Monkey See, Monkey Do

This video was played in my Philosophy class. It seems to be an Australian ad campaign about parenting and the responsibility of adults/parents and their tremendous influence on children, which more often than not, is subconscious and more detrimental than we think.

The video was played twice, I didn't watch it the second time because it was repulsive to me. I guess that means it succeeded in its purpose because most ads and media are aimed at our senses. They attempt to "shock and awe," and that, this one did.

After watching the video, the class split into pairs and was asked to answer 3 questions:

1. How did you feel about this video? Please recall specific scenes.

2. Do you think you influence anybody with your actions?

3. Do you agree with the message of the video: "children see, children do?"

Here are the responses of my students, 17 and 18 year old Spanish students:

1. Rage, anger, disappointment, helplessness, sadness, it's wrong, terrible

2. Most of the students thought they influenced their younger siblings and/or cousins. One student disagreed and said he influenced everybody he spoke to.

3. All of the students agreed with the message of the video.

The teacher then posed the question, do people influence children more positively or negatively? All of the students said negatively, except one student, the same student who said that he believed he influenced everybody he talked to. He said they were equal. I agree with him and want to expand on what he said, adding my own thoughts. I think children are sponges, they are born as blank slates and absorb from their environment. "Good" and "bad" are a bit abstract and their definitions can vary, depending on whom you ask. I think we can all agree that the scenes shown in this video are bad, a child smoking a cigarette, a child throwing rocks at a caged dog, a child flipping the bird, etc. What this video failed to show is a mother listening to her child tell her stories, or a father on a bicycle ride with his child, a grandparent reading a story to their grandchild or a neighbor teaching a child how to bake cookies. Patience, love, the desire to teach and entertain younger generations.

Negativity sells and is more outrageous than positivity. It is also more harmful and thus we should be conscious of the impacts we have on those around us. We should also be aware of how positive actions affect others, smiling at someone could make their day. We never know what our neighbor, classmate, colleague, etc. is going through in their personal life. A little bit of patience and understanding could give them the peace of mind, encouragement and strength to face their struggle. Or maybe your neighbor, classmate or colleague is not going through any problems, but seeing your smiling face everyday puts them in a good mood, that good mood causes them to smile at another person and look at that chain reaction! I guess it's a little more work to be positive but the effects are endless. I'm sure we've all been the recipient of a random act of kindness. I'm also sure we've all witnessed unnecessary outrage. It's just up to us to make conscious decisions about how we want to live. We define ourselves by the decisions we make and our actions. It IS conscious decision and I think it's a lifelong commitment at attempting to be a good person, having patience with others and being willing to help. We will all need help one day and we will also at point in our lives be able to help others. Let's take advantage of what we have, and do what we can to make the world a tiny bit better.