Synopses & Reviews
This new work summarizes the research on all forms of media on children, looking at how much time they spend with media everyday, television programming and its impact on children, how advertising has changed to appeal directly to children and the effects on children and the consumer behavior of parents, the relationship between media use and scholastic achievement, the influence of violence in media on anti-social behavior, and the role of media in influencing attitudes on body image, sex and work roles, fashion, & lifestyle.
The average American child, aged 2-17, watches 25 hours of TV per week, plays 1 hr per day of video or computer games, and spends an additional 36 min per day on the internet. 19% of children watch more than 35 hrs per week of TV. This in the face of research that shows TV watching beyond 10 hours per week decreases scholastic performance.
In 1991, George Comstock published Television and the American Child, which immediately became THE standard reference for the research community of the effects of television on children. Since then, interest in the topic has mushroomed, as the availability and access of media to children has become more widespread and occurs earlier in their lifetimes. No longer restricted to television, media impacts children through the internet, computer and video games, as well as television and the movies. There are videos designed for infants, claiming to improve cognitive development, television programs aimed for younger and younger children-even pre-literates, computer programs aimed for toddlers, and increasingly graphic, interactive violent computer games.
*Presents the most recent research on the media use of young people
*Investigates the content of children's media and addresses areas of great concern including violence, sexual behavior, and commercialization
*Discusses policy making in the area of children and the media
*Focuses on experiences unique to children and adolescents
Synopsis
Children today spend ever increasing amounts of time exposed to media, be it the internet, television, videogames, movies, radio, and print.
Media and the American Child summarizes recent research on the use and access to media and the impact that media has on their opinions, values, and behavior. Coverage includes media access, content, and influence. Discussion includes both positive and negative influences of media on learning and development, how children evaluate and respond to advertising, and the extent to which media influences opinion and buying behavior. Written in an engaging style, this book is intended for those interested in media and youth, child development, communication, and marketing and commercial culture.
Find answers to the following questions inside this book:
*How much time do children spend accessing media?
*What are the favorite media forms and how is this changing?
*What is the favorite content in media?
*How are gender, race, violence, and sex depicted in youth-popular media?
*How do such depictions influence socialization and learning?
*How does time spent with media influence school performance?
*How do children respond to media advertising?
*Does TV and videogame violence contribute to youth aggression?
*Does educational TV encourage cognitive and social development?
*Is media to blame for the childhood obesity epidemic?
About the authors: George Comstock and Erica Scharrer have written two previous books together: Television: What’s On, Who’s Watching, and What it Means and The Psychology of Media and Politics. George Comstock is S.I. Newhouse Professor at Syracuse University’s School of Public Communications. Erica Scharrer is Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
About the Author
George Comstock earned his Ph.D. at Stanford University. He currently is the S.I. Newhouse Professor at the School of Public Communication, Syracuse University in the Television-Radio-Film Department. He is the author of
Television and the American Child and was the senior author of the original
Television and Human Behavior.Professor Comstock is a social psychologist and expert on the social effects of mass media. He is former science advisor and senior research coordinator of U.S. Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior. Professor Comstock teaches classes insocial effects of television and communication research methods.Erica Scharrer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at University of Massachusetts and studies media content, opinions about media, and media influence.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, U.S.A.
Table of Contents
I. Demographics and Preferences in Media Use, with Special Attention to the Very Young
II. The Extraordinary Appeal of Screen Media
III. The World as Portrayed by Media
IV. Effects of Media on Scholastic Performance and the Developing Intellect
V. Young Customers—Creating the Modern Consumer through Advertising and Marketing
VI. Television Violence, Aggression, and other Behavioral Effects
VII. Learning Rules and Norms—Further Evidence of Media Effects
VIII. Knowledge for What?