Assignment 1. Research.Summary

Negative Influences of Media on Children, Adolescents and Young Adults

Haines, Jess, et al. "Television Viewing and Televisions in Bedrooms: Perceptions of

Racial/Ethnic Minority Parents of Young Children." Journal of Child and Family Studies 22 (2013): 749-756. Web. 25 June 2014.

Television viewings affect harmfully on children’s behavior, weight and academic outcome. It is imperative to understand the attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of parents, who are the decision-makers of young children access to televisions. The authors, who are experts in children and family relations, nutrition and healthcare, have found that racial/ethnic minority parents let their children using television for reasons: to keep children occupied safely and stilly when they are busy; to get children fall asleep; or to have their own private time. The authors figured that parents neither were concerned about the amount of television their children were viewing, nor aware of the adverse consequences associated with having televisions in children bedrooms. Positively, the parents were aware of the importance of monitoring the content of what their children watched. In their focus groups, the parents had suggestions for reducing children’s television viewing: alternative activities, parental group meetings, creating routine or set-schedules, electronic monitors, incentives, and reward systems.

Eyal, Keren, and Dale Kunkel. "The Effects of Sex in Television Drama Shows on Emerging Adults' Sexual Attitudes and Moral Judgments." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 52.2 (2008): 161-181. Web. 2 July 2014.

This study examined sexual media effects during the important development period of emerging adulthood, between the ages of 18 and 25 which occur much sexual activity. Freshmen were randomly assigned to view shows that portrayed either positive or negative consequences of sexual intercourse. Keren and Dale have found that exposure to even a small amount of sexual content on television can influence young adults’ sexual attitudes and moral judgments. This study reveals two aspects: the portrayal of negative consequences of sex can affect more negative attitudes about and perceptions of sexual activity; and viewing negative outcome leads to significantly more negative moral judgment of characters. Moreover, the result indicates that such effects can persist beyond the immediate viewing situation and over a 2-week period. Young adults who watch negative consequences will less likely to imitate the behavior, in order to avoid suffering consequences similar to those experienced by the characters.

Whereas, there was not a significant change in attitude or moral judgment of participants in positive consequence conditions. This is possibly because of well-established effects on participants who have everyday viewing such predominated positive outcomes on televisions, as the pretest had showed their positive attitudes and moral judgments.

Bryant, Jennings, and Steven C. Rockwell. "Effects of Massive Exposure to Sexual Oriented

Prime–time Television Programing on Adolescents’ Moral Judgment." Media, Children, and the Family. Ed. Dolf Zillmann, Jennings Bryant, Aletha C. Huston. New York: Routledge, 2013. 183-194. Web. 2 July. 2014.

Bryant and Rockwell, who are Professors of University of Alabama, figured out young adolescents who watched 15 hours of sexual television content depicting unmarried people later judged such situation as less morally wrong. These young adolescents became more approving of sexual adulteries or improprieties. This study indicates that young teenagers who have heavy exposure to prime-time TV programing content of sexual intimacy between unmarried individuals can result in changing moral judgment.

To moderate the cognitive influences of media consumption as far as moral judgment is concerned, there are three important factors a family should employ: having clear and well-defined family value system in which teenagers can know and use media products; having free and open discussions of issues; encouraging active critical viewing, active viewing and analysis program content in teenagers.

Vivek, Agarwal, and Saranac Dhanasekaran. "Harmful Effects of Media on Children and

Adolescents." Journal of Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health 8.2 (2012): 38-45. Institute of Education Science. Web. 2 Jul. 2014.

Media viewing has negative impacts on children and adolescents: violence and aggression, health problem, substance use and early sexual initiation.

            According to the National Television Study, children and adolescents have watched a huge amount of violence on shows are more likely to suffer antisocial effects from those television violence. Violence from the internet and video games are also problematic sources. If they don't have good reasonable and immediate instructions from adults, they may imitate and shape their behaviors accordingly.

Children with more exposure to advertisements of liquor, alcohol tend to drink as an adult. They also have a positive belief toward alcohol consumption. More than half of adolescents smoking initiation has related to watching people smoking in movies, or music videos.

            Although portrayal of sexual material has increased dramatically (50% of shows, 66% prime-time shows), there has been very little information about risks related to early sexual initiation, unwanted pregnancy, STDs, and contraception (only 9%). Moreover, unsupervised, unlimited internet access with inappropriate contents, and photos postings on networking sites are also potential risks of sexual activities. They are critical reasons of early sexual initiation.

            A relationship exists between the time spending on TV and the risk of obesity. Children and adolescents are affected by unhealthy food advertisements which contribute to their increasing demands of those food.

Many studies have proved a deleterious effect on academic performance of watching TV one to two hour a day. Children lack of skills in interaction with their peers and thereby encounter the risk of isolation, anxiety disorder and agoraphobia. Excessive TV viewing play a role in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or depression in young adult hood. 

Physicians should make stronger warnings to patients and themselves about the negative impacts of heavy media use. Educators should enhance their teaching with righteous moral guideline to teach children not to mimic the villains in TV programs, how to act and well behave in the real world. Parents should monitor what programs their children viewing, limit the watching TV time, and try alternating physical, social, and educational activities in spite of watching TV. Policy makers should consider carefully about the 2-sided consequences of a media product toward viewers’ cognitive impacts before publishing.  

Bushman, Brad J., and L. Rowell Huesmann. “Effects of violent media on Aggression.” Handbook

of children and Media. Ed. Dorothy G. Singer, Jerome L. Singer. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2011. 231-246. Web. 03 Jul. 2014

Violent media (video games, TV programs, movies, internet websites and music) is a crucial factor causing people to commit acts of violence, to be afraid of becoming a victim of violence, and to be neglect to the grief or pain of the others. These effects remain over the time.

Researches have proved that children who watching TV violence in their early childhood will become more aggressive adult; especially with boys, they tend twice as likely to apply violence in their family years later; with 18% of them possibly intend to use knifes or guns, and significantly have tendency to be arrested for a crime.

Excessive violent media viewer who exposes to media at least 4 hours per day are more fearful of being a victim of violence. He or she probably doesn’t believe in the others and perceive his or her surroundings as a dangerous place. This fear can begin early in childhood.

Violent favored watchers gradually become more indifferent to the pain and suffering of others, and show less sympathy to violent victims. They are less willing to help violent victim because they think the victim’s injure is not that bad, as they hold aggressors’ perspective.

Some people don’t agree with the harmful impacts. First, they might not think about the worst thing which rarely happens, such as murder, could exist in their own lives. For them, these rare cases are once in a while, and not everyone watches violent media, then kill people. Second, they might accept negative influences on some others, but not themselves. Third, many people are affected by marketing activities on those media products. And finally, people might not understand psychological processes as well as they understand physical processes.

Children, our precious future, are most affected by violence media; therefore, we should act immediately to protect them from those harmful influences. There are ways for us to take actions: Better parental control, more government control, enhance education and training children at school, putting computer or TV in a shared place rather than children bedroom, electronic chips can cut out violence, and boycott violence sponsors.

Grontved, A., and F. B. Hu. "Television Viewing and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular

Disease, and All-Cause Mortality: A Meta-analysis." JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 305.23 (2011). Web. 04 July. 2014.

Instead of spending leisure time on physical activities, people tend to watch televisions in long period of time, and eating unhealthy food when watching TV (fried food, processed food, sugar and sweeten beverage; there are shortages of fruits, vegetables and whole grains).

As the result of continuous TV advertisements, people consume more junk food, more likely to smoke and drink alcohol. According to this meta-analysis study, there are linear relationship between prolong TV exposure with diagnoses of type 2 diabetes, fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular diseases, and all-cause mortality.

Every year, in the United States, with 100 000 individuals, for every 2 hours of TV viewing per day, the most recent type 2 diabetes statistics was estimated to be 176 cases, American Heart Association cardiovascular disease mortality rate statistics was estimated to be 38 cases of fatal cardiovascular disease, the most recent US mortality rate statistics was estimated to be 104 deaths.

Alternative activities are recommended such as:  sleeping, reading, and physical activities.

Kirkorian, Heather L., Ellen A. Wartella, and Daniel R. Anderson. "Media and Young Children’s

Learning."  Institute of Education Science 18.1 (2008): 39-61. Web. 2 Jul. 2014.

Media content is the most important factor in the relation of media use with cognitive skill development and academic achievement. This research demonstrates that well-designed, age-appropriate, educational and moderating TV viewing is positively associated to academic performance and cognitive skill development. Whereas, higher rate of pure entertainment, particularly violent media exposure is negatively linked to all those measurements.

            The research indicates that viewing before age 3 was associated to later decreasing academic performance, and young children may better learn and understand from real life experiences than from TV. There is a weak but alarming evidence of harmful effect on later cognitive of children young than age 2 having exposure to TV.

However, several experiments have found that television can teach specific attention skills and strategies. Children who view educational programs have higher levels of school readiness, and achieve more successful and systematic problem solutions.

            To enhance healthy impacts and minimize harmful impacts of media use, parents should become active co-viewer and moderator; media producers should integrate narrative and educational content as much as possible.

Jason, Leonard A., Jennifer Danielewicz and Anna Mesina. "Reducing Media Viewing:

Implications for Behaviorists." Institute of Education Science 2.3 (2005). Web. 2 Jul. 2014.

Media violence increases aggression in children, especially video games which allows children to be aggressors and obtain rewards for violent behaviors. Additionally, media influences sexual behaviors and attitudes by sending contradictory messages that beautify non-married sexual activity and disregard the risks of such behaviors. Excessive media exposure is linked to the rise of childhood obesity which continually is associated with higher rates of hypertension, asthma, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Children’s eating and nutritional habits play a role in the risk of obesity. They snack more with fatty and salty food while watching television. According to Kaiser Family Foundation information, advertisements in the media contribute to childhood obesity, as children watch an estimated 40,000 ads on television per year. Of the ads targeted to children, 32% featured candy, 31% cereal, and 9% fast food. The fast food industry alone will spend 3 billion dollars for ads aimed at children every year.

The parent-child training program has been used to reduce media use in children who are overweight or at risk of being overweight. In this program, parents learn to better monitor electronic media use, consistently apply rules for children’s media use, encourage other non-media behaviors, and help children to eat healthy food. Such program can help children adjust their activities that result in active movements, less exposure to commercials featuring high sugar, high fat foods and drinks, less snacking in front of television, and consequent weight loss.

Strasburger, Victor C., and Marjorie J. Hogan.”Children, Adolescents, and the Media.” Pediatrics 132.5 (2013): 958-961. Web. 09 Jul. 2014.

From the perspective of pediatricians, the authors send us a message about new media use in our children and teenagers’ lives. Nowadays, using media including television, cellphone, Ipad, and social media is vital part of their daily activities. Media use is proved to have negative influences, and also positive influences such as: fostering knowledge, connectedness, and health.

Two third of teenagers reported that their parents had no rules or limitation on their internet and media using. They could watch inappropriate sexual, or violent movies; and text messages over the nights. These problems affected their cognition, behaviors, and health.

On the other hands, studies found that media such as educational shows and prosocial media can help children learn numbers and letters, teach them empathy, show them different cultural perspectives, and other interpersonal skills. YouTube media and text messages can send them positive information about their health.

Recommendations for pediatricians and healthcare providers: being aware of harmful effects of media using; ask questions about history of media use, particularly children with obesity, overweigh, aggressive behaviors, or difficulties at school, and provide counseling for family at every well-child visit;

With recommendations of pediatricians, parents should: limit the time and monitor contents of media using, co-view, and set up family use plan for media with rules.

Schools should: be well educated about risks associated with unsupervised, unlimited media use; foster the benefits of media use and encourage innovations in education; cooperate with parents and teacher to apply rules and instruct children to use media appropriately.

Entertainment industry should: maximize prosocial contents and minimize harmful effects; adjust marketing activities with health concern.

Federal government should: advocate for researches on the impacts of media; issue strong regulations in entertainment and marketing industry on alcohol, tobacco, and children products; work with Department of Education to utilize the benefits of media use in curriculums.