Helicopter Parents and the Media

Helicopter Parents and the Media focuses on the effects the media has on parents and how media can cause a parent to become a helicopter parent.
Helicopter Parents can be effected by the media in various ways. The media can make a parent question the safety of a child's environment, make the parent concerned about what their child is learning in the world, make a parent less trusting of their child and influence them to keep a closer watch on their children, hence creating the dreaded "helicopter parent".
Portrayed Effects on Safety of Environment
Media Framing tells us how to understand the issues that were identified during . It highlights certain issues and information while neglecting other information. Television shows such as Dateline and 20/20 utilize media framing frequently. Both of these programs occasionally focus in on the parents in the audience when discussing incidents involving children such as kidnappings. In their depiction of the kidnapping and the case they typically make the child and family appear as wholesome, genuine and trustworthy innocent people. They also always make the situation to have a clear right and wrong party and they always makes sure to put the blame on something or someone. The producers create the show for parents to think that these stories could be their own one day and that the world is not a safe place anymore. By framing the stories in a certain way the television media is able to influence parents that the environment that their children are in is not safe ultimately creating a helicopter parent.
Social-action media studies reveals how individuals are influenced by peers and the media adjusts their messages to these specific groups that have been influenced by one another. The media uses the knowledge acquired by these studies to influence parents knowing that they are influenced by fellow parents. By showing stories about parents who have had children kidnapped and having those parents advocate about the importance of watching your children closely the media ultimately uses the way people are influenced by their peers to their advantage. If several parents are untrusting about society and the environment you are in other parents will be influenced into thinking the same and becoming helicopter parents who do not trust their child in different environments.
Portrayed Effects on what Children are Learning
Influence on Trust Levels with Children
Influence on Proximity a Child is Watched
Media Framing and portraying information in certain lights can influence parents into watching their children more closely and creating a helicopter parent. For example when Dateline or 20/20 does a story on kidnapping in which the child is taken from a park while their parents were talking on a bench it can easily influence a parent to stay by their child's side while at the park. This helicoptering over the child can effect his friendship formation and his interpersonal skills with other kids his or her own's age. The media makes a dramatic and interesting frame so that it appeals to parents and highlights the fact that children need to be watched and to always be cautious of where your children are and what they are doing which results in overprotective helicopter parents.
How to Fix this Problem
Take everything that the media portrays with a grain of salt. Parents should be confident in their parenting styles and always remember that each child is different and thus each parenting style should be different as well. Also keep in mind that the media targets parents as an audience and tailors and twists messages to appeal to their audience in different lights.

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