The Lively Audience

by Patricia Palmer

Published 22 December 2023

The Lively Audience (1986) studies television from the children’s own point of view. Contrary to most prevailing opinion, it contends that television has much to teach children, and that their relationship with the medium is not one of passive dependency after all. Research shows that what children gain from television depends very much on the child’s age and social experience, and that children ‘see’ television differently from adults. This book examines this issue, and gives us a different understanding of the child audience and the impact of their television viewing.