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Sex, drugs, violence and getting fat - Is this what the media's doing to our kids?
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Do videogames shape kids' worldview? (AP/E Arts)
American kids spend six hours a day with media – internet, TV, videogames, etc. and their health is going down the tubes (no pun intended). A coincidence?
According to Victor C. Strasburger, MD, of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, "The media are not the leading cause of any pediatric health problem in the United States, but they do make a substantial contribution to many health problems.”
Possible inks between the media and health problems include:
• Violence: about 10% of real life violence may be linked to violence kids see in movies, on the internet and in videogames.
• Sex: Kids see it and kids do it. But the major networks won’t show ads for contraception while simultaneously pumping out an overwhelming amount of sexual material in primetime
• Drugs: Ads for prescription drugs and smoking in the movies set up for kids accepting the normality of drug use. Today, $20 billion a year is spent on ads for cigarettes in the US, $5 billion for booze, and $4 billion for prescription drugs.
• Obesity: Kids watch about 7,500 food advertisements per year, mostly for junk food and fast food. Plus, they play videogames, and are on the internet or watch TV instead of exercising.
"The media are a powerful teacher of children and adolescents—the only question is what are they learning and how can it be modified? When children and adolescents spend more time with media than they do in school or in any leisure-time activity except for sleeping, much closer attention should be paid to the influence media has on them," warns Dr. Strasburger.
Source: JAMA, 6/3/09
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