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HOW MEDIA AFFECTS YOUTH
-ASAD RAHMAN
BSc(H) Computer Science
The influence of the media on the psychosocial development of children is profound. Thus, it is important for physicians to discuss with parents their child’s exposure to media and to provide guidance on age-appropriate use of all media, including television, radio, music, video games and the Internet.
The objectives of this statement are to explore the beneficial and harmful effects of media on children’s mental and physical health, and to identify how physicians can counsel patients and their families and promote the healthy use of the media in their communities.
TELEVISION
Television has the potential to generate both positive and negative effects, and many studies have looked at the impact of television on society, particularly on children and adolescents. An individual child’s developmental level is a critical factor in determining whether the medium will have positive or negative effects. Not all television programs are bad, but data showing the negative effects of exposure to violence, inappropriate sexuality and offensive language are convincing. Still, physicians need to advocate continued research into the negative and positive effects of media on children and adolescents.
Television is not the only way that children learn about tobacco and alcohol use, the concern is that the consequences of these behaviours are not accurately depicted on television.
Television viewing frequently limits children’s time for vital activities such as playing, reading, learning to talk, spending time with peers and family, storytelling, participating in regular exercise, and developing other necessary physical, mental and social skills (9). In addition to the amount of time spent in front of the television, other factors that influence the medium’s effect on children include the child’s developmental level, individual susceptibility and whether children watch television alone or with their parents.
Learning
Television can be a powerful teacher. Watching Sesame Street is an example of how toddlers can learn valuable lessons about racial harmony, cooperation, kindness, simple arithmetic and the alphabet through an educational television
format. Some public television programs stimulate visits to the zoo, libraries, bookstores, museums and other active recreational settings, and educational videos can certainly serve as powerful prosocial teaching devices. In some disadvantaged settings, healthy television habits may actually be a beneficial teaching tool.
Still, watching television takes time away from reading and schoolwork. More recent and well-controlled studies show that even 1 to 2 hour of daily unsupervised television viewing by school-aged children has a significant deleterious effect on academic performance, especially reading.
Violence
The amount of violence on television is on the rise. The average child sees 12,000 violent acts on television annually, including many depictions of murder and rape. More than 1000 studies confirm that exposure to heavy doses of television violence increases aggressive behaviour, particularly in boys. Other studies link television or newspaper publicity of suicides to an increased suicide risk.
The following groups of children may be more vulnerable to violence on television:
children from minority and immigrant groups;
emotionally disturbed children
children with learning disabilities
children who are abused by their parents
children in families in distress
Nutrition
Because television takes time away from play and exercise activities, children who watch a lot of television are less physically fit and more likely to eat high fat and high energy snack foods. Television viewing makes a substantial contribution to obesity because prime time commercials promote unhealthy dietary practices. The fat content of advertised products exceeds the current average diet and nutritional recommendations, and most food advertising is for high calorie foods such as fast foods, candy and presweetened cereals. Commercials for healthy food make up only 4% of the food advertisements shown during children’s viewing time. The number of hours of television viewing also corresponds with an increased relative risk of higher cholesterol levels in children. Television can also contribute to eating disorders in teenage girls, who may emulate the thin role models seen on television. Eating meals while watching television should be discouraged because it may lead to less meaningful communication and, arguably, poorer eating habits.
