Children, adolescents, & the media / Victor C. Strasburger, Barbara J. Wilson ; with contributions by Jeanne B. Funk, Edward Donnerstein, Bob McCannon ; foreword by Dorothy G. Singer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Strasburger, Victor C., 1949-

Contributor:

Wilson, Barbara J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mass media and children--United States.

Mass media and children.

Mass media and teenagers.

United States.

Mass media and teenagers--United States.

Physical Description:

xvii, 539 : illustrations ; 25 cm

Other Title:

Children, adolescents, and the media

Place of Publication:

Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, [2002]

Summary:

This book overviews what is known about the impact of mass media on youth in the 21st century. The goal is to provide a comprehensive, research-oriented treatment of how children and adolescents interact with the media. Each chapter reviews the latest findings as well as seminal studies that have helped frame the issues in such areas as advertising, violence, video games, sexuality, drugs, body image and eating disorders, music, and the Internet. Because research alone can be dry and difficult to follow, each chapter is liberally sprinkled with illustrations, examples from the media, policy debates, and real-life instances of media impact. The intent is to show the relevance of social science research to media-related issues involving youth. The book concludes with chapters on media literacy and a series of recommendations for how students can help in the search for solutions to current media-related problems. The authors take an approach grounded in the media effects tradition, targeting areas that are most controversial and at the heart of debates about mass media and public health and equipping students to approach the media as critical consumers.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Children and Adolescents: Unique Audiences 1

Media Environment and Habits of Today's Youth 4

Children Are Different From Adults 8

Children Are Different From Each Other 12

Adolescents Are Different From Children 13

Developmental Differences in Processing the Mass Media 16

Chapter 2 Advertising 34

Historical Changes in Advertising to Children 38

Content Analyses of Television Advertising 41

Children's Processing of Advertising 44

Persuasive Impact of Advertising 53

Phases of Consumer Behavior During Childhood 60

Marketing Strategies in the 21st Century 61

Regulation of Advertising Targeted to Youth 65

Teaching Advertising Literacy 68

Chapter 3 Media Violence 73

How Violent Are American Media? 76

Does Media Violence Attract Youth? 80

Can Media Violence Lead to Aggression? 83

Can Media Violence Desensitize Young People? 99

Can Media Violence Produce Fear? 103

Cultural Debates About Media Violence 105

Guns and the Media 107

Suicide and the Media 110

Japan Versus the United States: A Cross-Cultural Comparison 111

Can Media Violence Have Positive Effects? 112

Chapter 4 Electronic Games / Jeanne B. Funk 117

Video Games Grow Up: Electronic Games in the 21st Century 118

Conclusion: Where Do We Go From Here? 141

Chapter 5 Sexuality and the Media 145

Television as a Source of Sexual Information 157

What Do Children and Teenagers Learn From Television? 162

Why Teenagers May Be Particularly Susceptible to Sexual Content in the Media 164

Movies 166

Questionable Language and Taste in Movies and Television: A New Trend? 167

Print Media 169

The Nature of the Research 170

Prosocial Sexual Content on Television 180

Contraceptive Advertising 180

Pornography 183

Solutions 186

Conclusion: Unanswered Questions 192

Chapter 6 Drugs and the Media 195

Adolescent Drug Use 196

Determinants of Child and Adolescent Drug Use 202

Impact of Advertising on Children and Adolescents 203

Cigarettes 207

Alcohol 216

Drugs 222

Chapter 7 Eating and Eating Disorders 237

Food Advertisements 239

The Impact of Food Advertisements on Behavior 244

Food in Television Programming and Movies 246

Food Advertised in Schools 247

Does Television Viewing Increase Childhood Obesity? 251

Eating Disorders and Body Image 257

Disordered Body Image 260

Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia 264

Chapter 8 Rock Music and Music Videos 271

Rock 'n' Roll Music 274

How Teenagers Use Music 279

Music Videos and Music Television (MTV) 288

Chapter 9 The Internet / Edward Donnerstein 301

The Internet: What Is It? 304

Is the Net Being Used? 306

Concerns About the Net 307

Sex on the Net: A Primary Concern 308

Other Areas of Concern 313

Solutions to Internet Concerns 315

On the Positive Side 317

Chapter 10 Media Literacy: What? Why? How? / Bob McCannon 322

McLuhan's Global Village: What Happened? 324

Step 1 Become Informed 330

Step 2 A Media Literate Advocate 331

Media Literacy: Understanding the Trade-Offs, the Opportunity Costs 333

An Opportunity for Activists 335

Family Media Literacy: A Media Diet

Some Guidelines 335

Media Literacy for School and Family 345

Tools of Media Analysis 346

How Effective Is Media Education? 360

Conclusion: Doing Media Education 363

Chapter 11 Ten Arguments in Favor of Solutions 368

1. Improving Programming Quality 369

2. Improving Advertising 376

3. Perceiving Media Violence as a Public Health Threat 380

4. Creating a Uniform Rating System for All Media 390

5. Improving the Portrayal of Sex and Sexuality in the Media 400

6. Conducting More Research 402

7. Increasing Media Education for Children 405

8. Increasing Media Education for Parents and Health Professionals 407

9. Using Media to Campaign for Health and Prosocial Purposes 412

10. Stepping Up Media Advocacy 418

Appendix A Media Literacy Skills 422

Appendix B An Advocate's Guide to Media Literacy Resources 427

Appendix C Definition of Media Literacy 438.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 439-510) and indexes.

ISBN:

0761921249

0761921257

OCLC:

48817534