Youth Trends Results - Entertainment

So what are teens and preteens up to these days with regard to their media consumption?
Are we making headway with all of the public health messages sayings "reduce screen time," get active, and get involved?" Sadly, I have to say we do not seem to be making much progress.

Youth Trends produces a report twice a year called The Tween and Teen Lifestyle Report which is only available to subscribers, but I pulled a few interesting tidbits from the Winter 2008 report off the GenDigital Blog.

Movies

• During a typical month teens see an average of 1.8 movies (in a theater) while tween see an average of 1.3
• Teens prefer action/adventure movies and tweens prefer comedies followed by animated movies
• The most popular movie/actor for girls is Johnny Depp and Pirates of the Caribbean
• The most popular actor for boys was Adam Sadler, followed by Will SMith and Will Ferrell

Internet

• Nine out of ten youth have Internet access at home or school
• Teens spend 12.5 hours a week online while tween s spend only 6.4 hours
• The most popular sites are social networking sites, particularly Facebook
• AddictingGames.com is becoming the top casual gaming site among all youth
  

TV

• TV consumption has actually increased (groan)
• Teens watch an average of 11.9 hours a week and tweens watch an average of 12.2 hours a week
• Boys watch more TV - for teens an average of 13.2 hours a week and for tweens an average of 14.5 hours a week
• Favorite shows for boys - The Office, Family Guy, The Simpsons and South Park
• Favorite shows for girls - The Hills, Grey's Anatomy, House, and Dancing with the Stars

Photo credit: Henrique Vicente

Labels: Healthline, Media, Preteens, Teen Health

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Thank You - Grand Rounds 4.32

Thank you Doc Gurley for hosting Grand Rounds 4.32 this week and including my post about parents and teen media. The WWF theme was amazingly fun to read and bloggers really "put out" in response to the call to beat their chests!

Photo credit: jeffisageek

Labels: Grand Rounds, Healthline, Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

New Media In The Everyday Lives of Youth

I went to the public forum presented by commonsense media and the MacArthur Foundation at Stanford last Wednesday and was pleasantly surprised by the range of information presented during the two hours, particularly that it was primarily qualitative. Sadly, after a 12-hour day I had to get home to kids and missed the reception, but the conversations started in the forum were very interesting.

Basically, the MacArthur Foundation, under the competent guidance of Connie Yowell has funded a tremendous amount of research about how digital technologies and new media are changing the way that young people learn, socialize, and participate in civic life. I should probably admit here that I am one who usually is arguing in favor of turning off the TV, the computer, the phone, and anything else that pulls teens away from families, free time, and old-fashioned "face time."

What surprised me Wednesday was that some of the character-building experiences I associated with real-time face-to-face contact may actually be occurring while kids are mixing music, making videos, or publishing on fanfiction sites. I found the "presentation of self" on social networks research by Danah Boyd (UC Berkeley) really interesting and wished that the research presented in the first half of the presentation was being integrated more by the media and technology leaders present in the panel discussion.

I walked away with two very strong feelings. First, more work needs to be done to connect different generations via media - children and teens need (safe, supportive, asset-building) relationships with older people to grow, expand their realities, and learn skills they will need in their futures. With media being second nature to the current generation, we need more tools to bring those of us who are older into the conversation, in a painless way, that does not make us feel stupid, I might add. Related to that, there is some immediate parent-education to be done about not only Internet Safety, and how to keep boundaries, so that kids are not forgoing sunshine, nutrition and exercise for excessive screen time, but also about the benefits of media, and how publishing a story on a fanfiction site, may be as beneficial to the self-esteem of a "non-cookie cutter teen" as being a star athlete is to another teen.

Here is the chest-beating: Parents need to start engaging in the media that our children participate in. We used to say watch the TV shows your kids are watching, listen to their music ... but the world has changed and now we need to add, visit their social network sites, read their online writing or blogging. Do not be afraid of appearing stupid - just accept it and move through it - our children need us present where they are learning about the world and themselves! We cannot fight progress!

Photo credit: TheAlleness GiselaGiardino

Labels: Healthline, Media, Parenting

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Vote for Healthline @ The People’s Voice Webby Awards!

Healthline has been nominated for the prestigious Webby Award in the category of “Health."

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences will choose Webby Award winners, but the People’s Choice Webby lets you decide. It’s easy:

• Simply log on to http://peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com/
• Register to vote (or log in if you are a returnee)
• After registration, click on the Web site icon and find the Living section, under which the Health category falls
• Vote for Healthline!

And be sure to pass this pass along to your friends and encourage them to vote as well!

Photo credit: Why Tuesday?

Labels: Healthline, Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Unwanted and Teen Pregnancy in the Media

Have you seen the movie "Juno?" It is a great movie about teenage pregnancy, but I have to admit, it pretty much normalizes teen pregnancy, continues the myth that it is "the girl's problem," and presents a year of Juno's life as just a blip - the result of one sexual act - and at the end everything pretty much goes back to the way it was and everyone moves on,which is not quite accurate, but I guess realism is not why we go to the movies.

I loved the character of Juno. She is bright, self-assured, sarcastic, and definitely dances to the beat of her own drum. The movie allows us to "peek" into her thoughts about what to do when she realizes she is pregnant, her decision, and the consequences of that decision in her rural town. She has to make difficult decisions with the support of her best friend, dad and step mom. I will not ruin the movie for you, but it is a good one to see with your teens - lots of opportunity for conversation will follow, trust me.

Another very interesting, but more mature movie about another type of unwanted pregnancy is "Waitress," which may be a little too mature for some teens. The heroine in this story also is young, lives in a rural place, makes amazing pies, is stuck in a very emotional abusive and unhappy marriage, finds herself pregnant, has an affair with her doctor during the very unwelcome pregnancy, and then ... there is a surprise ending! Sorry, but you should see it yourself, I promise.

Our reality is that one million teenagers in the United States become pregnant each year, 40% abort the pregnancy, and only 3% give the baby up for adoption, although much of the young adult literature focuses on keeping the baby and adoption. Abortion is not much fun to write about I guess, in spite of it being the decision made by half of the teenagers who find themselves pregnant.

Photo credit: numberstumper

Labels: Abortion, Media, Pregnancy, Teen Health

Permalink | 4 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Pew Report on Teens and Social Media

This new report from Pew had few surprises. It reports that 93% of teens use the Internet, many to share something they have created (39%), tell stories, and interact with other people on social network sites (55%).

Specifically,

• 39% of online teens share their own artistic creations online, such as artwork, photos, stories, or videos, up from 33% in 2004.
• 33% create or work on webpages or blogs for others, including those for groups they belong to, friends, or school assignments (unchanged since 2004).
• 28% have created their own online journal or blog, up from 19% in 2004.
• 27% maintain their own personal webpage, up from 22% in 2004.
• 26% remix content they find online into their own creations, up from 19% in 2004.
  

Girls blog more while boys are avid users of video-sharing websites like YouTube, and digital images - stills and videos - have a big role in teen life, often starting conversations with people. While email is big with adults, teens prefer IM and social networking sites for communicating with people. Some good news was that most teens still prefer face-to-face and phone communication to text-based chatting and that most restrict access to photos, which suggests the messages about safety are getting through.

It was interesting tome how the pattern of communication is changing for teens - sharing digital images as a conversation is very different for me - and distinguishes me as "the older generation" - nice feeling!

Photo credit: mattkeefe

Labels: Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Provocative Campaign on Childhood Mental Illness

Well, I never thought I would say this, but I wish I lived in New York this month. Apparently the Child Study Center is running some amazing ads about autism, depression, ADHD, bulimia, OCD, and Asperger's syndrome that are really catching the attention of people. The goal of the campaign featuring "ransom notes" is to raise awareness about the epidemic of childhood mental illness and the 12 million children suffering with disorders.

The campaign suggesting that a disease has kidnapped a child is perceived as negative by some people who fear the ads will reinforce stereotypes versus increase awareness. Advocates suggest that the ads have to be intense to make people listen - these are real diseases and denial is not going to help. The campaign is being produced pro bono by BBDO, an Omnicon agency, and the public service announcements are running in New York Magazine and Newsweek as well as on kiosks, billboards and construction sites around New York.

We will see if the ad campaign continues or gets shut down by patient advocacy groups, but I say bring it to California!

Photo credit: phillip broadway

Labels: Media, Mental Health

Permalink | 8 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

New Web Resource for Parents of Tweens & Teens

The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) just went live with their revised health sites for the parents of teens and preteens. Supported in part by a grant from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health (LPFCH), the health care team that bring you We're Talking Teen Health and We're Talking, Too: Preteen Health have done it again. The revised site is easy to read and includes links to the information in the teen and preteen site for parents to give their children, or read themselves to know what their children already know.

On each page parents will not only find links to the "We're Talking Health" content, but also book reviews, and links to other relevant resources outside PAMF. To make the site more interactive, there also are polls about parenting issues, a good search function, and links to a portion of the site where you can rate the books that have been recommended. It is a one-stop information shop for parents looking for resources and information about their teens and tweens. You can access the new parent site, as well as the complementary site for parents of younger children, at http://www.pamf.org/parents/. Happy searching!

Photo Credit: Poor Yorick

Labels: Media, Parenting, Web Resource

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Manhunt 2 Rating: Mature or Adults Only?

California State Senator Leland Yee's campaign against a gory video game was set back a little last week when the National Ratings Board declined to give Manhunt 2 an "Adults Only" rating, which would have kept it off shelves. For those of you parents who might not know it, Manhunt 2 is a slasher game released on Halloween with a "Mature" rating in which gamers control an asylum escapee bent on slaughtering adversaries in the grisliest manner possible.

The game has been banned in the United Kingdom, and although I am not usually in support of this heavy-handedness, I may agree with this action. Although the "Mature" rating technically prohibits sales to minors, unaccompanied youths can usually buy these titles as they are on shelves everywhere. Much of the literature on violent video games is pretty clear - having children exposed to the depictions of brutal slayings is harmful and encourages young people to use violence as a way of dealing with frustration.

Again, if you have not played these games with your kids, you may not have any idea what they are being exposed to, and whether or not it bothers you. Please, watch or play so you can at least talk about the experience.

Photo Credit: Giztt

Labels: Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Fashion Bullies in Middle School

The Wall Street Journal recently included an article about fashion bullies by Vanessa O'Connell that I really enjoyed, in a sick, kind of irritated beyond belief kind of way. The article talked about the fact that adolescent girls have long used fashion as a social weapon, but today some professionals say that fashion bullying has reached a new level of intensity as more designers launch collections targeted at kids. Girls in places where this is a problem are expected to wear not just any designer brands, but the "right" brands, and the better (read more expensive) the brand, the higher the level in the social pecking order.

Ms. O'Connel also discussed some of the ways school and community programs focused on girl-on-girl bullying are addressing peer pressure and the role of clothing plays in girls' identify. It seems there might be a connection between fashion bullying and the proliferation of designer brands and the labels of ads. Retailers, too are helping this phenomenon with boutiques for children and tweens. The greater focus on fashion in teen magazines and on TV has increased girls' awareness of designer labels. Kids today follow what celebrities wear on the show and off the show, and can even follow the style of celebrity's children.

If having access to designer clothes affords some kids the opportunity to become popular, which protects and gives youth social power, my vote is that schools make labels "contraband" and that young girls wanting to fight the pressure to conform remove the labels from the inside of their clothes as well! Maybe it will be a new fad hat will also empower young girls - label removing - and we can make buttons that say "please do not judge me by what is on the outside."

PLEASE!! Isn't it enough that kids are worried about their futures, the future of the planet and their safety? Now they have to worry about fashion, too? Young girls do not have to suffer and parents can help - talk about the fact that what we wear is not who we are and become label-blind. Do not feed the madness!

Photo credit: clownfish

Labels: Bullying, Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Onslaught Video by Dove

Sometimes the beauty industry does good! I know Dove is selling its products with the "Campaign for Real Beauty," but I really like the new video called "Onslaught" that encourages parents to talk to their kids before the media does. They are also providing a great real beauty web site for parents and mentors with some great activities to help build media literacy and protect self-esteem.

The average US girl has the opportunity to see an estimated 77,546 commercials by the time she is 12 years old. This growing phenomenon is having a direct impact on girls' self-image and most girls and young women report feeling anxiety or stress about their looks. As parents, we need to talk to kids about exercise, fitness, and development - so they have a realistic idea of how their genetics, size, and activity levels interact to maintain their unique body size. In addition, they are still growing and dieting is not OK. They need a healthy and varied diet. Parents and kids need to know that a child going through puberty will get stretch marks, can gain 40 lbs and grow up to 10 inches - which requires a lot of fuel. If kids do not get enough food they can get brittle bones.

Raising children who believe that enjoying life requires they be thin or with enough hunger and working out they can all look like a super model is just WRONG!!! Every person is beautiful and as parents, we need to help our children find their strength.

Photo credit: Xerones

Labels: Beauty, Body Image, Media, Parenting

Permalink | 1 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Judge Blocks State Video Game Ban

Sorry, but this counts as a rant! I am so annoyed that a judge has decided that the law authored by Senator Leland Yee from San Francisco to keep youth from buying the most violent video games is unconstitutional! Can you believe that?

The Palo Alto Daily reported August 7, 2007 that U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Whyte blocked a new state law that would have prohibited the sale of violent video games to children. The law, which was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005, prohibits the sale or rental of violent games to anyone under the age of 18 and requires these games be clearly labeled.

Apparently this federal judge found that the law was unconstitutional when it was challenged by the video game industry claiming that the law violated their First Amendment rights to free expression. His 17-page ruling apparently agrees with the industry arguments and states that the law's proponents failed to show a concrete link between video game violence and children's behavior, or that the violence in games was any more damaging than the violence found in television, movies or on the Internet. He supported his ruling by saying that games are already labeled to warn parents.

Yes, in fact, they are labeled, but there is also a recent Federal Trade Commission study suggesting that the rating system was not effective and minors frequently purchase mature-rated games designed for adults. In fact, I challenge the idea that parents can be held responsible for knowing everything they need to about video games. In fact, I believe that most parents have never played the games, do not understand the rating system, and do not know the ratings on the video games their children are playing. Parents, beware!

Photo Credit: justin

Labels: Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Today's Tweens & Teens and Technology

C&R Research recently published a report about two live research sessions with teen (n=63) and preteen (n=58) participants. The results were disturbing at several levels. First, only half of the participants reported reading in their free time. Second, two out of three tween boys play video games everyday. Finally, in spite of all the sources that encourage families to keep computers in public areas, 22% of tweens and 47% of teens have computers with Internet access in their bedrooms.

These facts should encourage all parents as well as schools to make sure that media literacy and Internet safety are discussed at home and in classrooms. Tweens and teens need to know how to be safe while visiting social network sites and encouraged to develop interests that are not all technology-related.

Photo Credit: Steven Parker

Labels: Media, Online/Internet Safety

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Cybering - Scary or Safe?

Cybersex, computer sex, or Internet sex describes a shared sexual experience between two people (or more) connected via the Internet. I guess this is the next generation of phone sex. This experience, sort of like a fantasy, can be verbal, visual, or written, and include pictures, webcams, the use of avatars, or actual masturbation while participating. These experiences could be within intimate relationships, like lovers separated geographically, or with strangers within chat rooms or via instant messaging.

The safer part is there is no sharing of body fluids, and no disease or pregnancy risk. I suppose we should actually consider this is as alternative to early sexual participation given the only risk is getting attached emotionally to a stranger, but I have trouble imagining that I could encourage emotionally detached sexual expression for teens.

The scary part is that the participants are sharing very sexually explicit words, images, and in some cases vivid fantasies and role-playing situations that may be "beyond their years." The use of web cams also may give a sexual predator clues about identity.

Another great reason to keep computers in public spaces!

Photo credit: Leonid Mamchenkov

Labels: Media, Sexuality

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Are Males Dominant, Disconnected, and Dangerous?

Here is a little more evidence to help you monitor what your kids are being exposed to at home or day care, via movies. A 2006 research brief commissioned by the See Jane Program at Dads & Daughters suggests that G-rated movies are portraying males outnumbering females, seldom in significant relationships, and as physically aggressive. The report, "G Movies Give Boys a D," includes results from the content analysis of the 101 top-grossing G-rated movies released from 1990 through 2004 conducted by the Annenberg School for Communication (ASC) at the University of Southern California (USC).

This report analyzed 4,249 speaking characters in both animated and live-action films finding 72% of the characters were male and mostly white male characters with non-white characters portrayed as more aggressive, isolated, and most often as sidekicks, comic relief, or villains. In addition, G-rated films do not frequently show males as parents, or as partners in committed relationships, providing a notable lack of positive role models in a society with high rates of divorce and absent fathers.

Given this unequal and unrealistic portrayal of males, not only are children learning that it is better to be male, they are also likely to adopt the perception of males as aggressive - not good for boys or girls. What we need are characters that are perceived as courageous for standing up against sexism and violence!

The next time you watch a movie with your children, you can pay attention to the characters, discussing the portrayal of both male and female characters, pointing out the lack of diversity or accuracy, helping protect them from adopting negative stereotypes. You can also point out positive examples of characters treating each other with dignity and respect, for example, the cooperation between the siblings in "The Last Mimzy," which is the best movie I have seen lately, fine for kids, but rated PG."

Photo credit: [martin]

Labels: Boys, Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

It Is T.V. Turn Off Week!

Welcome to TV Turn Off Week, April 23 - 29, 2007

If you haven't done it already, sit down with your family and talk about why you are participating in TV Turn Off Week this year and what the plan will be for the hours you normally watch TV. Do you have a house or garden project you want to start? Have you been wanting to do a community service project together? Is there a book you want to read out loud together? Does the dog need a bath? How about a neighborhood walk each evening at 8 PM?

My kids and I have a list of favorite games we want to play - that are usually only played when camping and traveling - mancala, quiddler, spoons, and speed. I did have to agree to let them tape the couple of shows we normally watch (or tape) during the week so they can watch them later.

TV Turn Off Week has been shared by millions of people since it started in 1995 as an opportunity to think, create, do something new, and most especially, re-connect with our families, community, and school.

We are raising one of the least physically active and most overweight generation ever and 40% of American families eat dinner with a TV on. Turning the TV off this week lets you add some regular physical exercise to your day, find new ways to share time with your family, and in general, get more out of life! Have fun!

To celebrate - here is a poem written by one of my daughters:

Drunk on TV/Turn Off That TV And Read
By Madison Brown-Moffitt
April, 2007

There is nothing more boring,
Unappetizing, or shallow.
Realize that your life is racing by
Never noticing the flare and fun

Of books, and literature
Fun can also be exercise
Few exercise a lot

To tell the truth, neither do I
However, if you sit and stare
Another day will run away.
That television, which rots your brain.

Though you burn fewer calories than sleeping,
Vast amount of people sit there

Again slaves to the flickering lights.
Never interacting, never speaking,
Day will fade to night.

Revolving are the stars,
Each brain rots
As they sit there,
Drunk on the flashing screen.

Previous Teen Health 411 Posts: Turn Off the TV
Resources: Center for Screen-Time Awareness
Photo credit: witz

Labels: Media, TV

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Are Violent Video Games Really Bad?

An article in USA Today says "No." Citing research by sociologist Karen Sternheimer, the article suggests that we need to look beyond video games and pay more attention to things like community and family violence, alienation, and a lack of parental involvement. That may be true, but I think it is a complete cop out to ignore the impact of violence in video games because students have less than a 7 in 10 million chance of being killed at school.

Other research suggests that exposure to violent video games may increase angry and hostile feelings and that violent video game exposure may decrease compassionate feelings for others with whom they interact. In order to further understand the negative affects on aggressive behavior your child or adolescent may experience from their exposure to violent media visit the American Psychological Association’s (APA) website called "Adults & Children Together Against Violence." Here are a few of the APA’s recommendations and findings:

• Violent behavior is learned, often early in a child’s life.
• Children learn to behave by watching people around them and by observing characters in movies, video games, and television.
• Violent media increases mean-spirited behavior and may cause fear, mistrust, and fear; including nightmares.
• Monitor media consumption.
• Discuss media with children.
• Increase the public’s awareness regarding the potential impact playing violent video games may have on player’s aggressive behavior as indicated in both short and long term research studies.
• Parents should use the Entertainment System Rating Board (ESRB)rating system to evaluate media their children would like to watch or purchase.

Resources (on both sides of the argument):
Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked
Common Sense Media
The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center
We're Talking, Too: Preteen Health

Photo cedit: jonworth

Labels: Media

Permalink | 3 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Sexy Girls

Those two words should not be together, but gone are the days of innocence and commitment to protecting young girls from sex. The American Psychological Association (APA) just released a report that calls for the media and advertising to stop sexualizing young girls. The sexualization of girls is so pervasive in our society that it can feel normal for young girls to look like teenagers and for teenagers to look like adults. If you don't believe me, just go shopping for a preteen and try to find something that is not body-hugging, low-cut, too short, or too spangly.

Just in case you are unclear what "sexualization of young girls" really means, a sexualized image suggests sexual availability to the exclusion of other personal characteristics and qualities, which is inappropriate. Two examples are 1) child beauty pageants in which young girls wear make-up and false teeth to replace baby teeth, thong underwear with muppets or phrases like "eye-candy;" and 2) lyrics that include phrases like:"so blow me bitch," "I rock for topless dancers," and "I tell hoes all the time, bitch get in my car."

The APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls studied published research on the content and effects of media (including TV, movies, music videos, lyrics, magazines, video games, and the Internet) and found that the consequences of the sexualization of girls in media today are very real and are likely to be a negative influence on girls' healthy development.

Specifically, research evidence shows that sexualization and objectification:

• undermine a person's confidence in and comfort with her own body, leading to emotional and self-image problems, including shame and anxiety;
• are linked to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression;
• have negative consequences on girls' ability to develop a healthy sexual self-image.

The study also suggests that men may be less likely to be satisfied with their female partners as a result of the unrealistic expectations created by the media portrayal of women. There also seems to be a tie between viewing pornography and sexualizing women. We see this as the questions submitted on our teen site (We're Talking Teen Health) more and more ask questions like why women are "supposed" to shave their genitals, which is obviously coming from partners who view images of women in pornography.

The good news is that parents can play a major protective and educative role and schools should teach media literacy skills to all students and should include information on the negative effects of sexualization of girls in those programs. We can help teens talk about how marketing techniques make girls' and women's bodies look unnatural and focus people's attention on their bodies as if that is all that is valuable about them, but to do this, we have to be engaging in the same media they are experiencing.

Photo credit: Jakob.Montrasio.Net

Labels: Media

Permalink | 4 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Violent Girls: Who Do You Believe?

Are American girls becoming more violent? I have heard murmuring, and went to explore, but I sure could not decide what I believe. One one hand, the increase in bullying, particularly cyberbullying, and "mean girl" syndrome would support it, but being "mean" is not the same thing as being violent, or is it?

James Garbarino, author of "See Jane Hit: Why Girls Are Growing More Violent and What We Can Do About It," (2006) seems to think that girls are getting more violent, the reports on the news about girls fighting, some of the videos posted on the Internet seem to suggest it, and Cindy Ness, a program director at the John Jay Center on Terrorism and Public Safety, reports that in her study of girls in Philadelphia, fighting is a way of life, but it isn't reported to the police.

According to FBI crime reports, juvenile arrests for crime are down, but girls represent a larger percentage of those arrests. Here at least is one place the gender gap might be closing, but not in a positive way. People who believe that girls are getting more violent cite the breakdown of the family and even women's liberation, as well as the increase of violence portrayed in the media and violent action heroes as possible culprits.

On the other hand, the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports a 10% decrease in fighting reported by high school girls between 1991 and 2003. The argument challenging the reliability of that data however is that girls are not necessarily fighting at school. In fact, they are more likely to be battling at home (with their mothers by the way), and in their neighborhoods.

So, I throw my hands up and accept that this is an area of teen health that does not seem to have an obvious answer or fix. It cannot hurt any of us however to keep paying attention to violence between teens, identifying aggression as unacceptable, and helping teens develop the skills required to settle conflicts without violence.

Photo credit: Jesse Gardner

Labels: Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Turn the TV Off!

Did you know that watching 10 hours of TV a week (or more) is shown to negatively affect academic achievement? It is true, along with other things, like kids who watch TV are more likely to be obese and are exposed to more violence, and kids with TVs in their rooms get lower grades. But wait, it is not the end of the world - there is something you can do about it!

Start talking now with your family about participating in TV-Turnoff Week, April 23-29, 2007! Start by documenting how much TV you actually watch each week, then visit ScreenTime.org and get the facts about the consequences of watching that much TV. Then, when you are completely aware and mortified, make a list of alternative things you can do during TV-Turnoff Week. Keep talking about it and put it on the calendar!

To make it easier, involve your schools and friends - it is easier if no one is watching TV that week. I guarantee that you will spend more time together as a family and have more fun because of it.

Resources
Common Sense Media
ScreenTime.org

Quotes
I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book. -Groucho Marx

In many families the television seems to substitute, rather than facilitate dialogue among people. A type of 'fast' in this area could also be healthy. -Pope John Paul II during a speech calling for a 40-day TV-Turnoff

Television is a chewing gum for the eyes. -Frank Lloyd Wright

Given our national television habit, it is no surprise that we are raising the most sedentary and most overweight generation of youngsters in American history. As they grow, these children will run increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems -- unless they turn off the tube and become physically active. -US Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.

The remarkable thing about television is that it permits several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely. -T.S. Eliot

Television is no substitute for a parent. It doesn’t help develop language skills; it’s simply background noise. -First Lady Laura Bush

Photo credit: Eric in SF

Labels: Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Media Multitasking Among Young People

The Kaiser Family Foundation released a new report last week entitled "Media Multitasking Among American Youth: Prevalence, Predictors and Pairings" based on data from seven-day media use diaries from 694 young people 8to 18 years old. The data was collected from October 2003 through March 2004 as part of the Generation M study.

Every mom understands multitasking - it is how we manage to make it through the day. However, more and more teens and even tweens are now learning they can get more done by doing multiple things at once, usually involving media. Although there is no research focused specifically on the effects of multitasking, conventional wisdom and brain research suggests there are limits to how much our brains can process at once.

I also would like to suggest that multitasking limits our comprehension because there are fewer brain resources directed at each activity. In addition, I am very concerned that the stimulation from the media use will limit self-reflection and creativity.

What is media multitasking?
Media multitasking is using more than one medium at a time. For example, reading a magazine while watching TV, listening to music while playing a video game, etc... Youth are most likely to multitask when they are instant messaging and surfing the internet.

How many kids are doing it?
In a typical week, 81% of young people spend some of their media time using more than one medium at a time. Girls are more likely to media multitask than boys.

What are they doing?
When young people are reading, playing computer games or looking at websites, most (2/3) tend to be doing something else, as well (eating, doing chores, talking on the phone, instant messaging, doing homework, or using other media). However, this is not true when they are watching TV or playing video games (less than 45%).

Many teens (65%) use media while doing their homework, especially if they are doing homework on the computer. Listening to music at the same time is the most common behavior.

What can parents do to reduce the media multitasking of youth?
Have the TV on less. Do not be a multiple TV household. Never watch TV during meals. keep the computer and TV physically separate.

Photo credit: sparklefish

Labels: Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Teen Hearing and Music

I remember hating it when my parents yelled "turn that music down," and yet, here I am, saying to both my teenage daughters, when they have their earbuds tucked into their ears, "I can hear that" - which is code for "turn that music down."

According to a 2005 article in Pediatrics, 12.5% of kids between the ages of 6 and 19 suffer from loss of hearing as a result of high volume used with ear phones. A major contributor to this significant statistic is the introduction of earbuds (small speakers that fit inside your ear) that deliver the sound directly into the ear canal, eliminating other sounds.

Another contributing factor to the potential for hearing damage is the amount of time spent "plugged in." With iPods and other MP3s, the number of storable songs is in the thousands, resulting in a longer hours of use.

So how do you know if you have damaged your ears with your music? One surefire way to tell your music is too loud is if others who are not wearing the earbuds, can hear the music playing in your ears. To avoid damage, experts recommend not listening to a music player for more than an hour a day. This may seem unreasonable to many teens who listen while they do homework, on the bus, on an airplane, waiting in line, working out, or just walking around. Often people resort to earbuds to try to cover up the already loud noise around them, but this causes even more damage because they have to turn the volume up even higher.

The two problems that arise from this loud volume for long durations of time are called tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss. These both occur when the tiny, sensitive nerve endings in your ear suffer trauma from high noise levels.

To protect yourself, or your teens, keep the volume and amount of time spent listening down!

Photo credit: redjar

Labels: Media

Permalink | 1 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Teens and the Web World

Yuki Noguchi's article in the Washington Post on October 29, 2006 entitled "In Teens' Web World, My Space Is So Last Year," was really interesting. However, I was less interested in what sites kids think are "in" as social spaces on the Internet, than I was about the facts about these sites. Did you know that Google struck a $900 million deal with NewsCorp primarily to advertise on MySpace? That may be because MySpace has amassed 124 million profiles during the last 2.5 years and with teens spending 1 - 4 hours a month decorating and posting notes and pictures on their profiles, or their friend's profiles, they are being exposed to a lot of advertising.

Here are some average times spent on social networking sites in the past few years:

• In October 2002 the typical Xanga user spent an average of 1 hour 39 minutes a month on the site.
• In October 2003, Friendster users spent an average of 1 hour and 51 minutes on the site which increased to 3 hours and 3 minutes in February 2006.
• In October 2005 MySpace users averaged 2 hours 25 minutes.
• In September 2006 Facebook users spent an average of 1 hour and 9 minutes on the site.

These teens are fickle though - these are free sites and teens reportedly change sites frequently, in mass, with their friends, looking for better services, new ways to communicate and share content they find or create, escaping a creepy predator, or to avoid the peeping of their parents or teachers.

What are teens doing on these sites? They are posting on blogs (like their parent's diary), looking for their friend's profiles, looking at photos, leaving comments, and finding friendship and romance. There is a whole new type of peer drama associated with these social spaces. Friends are hurt by what is said, being excluded, or just not being "cool" enough to rank as top friends.

Apart from the drama and social chaos caused by the communication on these sites, teens are also victimized by predators pretending to be peers and raking in personal information posted by teens for their friends. Add these social threats to the inactivity associated with hours spent online, and the prognosis is not good. I hate to sound like an old fogey, but we need to make sure our preteens are well-versed in web safety, get our teens off these sites unless they can block strangers, and get them interacting with people in the community and making friends the old-fashoned way. Their health and safety may be at risk!

Photo credit: lorri37

Labels: Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Reality TV and Teen Health

The Kaiser Family Foundation just published a paper entitled "The "Reality" of Health: Reality Television and the Public Health" that explores common health-related themes in the scores of reality TV shows available each day, as well as possible implications for viewers.

For those of you who are not "reality" TV (RTV) fanatics, their ratings suggest they hold considerable allure for millions of viewers from all demographic groups, in particular, preteens, adolescents, and young adults. The critics of RTV believe that they stress the importance of money, fame and beauty as well as promote meanness, casual sex, alcohol abuse, and bad language. The industry, on the other hand, suggests that RTV can inspire people to change their lifestyle by losing weight or giving up smoking, and provides "everyday" people as role models instead of super stars.

The nature of these shows makes viewers believe that RTV is "real" versus scripted, and that the actors are actually people like themselves, that they can identify with, making it more likely that values, attitudes, as well as behavior, will be influenced by the messages provided.

Reality shows considered in this paper included:

Lifestyle transformation shows
• The Biggest Loser
• Cold Turkey
• Honey We're Killing the Kids
• Weighing In

Makeover shows
• Dr. 90210
• Extreme Makeover
• Plastic Surgery: Before and After

Medical miracle shows
• Miracle Workers
• Mystery Diagnosis
• Untold Stories of the ER

The messages these shows convey are not meant to be educational, but are entertainment, and therefore still focus on being "hot," as the way to succeed, how wonderful health professionals are, and that the outcomes always outweigh the risks of the procedures, which of course, on RTV never fail.

The possible implications of these shows for audience awareness and knowledge however, are unlimited. Some health organizations have been successful in working with TV producers to bring us episodes about Osteogenesis, HIV, and diabetes. The web sites associated with these shows can also provide reliable and accurate health information about smoking and obesity, and bring attention to diseases and health behavior.

On the other hand, they may also create very unreasonable expectations in viewers, particularly teenagers, who may not have the media literacy skills to know that "reality" TV is not "real." Teens need to hear that there are no "magic" solutions to health problems and teens need help understanding that any health behavior change requires, knowledge, motivation, and support to bring about lifestyle changes that can be maintained.

Photo credit: hfb

Labels: Beauty, Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Media Literacy is Helping Teens Combat Pro-Smoking Messages

Reuters Health just published a story about media literacy as a method to combat the subtle pro-smoking messages in movies and other media focused on the research by Dr. Brian A. Primack and his colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh.

It is a sad truth that more than 4,000 teenagers begin smoking each day and those exposed to tobacco ads, as well as those who had parents, siblings, or friends that smoked were more likely to be current smokers than were their peers.

One possible way to counter that trend appears to be increasing media literacy - teaching teens how to understand, analyze and evaluate messages from the media, including advertising.

In the current study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers analyzed responses from 1,211 high school students to a survey that assessed the students' current smoking, potential future smoking and the extent to which they agreed that advertisements usually leave out some important information.

Of those 1,211 students, 19% were current smokers and 40% were categorized as susceptible to start smoking. Students with higher smoking media literacy, higher grades, and those who were more aware about the addictiveness of smoking were less likely to be current smokers or to be considered susceptible to future smoking than were their peers.

What's more, the research suggests that increasing media literacy among adolescents may also have an affect on other health behaviors, including eating behavior, aggression, sexual behavior, and alcohol use.




Photo credit: de.ef.ha

Labels: Media

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment