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This article will review what is known about harmful effects of television on children and adolescents, as well as the potential benefits that exist. This will also review some of the latest recommendations for parents regarding controlling children's access to a variety of media, including the American Academy of Pediatrics' most recent and controversial statement that children under the age of 2 years should NOT be allowed to watch TV. A lot of the information here is based on events in the United States. But, think on it, it can also happen in anyone's backyard!

Violence in the Media:
What are we teaching our children? The fact that kids see 2,000 murders each year, vicariously, on the TV screen should tell you something. We teach young children that:

• Violence can be justified.
• Good guys are allowed to use violence.
• Violence doesn't hurt.

Then we are appalled when, as teenagers, they commit violent acts themselves. More than 1,000 studies to date document that children learn aggressive attitudes and behavior from the media. Such programming probably contributes between 10% and 25% of the violence in society at large. So, clearly, we are not doing our young people a favor when we allow them to watch violence-filled cartoons, movies, or play violent videogames.

Where there are guns: Just as clearly, television, movies, and videogames glorify guns and weaponry of all sorts, and that, too, is not healthy for young people. The United States is unique among Western nations in having more guns than households: 220 million guns in the United States versus 200 million American households. It stands to reason that occasionally some of these guns will go off and kill or injure young people.

`Justifiable' violence: The most comprehensive content analysis of television was just completed last year after three years of study, and found that more children's shows than adult shows contain violence and that one-fourth of all the violent scenes contain guns. Although no study has been done yet to show a cause-and-effect relationship between schoolyard shootings and the viewing of violence on television, numerous studies have shown that children and adolescents can learn aggressive attitudes and behavior from what they view on the small TV screen and the big movie screen. In particular, they learn the notion of justifiable violence, which is the single most powerful reinforcement for aggressive behavior. On TV, it's often the `good guy' in the `white hat' who has both the duty and the responsibility to blow away the bad guy. Is it any wonder, then, that several of the schoolyard killers have talked about their victims in such terms? Consider the following quote from 16 year old Luke Woodham, the Pearl, MS schoolyard shooter: "I am not insane. I am angry. I killed because people like me are mistreated every day. I did this to show society that if they push us we will push back. Murder is not weak and slow-witted, murder is gutsy and daring." Ask yourself, where did this 16 year-old get such terrifying notions about how to deal with anger and frustration? Where did he learn what murder is?

`Funny' violence: Media are also rife with the notion of funny violence. Mel Gibson's hit, `Payback', is filled with such examples. Gangsters are killed or maimed in an automobile accident that he causes, and his character laughs. Why? Because they weren't wearing their seatbelts. Is it a coincidence that one of the Littleton killers peaked underneath a tablecloth in the cafeteria, found a student shivering with fear, shouted "Peekaboo", and shot her dead?

In summary, violent media are not good for young children in particular; and what they learn at a young age may be acted upon when they are teenagers or young adults, attitudes about when it is acceptable to use violence, or buy a weapon, or inflict pain or suffering. The average child views ten thousand violent acts a year in the media. Do we need a thousand studies to tell us that this isn't healthy?

Are all kids susceptible? No. Children have different personalities and sensitivities. But both boys and girls are potentially susceptible to this negative media influence. Later on, we'll discuss what you can do now, to protect your children against learning such violent notions.

Sex and Sexuality in the Media: Children view some of the most sexually suggestive material in the world, yet little of it is responsible from a public health viewpoint. Other countries do a far better job of displaying the risks of early sexual activity, the need and usefulness of contraception, and the benefits of abstinence. In the most recent study of American TV, only 9% of all the sexual references involved responsible, healthy sexuality, whereas more than half of all the programming studied contained sexual material. TV and other media have become the leading sex educator in the U.S. today, and what young people are being taught is that `everybody is doing it' except them. In this way, TV functions as a sort of `super-peer', and most parents are all too aware of how important the peer group is to their teen.

Drugs in the Media: At times, the media terrain seems like something out of `Alice in Wonderland': the faster we run (try to prevent drug use), the further behind we get.

Just say yes? It seems odd that in a society that wants its children and teens to `just say no', the tobacco and alcohol industries spend a total of 9 billion dollars asking us to `just say yes'. Is it mere coincidence that about 85% of high school seniors have tried alcohol, and that more than 1 in 4 have consumed 5 or more drinks in a row? Is it mere coincidence that the amount of money spent on cigarette advertising results in increased consumption of precisely those brands among teenagers?

Sexy advertising: Remember that kids learn their attitudes about cigarettes and alcohol at a very young age. Is it fair to allow manufacturers to use camels, frogs, and sexy beach babes to try to get kids to drink and smoke before they are adults? About half of all smokers begin by ages 13-14, and if someone doesn't smoke by age 19, they are highly unlikely to ever start.

Is There Any Media Out There That's Good for Kids? Things are sounding fairly bleak so far. Yes, American media are the most violent, the most sexually suggestive, the most drug-oriented in the world. But media can be good for children and teens, depending on how the various forms of media are used: what media, how often, and with whom. Public Broadcasting (PBS) abounds with health, pro-social, educational programming for preschoolers, from `Sesame Street' and `Mister Rogers' to `Arthur' and `Magic Schoolbus'. Nickelodeon is popular with kids and also has some educational programming (and far too many commercials as well).

What's a Concerned Parent to Do? `You can't fight City Hall' has become, `You can't change Hollywood'. Faced with this largely unhealthy barrage of violence, sex, drugs, and commercialism in the mainstream media, what's a conscientious parent to do?

Parents, the first teachers ... First, don't panic! Only 10 to 25% of violent behavior amongst children and adolescents is attributed to the media. That's significant, but media is not the leading cause of violence in society, or early sexual activity, or early drug use. Other factors are far more important, including YOU!

In any survey of adolescent attitudes, parents are always listed as the #1 influence in teens' lives. But the material being `covered' on TV must be `covered' by you first. If you fail to educate your kids about drugs, sex and violence, the media will do it for you. Unfortunately, what the media will teach your kids about these subjects will not be healthy for them. This is, in fact, an issue of `family values'. Whose values do you want your children to have, yours, or the character that Bruce Willis is playing in the next big Hollywood shoot-'em-up?

Advice for parents: The American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization of nearly 60,000 pediatricians around the country, recommends the following for parents:

• Limit media time: Limit the time to no more than 1-2 hours a day. Even if your kids watch PBS for longer than that, it's not necessarily good for them. They need to be reading, playing, talking with you, taking part in more `active' activities.
  
  
• Monitor what shows they watch: This is especially important for parents of very young children. There are 1,000 studies showing that media violence is unhealthy for children; there's never been a single study showing that it might be good for them. So this is a `no-brainer'. Do not allow any child under the age of 8 years to watch any show or movie that has appreciable violent content. If you slip up, or if they go to their best friend's house and see something objectionable, will they immediately be transformed into a schoolyard bully? No. But the effect is cumulative; it adds up over a period of years. Obviously, some small bits of violence are unavoidable, even in G-rated Disney movies, but that's where the next recommendation comes in.
  
  
• Watch TV and movies with your kids: If you do, then they will be learning your values, not the program's. But this also means that you need to discuss the content of the program with them. `Why did someone punch someone else? Was that necessary? Is that what you would have done in a similar situation? Can you think of another way to solve the dispute?' Or: `Why is there so much advertising for beer during the football games? Why do they use beautiful women in their ads, or funny lizards, or fast sports cars?' Or: `Do you really think they would be sleeping together if they just met? Did they talk about the risks involved?' This is called media literacy, or media education, and like sex education or drug education or violence prevention education, it begins at home.
  
  
• Become media literate: Media literacy is an extremely important concept. Many other countries have realized that children can be relatively `protected' against harmful media effects by being taught about the media at a young age. In the United States, few schools have such programs. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't begin the process by talking with your kids' teachers, counselors, or principals and asking, `Why not?' Every drug prevention program and every sex education program should contain segments that deal with the media. But grade schools should have media education programs that teach kids that television and movies are not real, that the characters are `made up' and the way they behave is not the way that normal adults behave. Likewise, they can also be taught that commercials are inherently deceptive, and that toys and food are manipulated to look far better than they are in real life. Such programs have been studied and have been successful in reducing children's aggressive attitudes, or their intention to use alcohol at an early age.
  
  
• Keep the television out of the bedroom: For parents, controlling the media also means not allowing kids to have television sets in their own bedrooms. In one national survey, one-fourth of 2-5 year-olds, one-third of older children, and one-half of teens reported having a TV set in their bedroom. This is a prescription for disaster: How will total TV time be controlled? How can a child's choice of shows be monitored? How much co-viewing is likely to occur?

Where to Go For More Help: Several organizations have now taken an active interest in the problems of media violence, sexual violence, and drug and alcohol advertising and content in the media:

• Media Awareness Network
• Media Literacy Resource