The Challenge of Guiding Children's Mass Media Use: An Assessment of the Television Literacy of Select Parents in Nairobi

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the television literacy of parents in Nairobi and to explore its relationship with parental guidance of children's television viewing. The objectives of the study were to describe the television literacy of parents in Nairobi; to identify the methods, if any, parents in Nairobi use to guide their children's television viewing; and to investigate the relationship, if any, between the parents' television literacy and the methods, if any, they use to guide their children's television viewing. A self-administered questionnaire containing both close and open-ended ques- tions was distributed to 400 male and female respondents in eight select Nairobi estates. The data were then coded and analysed on the SPSS 10.0 for Windows programme in terms of straight tabulations. The study found that: Generally, there is a high degree of television literacy among Nairobi par- ents, although there are also aspects of television illiteracy. The perceptions and attitudes of parents towards television and their comprehension, inter- pretation and utilization of television content reflect those of a television literate person. Nairobi parents generally have an orientation towards guiding their Children's television viewing, as reflected by their use of rather well-developed rules and methods to control and guide their children's television use before, during and after viewing. However, the methods are not all sound or necessarily based on understanding of the nature of television and its effect on children. The co-occurrence of a high level of television literacy among Nairobi parents and their use of acknowledged rules and methods of guiding children's television viewing may suggest a relationship between the two.