. It may cause various cultural phobias."
Tarhan stated that Hollywood-based TV series produce Islamophobia and Islamophobia is given as a message in these series and said, "In these series, they create a character originating from the Middle East and there is a person who arouses fear. TV series originating from Hollywood are used as psychological warfare material. These TV series decide what children will like and dislike and what they will choose as role models."
Tarhan stated that children see the characters they like in TV series as ego ideals and emphasized that if the child watches the series for this reason, parents should question this.
Emphasizing the importance of parents explaining to children that not all the information in TV series is true and that they should not believe everything they are told, Tarhan said, "When the child watches the series or concentrates too much on something in any computer environment, parents should patiently explain to the child what is wrong and right there. It is the biggest mistake that can be done to a child if parents who pay attention to what the child eats, what the child does not eat, what the child wears and what the child does not wear, do not pay attention to what enters the child's mind. Parents pay attention to what the child eats, drinks and wears, but we do not pay attention to the information that enters the child's mind. The child can spontaneously become a victim of cultural propaganda in a commercial movie."
"Being a good person is more important than being famous"
Stating that the negative characters in the series are attractive characters, Tarhan noted that striking things are used a lot in the series to attract attention and behind this, a message is given to the child.
Tarhan pointed out that TV series that glorify being a good person, helpful, empathetic, honest and keeping their word should not be feared and said, "However, if this series teaches ruthlessness and lack of mercy, we should definitely question the characters in that series. Let's teach children that being a good person is more important than being famous. If we place this in the minds of children, they will question those series. We should place our priorities and important things in the developing souls of children before the series characters."
Pointing out that the mosaic event in the series is a controversial situation, Tarhan said, "It can arouse curiosity in children. The child may ask, 'What is this, why is it mosaicized? In this age, we cannot protect children with prohibitions. When we try to protect the child with prohibitions, we can arouse a sense of curiosity and wonder in him/her. We need to find good and beautiful roles and heroes for our children to arouse curiosity and wonder. Of course we will have a red line, but when we exaggerate it, the child will somehow find a way and encounter it. We cannot raise children like greenhouse flowers in this age. We need to be able to manage our children from a young age in life, but in a way that is resistant to it. If we cannot instill our own culture in the child in the first 10 years, the child becomes a product of popular culture."
Pointing out the importance of instilling culture in children in the first 10 years, Tarhan said, "After that, children can become stronger and more resistant to popular culture. They can question the series, analyze the series, and bring alternative perspectives against the series."