If I ask you to name common personality traits of children, energetic, funny, and excitable may come to mind. Perhaps messy and loud, depending on how you feel about “kids these days.” I assume that “good interview candidate” probably won’t be the first thing that pops into your head.
However, I am here to argue that asking for the opinions of children — whether for a newspaper article, a live TV spot or a hard-hitting documentary — will give you insights not only about yourself as storyteller, but also about the story itself.
I learned this in 2021 when I was working as the videographer at Camp Westwind, a summer camp just north of Lincoln City in Otis, Oregon. I had many opportunities to interview kids about their experiences at the camp. Each week, I created a documentary-style video showing off what had happened during the week. This included gathering a lot of camper testimonials. These campers’ responses showed me how valuable a younger perspective is. Here are two of my biggest takeaways:
Kids see the world in a different light than most adults.
Children tend to be more positive in their outlook, and they experience joy in the simplest of circumstances. Bubbles will entertain a child for hours, and a 30-second power nap with their head face down on the ground will be the only recharge they require.
Kids are also going to give you answers about things you have never even thought about when you ask them a question. One day at Camp Westwind, the campers made ice cream at the same time I was trying to get sound bites from them about what they liked about camp. However, they fully ignored my questions to debate whether the sprinkles were stale. At the end of the week, all this footage and audio was front and center in my video.
When journalists take the time to ask kids questions, it brings a fresh perspective full of cheer and wonder into the news cycle. Kids inspire us to care about a little lemonade stand on the corner or a lost stuffed animal. Most important, kids remind us of the importance of cultivating joy in our lives. Including the perspective of children in the media landscape ensures that there will always be a little hope in our news feeds.
Kids aren’t afraid to take on big problems.
Children look to the future with excitement and wonder. They envision a future where they are doctors, firefighters or, in the case of 5-year-old me, an actual construction machine — like a bulldozer or an excavator.
Dreams of the future are why we have seen incredible movements on climate change and gun violence led by kids. Youth see that the world is warming and go through active shooter drills at school. Then they choose to act, not only because these issues are pressing, but also because they believe change is fully within reach. Many kids can imagine a future where these issues are no longer a problem, and they are willing to undertake the work to make a change. They are not resigned to what is happening around them.
When we listen to kids and seek to include their feelings and views in the narratives we are telling, we gain a new perspective on what is happening today and what we must do for the future.
Although the perspective of adults is necessary and important, I believe it often fails to capture the entire story. The best part of my day this past summer was watching footage where kids were jumping in front of my camera to talk about the new friend they had made, or how good lunch was or how they had shot a bullseye at the archery range. In a time when almost all of the news often seems like bad news, there is a lot of value in bringing the perspectives, the joy and the hope that children offer into our news cycle on a more frequent basis.
—By Owen Lowe-Rogstad, class of ’23
Owen Lowe-Rogstad is a political science major with a passion for visual storytelling. He currently works as a video and multimedia intern for the SOJC’s Communication Team. You can find the work Owen did in the summer of 2021 at vimeo.com/campwestwind.