1- The meaning of the child’s culture:

Culture refers to a combination of beliefs, morals, traditions, laws, knowledge and behavioral patterns that one acquires within society.

Children have their special and distinguished vocabularies, as well as special values and methods that they use in playing, expressing themselves and satisfying their needs. They also have special reactions, stances, trends, emotions and lifestyle. We call all this the “child’s culture”.

2- Mass media as a source of the child’s culture and experiences:

Today all cultural borders between nations have disappeared and we live now amidst a massive technological and scientific revolution within which the mass media plays a very important role in forming the child’s psychology religiously, culturally and socially. To have a child with a distinct and integrated personality, there should be a specific vision to preserve his cultural and religious identity.

In this respect, the mass media including TV, the Internet, electronic games, and so on, play a key role in building the Muslim child culturally. It should be determined what is introduced to him from the other cultures.

Studies all over the world show that the child between the ages of six to sixteen spends about 12-24 hours a week in front of screens.

Influence of the mass media on the child:

The mass media provides a small child with different cultures while he is still unable to differentiate between what is good and what is bad. This transforms the mass media into a double-edged weapon with its positive and negative influences. This should draw our attention to the fact that the mass media and media institutions that are directed to the child and that are concerned with childhood should be the center of attention of the whole society.

We do not deny the importance of print, audio, and visual mass media in forming learning experiences, and defining, modifying and dispersing attitudes. Similarly, we do not deny the role of the mass media in developing the child’s personality, polishing his skills, and developing his mental, emotional and social abilities. The media for the child is a method for guidance and entertainment, as well as a means for transferring and establishing traditions. However, where are the mass media that cover all that interests the child?

The media materials that our children watch on TV or other mass media can be divided into three categories:

The first category:

Disney films, which are made in the West and that aim at serving the American culture in particular. The theme of these films is derived from their Western values, which contradict our own Islamic traditions and values. So-called "love" dominates every single word of these stories, which aim to mold the child’s mentality in a certain way. If we contemplate the appearance, we will find that they fulfill the criteria of material beauty.

Therefore, a child who watches such films will grow up knowing nothing but the Western concept of beauty, not to mention that these films aim at making profits in the first place. This attitude transforms the child into a consumer, because once he sees the story, he hurries to buy pens and notebooks that carry the pictures of its heroes.

The second category:

The Far East dubbed cartoon films that are characterized by wild imagination and featuring violent electronic aliens that walk in the streets to destroy and kill. These films are introduced to the Arab child through the local mass media.

The third category:

This category is represented in the local materials that are produced by private and public media establishments. They are mostly in audio or video format. However, they are artistically and technically weak and cannot compete with the other alternatives. Nevertheless, some successful and beneficial works appear from time to time. Some institutions also produce stories derived from the Quran and Islamic history in addition to Nasheeds (Islamic poetry). However, such materials are too few to meet the Muslim child’s needs.

3- Mass media and their influence on the identity and culture of the Muslim child:

The issue of the mass media and the Muslim child’s culture is critical, given the important role of the mass media in transferring the Ummah’s culture from generation to generation. The mass media are also considered cultural means that help in supporting stances, encouraging desired behaviors and warning against undesired ones. This shows us the greatness of the responsibility of the mass media that target the Muslim child and those who run them.

The majority of studies and researches in this field show that belonging to a strong and civilized environment with a distinct identity since early childhood is one of the most influential factors in the child’s upbringing and culture. Hence, the mass media shoulder a great responsibility regarding focusing on the Islamic values that should be implanted in the child to form a set of beliefs that express his Islamic identity.

1- The importance of protecting children from the media invasion and the obliteration of identity:

Childhood is one of the most important stages in one’s life, because his personality and tendencies are formed during this time, in addition to physical and mental growth.

Psychological and educational studies prove that this is the most critical stage in a person’s development, and that the child stores the majority of the experiences and information that affect his life in the future during this stage.

The child, as described by Al-Ghazzaali  is a “blank sheet in which we may write down good or evil. So, if we habituate him to be good, he will be a good, and vice versa.”

Therefore, it is vital that we pay attention to the child and ensure that what is introduced to him in his social environment is intellectually beneficial to reflect positively on the young child, his behavior and development.

Today, our children face an intellectual invasion in a world dominated by influential cultures that own the most influential mass media.

Hence, there must be practical means to protect children from the bad and negative programs that are presented to them.

Ismaa‘eel ‘Abd Al-Kaafi, says, "We must preserve the Islamic identity of our generations through providing them with suitable cultural and media production alternatives to exist side by side with foreign media and cultural products in this age of information technology.

The family, school, mosque, mass media and the society as a whole should participate in guiding and directing this process. The society must be aware of the danger of mass media against our children if they are not directed rightly under the supervision of different educational institutions."

2- Types of educational means and their influence on the child’s identity and culture:

1) TV as a means of media: There is no doubt that watching TV daily occupies the spare time of the children and adults as well. They acquire information and are introduced to different cultures through it. One of the negative impacts of TV, to which we should pay attention, is that the children spend many hours in front of it. This affects their social life and relations as well as their behavior with their playmates.

TV also affects their studies and the negative effect of the violence and crime on TV programs cannot be denied.

This shows us the role of the TV in sowing the seeds of fear and worry in our children through horror movies and movies featuring ghosts and devils.

2) Computer as a means for developing the culture of the young:

PC and video games are among the most influential factors in guiding and directing children. Educational studies reveal that computer programs can have negative and positive effects on the culture of the Muslim child.

The positive effects include strengthening the child’s ability to read, write, express himself orally, listen, and pay attention.

They also provide the child with general culture, teach him some scientific principles, help him to learn foreign languages, and help him to develop his artistic and mathematical abilities.

These programs also strengthen the child’s ability to solve problems, improve his social adjustment, develop his skills and hobbies, and make use of his spare time.

On the other hand, these programs have negative effects, because they weaken the child’s ability to perform social activities and duties. They also distract the child from playing physical games. Negative health effects include habituating the child to laziness and may cause obesity due to lack of movement, in addition to deterioration of general health.

Despite the benefits of these programs, their use as a means of education and culture ‎is still limited in comparison to direct social interaction. Their role in education and culture is still weaker than the printed and visual mass media in poorer communities and among lower classes.

The Internet absorbs the child’s attention and makes many children lose their ability to talk and communicate with others.

3- Printed mass media and stories as sources of the child’s culture:

Printed materials such as books and magazines still play an important role in developing children’s culture, because they encourage creative abilities, entertain the child, occupy his spare time and develop his hobbies.

Printed media refines behavior and instills good morals, corrects deviant characters and loosens the shackles of blind imitation and foreign destructive ideas.

We want to transform the printed media and all mass media into resources that enrich the child’s culture away from all the materials that do not accord with our social environment and culture.

Stories are considered a vital resource that can implant correct beliefs in the child’s mind, provides him with facts, and reinforce the educational process. Children’s literature is a positive means that forms the religious creed and develops cultural experiences.

A story is still considered a beacon and an important educational method and its content has always played a key educational role because of its psychological and educational advantages.