Margaret Mead

Dr. Margaret Mead discussed the changing dynamic of the American family in a May 1963 interview with U.S. News & World Report. The distinguished cultural anthropologist explained that average parents were younger, less likely to live with their own parents, and working longer hours than previous generations, leaving American children with less supervision and guidance than ever before.

“By the time the children are 3 or 4, programs on TV and radio intrude into the home. The outer world takes over,” she said. “Moral training used to come from the parents. Now it comes in the standards that are being spread—and they’re not very high, either—directly to the children by TV and radio. It’s very hard for the parents to mediate between their children and these standards.”

Additional Interviews With Margaret Mead
Mead appeared at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1962 to speak about the differences in creativity between men and women. Her lecture was followed by a 40-minutes question-and-answer session with the audience.

Mead reflected on her career in anthropology in a 1959 interview with Howard Langer for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The interview requires a $9.99 fee to download.

To learn more about Margaret Mead, visit her profile on findingDulcinea.