Media and Children: Quick Facts

There is extensive evidence of the pervasive and potentially damaging effects of the unregulated consumption of electronic media by children and adolescents. Research done by organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and media literacy advocates like Dr. James Steyer, of Stanford University and Common Sense Media, present some rather compelling statistics pertaining to the impact of the media on young people.

• Studies have linked TV viewing by toddlers (3+ hours per day) to attentional problems when they enter school.
• Children ages 8 and over consume nearly 7 hours of electronic media per day outside of school.
• 26% of children under 2 years of age and 65% of children age 2 and over have TV's in their bedrooms.
• 75% of children age 10 and over say most of what they know about sex comes from watching TV or movies.

Media Literacy = Teaching kids to think critically about the media messages they are receiving and then to make responsible decisions about media consumption based on these judgments.

Media literacy advocates acknowledge the overpowering presence of the electronic media, with both positive and negative effects. Their goal is not abstinence. Rather, it is to provide parents, educators and children with the tools to become more intelligent and selective consumers of the media in all its forms. In short, this means learning to control or filter out the negatives and promote the positives - not an easy task these days!

For more information on media literacy, see the following :

Steyer, James, The Other Parent, Atria Books, 2002.
Common Sense Media, www.commonsensemedia.org
The Kaiser Family Foundation, www.kaisernetwork.org
The New Mexico Media Literacy Project, www.nmmlp.org
Center for Media Literacy, www.medialit.org
Media Literacy Clearing House, www.med.sc.edu/medialit