Was Childhood Invented or Discovered?

In The Disappearance of Childhood, Neil Postman weighs the possibilities of the discovery versus the potential invention of childhood. Postman argues, “Childhood is analogous to language learning. It has a biological basis but cannot be realized unless a social environment triggers and nurtures it, that is, has need of it” (Postman, p. 144). Postman contends that childhood is comparable to learning language, which is also based upon biological factors. However, he also argues that these biological factors cannot be accessed without the influence of culture or a social environment. The discovery of childhood is evident due to the underlying biological imperatives that actively influence the devised psychological stages of childhood, because of the blindness of social perception, and because childhood is

actively disappearing while transforming children into more sexualized children.

The discovery of childhood is evident within the findings of many psychologists’ work including those whom Postman mentions multiple times in the book such as: Piaget, Freud, Erikson, and Gesell. Postman states, “This book begins with the statement that childhood is a social artifact, not a biological necessity. Readers who are well-versed in child psychology [psychologists mentioned above] will regard this statement as, at best, problematic and, at worst, false” (Postman, p. 143). In these terms, Postman respectively credits these psychologists for the discovery of childhood as he goes on to say that Piaget’s “...observable stages of childhood development are governed by biological imperatives” (Postman, p. 144). In other words, Postman is arguing that Piaget’s stages of childhood development hold essential ties to biological concepts. This is relevant to modern ideas such as cultural language development and ties to one’s biological brain capacity to learn language. For example, language development cannot be accessed without cultural stimulation even if biological structures are prepared to govern the development of language. Another example within popular culture includes the cultural influence of social media on language. Social media influences language because it advances aspects of social literacy such as texting language or shortcuts. A common use of initialism in popular culture includes “lol” which means “laughing out loud.” One would not know this phrase without a sense of social or cultural literacy and would not be able to interpret this phrase without biological and psychological components.

In chapter three, the author further deepens the belief of the discovery of childhood when he mentions, “...childhood became a description of a level of symbolic achievement” (Postman, p. 42). The keyword in this quotation is became, meaning that there was such a thing as childhood before culture adapted its meaning. In this chapter Postman also explains social perception, which is when a group is formed based on one defining characteristic. In this case, the group being formed is adulthood and the defining characteristic or symbolic achievement that arguably transformed children into adults was the ability to read. However, reading is based upon various stages of biological and psychological development. Therefore childhood was not invented by the ability to read, but rather discovered by cultural influences and socialization. Reading is a task based upon many differing factors. For example, one’s brain must be biologically developed enough in order to psychologically interpret or comprehend the words written on the page.

Social perception still influences popular culture through stereotypes present in the media and backstage racism or discrimination. The idea of social perception modifies the definition of childhood due to the cultural influences surrounding childhood. Examples of cultural influences include social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Other cultural influences include news outlets. News outlets are a large factor within cultural literacy because they are highly relied on for dependable information about global affairs, disasters, political campaigns, etc. The ways this information is shared directs the interpretation and culture of those who are watching or reading through its context.

Lastly, childhood is actively disappearing while transforming children into more sexualized children. Postman heavily disputes this point starting with the first sentence in the first chapter when he asserts, “...twelve- and thirteen-year-old girls are among the highest-paid models in America. In advertisements in all the visual media, they are presented to the public in the guise of knowing and sexually enticing adults, entirely comfortable in the milieu of eroticism” (Postman, p. 3). This sentence demonstrates the discovery of childhood because Postman explains the provoked discomfort with the sexual enticing of adults by child models viewed in the advertisements, which proves that childhood was viewed differently in the past than the seemingly inappropriate perception of childhood in the advertisements he describes in his popular culture. He also claims these visual media advertisements to be soft core pornography which also arouses discomfort. The sexualization of childhood was invented by those in charge of the advertisements, however, childhood itself was discovered. This can be argued due to the fact that culture is forever changing. The sexualization of child models was and still is under the clout of culture.

The definition of childhood and children may change due to culture, however, the invention of childhood itself never took place because it was discovered. For example, children used to dress in, as Postman describes, children’s clothing but are now dressing the same way that adults do. This is not to say that childhood no longer exists, it is just that culture is changing and will continue to change. Aspects associated with childhood in the time period that Postman wrote The Disappearance of Childhood are different than aspects today due to the acclimated culture. An example of this idea would be Jacks versus video games. The game Jacks is associated with a past childhood while video games are associated with today’s childhood. Childhood was not invented but discovered and modified throughout the decades due to the underlying biological imperatives that actively influence the devised psychological stages of childhood, because of the blindness of social perception, and because childhood is actively disappearing while transforming children into more sexualized children.

Reference

Postman, N. (1994). The disappearance of childhood (1st Vintage books ed.). New York: Vintage Books.