Today's youth receive an unending flood of messages from a growing number of sources. For many kids, electronic communication is a full-time job. Besides competing with activities such as homework, physical activity, and family life, the many hours kids spend gazing at screens and tapping keys are likely to shape their tastes, beliefs, and behavior. Parents can make a crucial difference in helping their children understand the meanings behind media messages. This approach, known as "media literacy," teaches young people to be critical consumers of information.

Getting Messages From Many Sources

Children today are bombarded with messages from all directions. Game consoles are popular with youth from an early age, and conventional media outlets such as TV and comic books increase children's exposure to media and the outside world. Among older kids, computers, BlackBerries, iPods, and cell phones seem to be everywhere and provide round-the-clock connections to people next door or in another State.

In addition, more channels, faster computers, Web sites that offer games and personal space, and phones that seem to do everything are extending the reach of media. If you consider print media such as magazines and billboards and add in the time youth spend going to the movies and listening to music, living without so many media messages vying for kids' attention becomes almost impossible. No wonder parents concerned about guiding their children may feel like they are competing with the latest technology!

Spending A Lot of Time With Media

Because media has a central place in young people's lives, avoiding its influence can be a challenge. Action, celebrities, music, and style - today's youth want to tap into what's new and trendy and share it with friends, day or night.

While parents may worry about their children going overboard with media, escaping from it seems to be the last thing on the minds of many kids.⁴ A recent study found that almost all 9- to 17-year-olds who have access to the Internet have used social networking technologies, which include chatting, text messaging, blogging, and visiting online communities. These tweens and teens spend almost as much time using social networking services and Web sites as they spend watching TV.⁵

Taking a Close Look at Content

Media provides many benefits. It shows us what is going on in the world and helps us relax and obtain things we need.

Yet media brings us more than facts and fun. Our media experiences leave us with ideas about how the world works and cues for coping with it. TV and movies give a picture of how people look and behave, what they like and want, and why they succeed or fail in a wide range of situations.

Advertisers often use humor; music; attractive characters; and scenes of fun, adventure, style, and success to connect good feelings with products. For example, ads featuring athletic shoes or alcohol often are youth oriented, featuring humor, music, and attractive people who are relaxing in inviting settings or enjoying sports-scenes which can be interpreted as achieving the "good life."

While contact with media can educate, provide harmless entertainment, and give constructive messages, it also can present subject matter that is negative-especially for children and adolescents:

Alcohol-Related Messages

• Alcohol ads on TV increased by 34 percent from 2001 to 2005, with much of the increase coming on cable networks.⁶
• An average TV viewer under age 21 is exposed to about 245 ads for alcohol products each year; that number rises to 780 alcohol ads for the 30 percent of youth who watch TV the most.⁷
• A recent study found that 9 in 10 movies-including most G- and PG-rated films-showed alcohol use. Drinking was more likely to be portrayed as a good experience than to be shown as dangerous⁸ or to have any negative outcomes.

Violent Content

• Violence is a common feature in TV, movies, and video games. Violence often is used in video games as a way to win and in movies and TV shows as a way to resolve problems. A typical 18-year-old has seen hundreds of thousands of violent acts and tens of thousands of murders.⁹

Recognizing Harm

Messages that glamorize, encourage, or reward behaviors such as using illegal substances, being aggressive, or valuing people only for their appearance can be harmful. These messages often give young people the idea that such conduct is normal, acceptable, and unlikely to cause problems. Here are a few ways that messages obtained from the media can affect children and youth:

• Images and lyrics that show alcohol use in a positive manner affect the way children and teens view alcohol use and are linked with youthful drinking.¹⁰
• The more children are exposed to violence on TV and in video games, the more likely they are to be aggressive with peers.¹¹
• Ads and entertainment often apply a narrow standard for what it means to be attractive and often link good looks with being valued or successful. Messages that distort or overemphasize physical appeal can lead to mental health problems such as eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression; difficulty concentrating; and other health problems.¹²

Meeting the Media Challenge

Worried about the flood of media messages washing over your child? Well, you are not alone. Two out of three parents say they are "very" concerned that children are exposed to too much inappropriate content in the media. However, just as many parents feel that they are stemming the tide by tracking their children's TV viewing and their use of the Internet and video games.¹³

To have better control over what your child sees in the media, consider:

• Cutting down the time your child spends in front of a screen. Turn off the TV during meals, limit her TV watching on school nights, and do not put a TV in her room.
• Monitoring your child's media habits. Be aware of the movies and programs your child watches, the music he listens to, the Web sites he visits, and the video games he plays. Use parental controls to block access to certain Web sites and, if your TV has a V-Chip, use it to block offensive content.

Yet parental control often only goes as far as the front door. Experts caution that parents may think they have more power over media than they really do.¹⁴ So help your kids see the meaning behind messages they receive through media. Grasping the meaning behind messages can start at a young age with cereal ads during Saturday morning cartoons.¹⁵

Your experiences and knowledge are a good foundation for "media literacy." Whether or not that term is used, the idea is to help young people be aware of both hidden and obvious messages instead of readily accepting what they see and hear.

• Watch movies and TV programs with your child. Help her interpret ads and scenes. Ask what she thinks of them.
• Discuss how attractive people are treated as decorations to sell products or ideas.
• Talk about what is real and unreal, how products are presented, and why characters behave the way they do.
• Help your child connect actions with intentions and consequences.
• Adjust your discussion to your child’s age to be sure he understands and that the topic is suitable.

Looking Ahead

In today's age of expanding technology, one thing is certain-messages from media are here to stay. They will come faster, in more forms, and from more sources than ever. For parents, this means that media awareness is vital in guiding children toward healthy decisions and a positive self-image. Critical thinking and viewing skills provide the best and longest lasting defense against negative media influence on what young people believe, value, and desire.

For more information, check out the following links.

Sources

• Center for Media Literacy, 2007. Reading Room, last referenced 6/25/07.
• Annenberg Public Policy Center, 2006. Kids and TV: Researchers Urge Parents To Cut Back-and Offer Help on Pulling the Plug, last referenced 6/25/07.