Week 4 - Lecture 4

Question 1

What has seen a rapid change in media exposure - past vs present?

Answer 1

• media consumption has drastically changed over the past two decades
  -** past media exposure:** children in the past watched TV on set schedules eg. 4-5 channels, often recorded on video cassettes
• present media exposure: today, media is accessible anytime on multiple devices (smartphones, tablets, iPads, TVs) with numerous platforms, highlighting the shift in children’s media exposure

Question 2

how does Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model relate to media use?

Answer 2

• the child is part of a series of interacting environmental systems (microsystem, mesosystem, macrosystem) which affect their development
• mass media: discussed within the macrosystem, influencing *societal attitudes and ideologies, which shift over time *(eg. video games once illegal, now permitted)

Question 3

what is the impact of media exposure on children?

Answer 3

• American Academy of Pediatrics Recommendations: Children under 24 months should not be exposed to TV or screens, and limited exposure (less than 1 hour/day) for older children (2-5 years) is recommended
  -* Current Trends:* Studies show that **many children exceed these limits, **with 45% of 8 year olds and 80% of 16 year olds surpassing 2 hours of screen time a day

Question 4

Consequences of Excessive Screen Time

Answer 4

• **youth drinking, smoking, obesity **
• sleep disturbances
• poor social relationships
• aggression, academic issues
• delayed language development

Question 5

What does research say about infant and toddler exposure to media?

Answer 5

• attention to screens: infant’s attention to screens increases with age, from 11% at 6 months to 39% at 3 years
• Youtube vs Traditional TV: YouTube offers more user-generated content and fewer educational vidoes, with a** rise in exposure to violence and commercialism **
• Video Learning: Studies (Barr & Hayne, 1999) show that babies learn less effectively from screens compared to live demonstrations, a concept known as the “video deficit”. However, this effect may vary based on age and content type

Question 6

Violence in Media

What is the historical context of violence in media?

Answer 6

• media violence has been a concern for decades, with early studies linking violent TV shows like The Three Stooges to increased aggression in children
• **Public concern increased **with media’s role in **promoting violent **behaviour during high-profile incidents

Question 7

Violence in Media

What is Huesmann’s Theory (2001) about violence in media?

Answer 7

• **short-term effects **of media violence can include priming, excitation, and imitation of aggressive behaviours **
  - long-term effects **include the development of hostile world schemas, aggressive scripts, and the normalization of aggression in social interactions

Question 8

Violence in Media

What is Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment?

Answer 8

• Children who **observed violent behaviours ***(eg. beating a Bobo doll) *were **more likely to imitate those behaviours **
• studies suggest a correlation between media violence exposure and increased aggressive behaviour, although these findings do not establish causality

Question 9

Violence in Media

What is the relationship between video games and violence?

Answer 9

• research on violent video games (eg. Call of Duty) suggests that violent games can lead to increased aggression, especially if players identify with violent characters
• **Weis & Cerankosky (2010) **found that children with video games spent less time on academic activities like* reading and writing *
• **Konijn et al. (2007) **showed that boys who identified with violent characters in games were **more likely to engage in aggressive behaviors **during a **competitive task **

Question 10

What is the displacement effect ?

Answer 10

• excessive screen time may displace other activities that promote development, like reading or social interactions. This is referred to as the **displacement theory **