In The Playroom: Shocking News Reenacted By Children

Being a child in today’s society can’t be easy. Left and right there are wars raging, and shocking news is pretty much hitting us like there is no tomorrow. I am sure I am not alone when I say that it’s getting quite tiresome always reading about bad news and how affects everyone. It’s a good thing we have access to the news so we can prepare, no doubt about it, but sometimes I wish there was a channel that only spread good news. Surely there must be a heap of good news around the world, what use would it be to keep hoping otherwise?

This article has gotten off to quite a steep plunge in optimism I know; therefore, it’s time to bring a little positivity to the table. What can we do to the news that we get injected with every day in order to repackage it to fit a child’s ears and eyes? Well, the best thing is of course to explain to him or her what is going on in a way that a child understands yet doesn’t get scared. It’s a challenge yes, but the longer we wait, the bigger the chance that they will find out what’s going on themselves and draw all the wrong conclusions.

Photographer Jonathan Hobin decided to depict the way shocking and disturbing news leaves its mark on a child’s life, and how children deal with the memories and reality of the images they are exposed to. The series of photos called “In The Playroom” is a real reminder about what the world is making children live with, which will stay with them throughout their lives. I find it quite disturbing that leaders around the world, out of pure greed, allow this to happen. Sure the world is not a perfect place, but does that mean we should ignore it as much as we do? I think Louis Armstrong said it best with his “What A Wonderful World.”

Take a look at these photos and tell me that what we see on the news isn’t what’s best for the world. Is it really necessary to broadcast every disturbing image with its own narrative in order to make us even more afraid of our neighbors? I mean, news is a part of our daily lives, but there surely has to be some good news as well. What happened to the inspiring and uplifting stories of the world? #JustSaying