Children, Adolescents, and Television

Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2002

Purpose: To understand and document children's stated experiences and beliefs about television and to elicit their suggestions for alternative activities. Design and Methods: Eleven focus groups were conducted with 51 Anglo and Latino children, ages 7-10, in a large Northern California city. Philosophical underpinnings of developmental psychology were the basis for multiphase thematic analysis. Data were collected in 1998-1999. Results: Themes were identified in five conceptual categories. Findings showed that children did not perceive many parental rules related to TV watching, rather daily routines are associated with TV viewing. Children revealed both covert and overt motivations for watching. Nearly all participants spoke of the deception of advertising, but they were unclear about the role of commercial sponsors in payment for TV shows. Children perceived both negative physical and behavioral health effects of TV and they had great difficulty imagining life without a TV. Conclusions: Children perceived television as providing educational and relational needs. Although they preferred alternatives to TV, they had difficulty articulating and getting those needs met. Clinicians and researchers can utilize these findings to design health interventions that attenuate the health-impairing effects of habitual sedentary activity in childhood.

Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2000

This article is a review of select empirical research studies examining television as an influence on children's health behaviors. The reader is first provided with an overview of the research on the role of television in children's lives. This is followed by an in-depth presentation of the research related to television content and its effect on risk-taking and the role of television commercials and their influence on nutrition and dietary behaviors.

PEDIATRICS, 2010

Youth spend an average of Ͼ7 hours/day using media, and the vast majority of them have access to a bedroom television, computer, the Internet, a video-game console, and a cell phone. In this article we review the most recent research on the effects of media on the health and well-being of children and adolescents. Studies have shown that media can provide information about safe health practices and can foster social connectedness. However, recent evidence raises concerns about media's effects on aggression, sexual behavior, substance use, disordered eating, and academic difficulties. We provide recommendations for parents, practitioners, the media, and policy makers, among others, for ways to increase the benefits and reduce the harm that media can have for the developing child and for adolescents.

Journal-American Academy of Child and …, 2001

Concern from parents, professionals, and the populace at large about the impact of the media on children and adolescents has grown steadily over recent years. Recent events, most prominently the school murders of the past 2 years, in Pearl, Mississippi; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Paducah, Kentucky; and Littleton, Colorado, have drawn attention to the volatile confluence of culture and psychopathology. It has become imperative for clinicians to understand the role of media exposure on children in order to diagnose and treat behavioral problems as well as to prevent further tragedies.

1987

Research on audience response to television suggests that viewers are actively involved, apply identifiable and consistent evaluative criteria, and have distinct ideas about the role of the medium in their lives. In light of this research, a study focused on 264 randomly selected sixth through tenth grade students in a Tennessee school system to determine the influence of television on their lives. The subjects wrote essays in their English classes describing what they felt to be the influence of television on them, their family, or American society. Essays were coded for both the number and type of influence cited by each student. Results indicated little evidence of clear-cut positive or negative interpretations of the medium's influences. Students identified a wide variety of both positive and negative effects. At least 90% of the subjects had something positive to say about television, and its entertainment value and usefulness as an information source were frequently cited. Only 62% of the sample identified at least one negative influence of television, and the most frequent criticism was that exposure to television sex, drugs, and violence might negatively affect impressionable viewers' behavior. Multivariate analyses indicated that both IQ and grade level were significantly related to mentions of positive and negative influences of television, with older and brighter students tending to be more negative and cynical about television's effects. (SKC)

Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 2001

Ask the Expert provides research-based answers to practice questions submitted by JSPN readers.

The topics of this statement are to explain the beneficial and harmful effects of media on children’s mental and physical health and their capacities and opportunities for kids. In this review, we search around some important effects of media like: VIDEO GAMES, TV, MUSIC VIDEOS, INTERNET and their positive and negative tendencies on Learning, Nutrition, Alcohol, Smoking and Sexuality in various ways. As results we follow some different aspects of them on kids' life and we recommend suggestions to families for controlling and matching with their children and how can ban some negative effects of media. Keywords: Media, Children, Health, Control, Effect

International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 2016

Television (TV); a means of mass communication, has a significant influence on children's behavior. It affects their sleep, weight, scholastic achievement, attitudes, and much more. It could be a great educator, entertainer, and a magnificent tool to get familiar with other cultures, people, and places that many of us might not have the chance to know anything about in real life. Nevertheless, spending too much time watching TV can deprive children from other healthy activities like outdoor play with friends, participating in different sports or artistic activities, and spending quality time with family members eating, talking, or reading. Furthermore, the screen time is not the only issue that it matters concerning the impact of TV watching on children as the quality of TV programs they watch could have a deleterious influence on their behavior with increased risk for violence and aggression, obesity, premature sexuality, and smoking or substance abuse. In conclusion, "better safe than sorry parental policy" seems a wise guideline to follow with children concerning their TV watching.