How Stories in the Media Can Be Meaningful in Children’s Lives

Most children love stories, but studies examining their potential for growth are rare. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 66 children to understand how stories can be meaningful for them. Before the interview, they watched the Disney • Pixar film Inside Out. The story of this film follows the renowned framework of the Hero’s Journey and has been lauded for its premise concerning emotions and human connectedness. Findings from the in-depth semi-structured duo interviews are the first to reveal that children can be moved by moral beauty in stories. Another novel finding was that the film encouraged children to follow the protagonist on her adventure and in doing so acquired the same insights as her. Given that the Hero’s Journey framework is often applied by writers, it is possible that the idea of acquiring the same insights as the protagonist applies to many stories. The story was also found to be meaningful for children because it sparked their social intelligence and inspired them to never give up. Altogether, these findings indicate that stories can be an accelerated way of gaining life experience and wisdom.