The Effects of TV Shows on Children's Obesity & Health

1. During the same period in which childhood obesity has increased so dramatically, there has also been an explosion in media targeted to children, especially TV.
2. Watching TV lowers children’s metabolic rates below what they would be if they were sleeping
3. Kids and teens 8-18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen.
4. The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.
5. Two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day

The Effect of Movies on Children

* 8 year olds will catch three out of every five things that the parents see. This means, for example, that if there are 20 murder scenes, then the child will remember 12 of them.

* Following was found to be true about the movie watchers: had lower conduct grades, did poorer school work, rated lower in reputation by their teachers, rated lower by their classmates, were less cooperative, were more deceptive, were less skillful in judging right from wrong, and were slightly less emotionally stable.

* The most important thing learned in this study is the establishment of the fact that the attitude of children toward a social value can be measurably changed by one exposure to a picture.

* Scenes of danger, conflict, or tragedy produce the greatest effect on children from ages 6 to 12 years.

* When a child goes to a movie, it is as disturbing to sleep patterns as sitting up until midnight, or having two cups of coffee.



Simons, Wendy. "The Payne Fund Studies". Motion Picture Research Council. 12/3/08 http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall98/Simons/df2.htm.

Posted by John Sheick

Musical Influences

1. Music promotes experiences of the extreme for its makers and listeners.

2. Music creates a certain atmosphere and controls the mood, it is used to fill silence and pass the time, and lyrics require attention.

3. Music helps kids socialize; whether in social gatherings or helping to define social boundaries.

4. Attention to lyrics is highest among fans of oppositional or controversial music, such as heavy metal and rap.

5. Music addresses issues that are central to the development of kids with a directness that they do not get from adults.


Christenson, Peter G., Douglas A. Gentile, and Donald F. Roberts. "The Effects of Music on Children and Adolescents," Journal of Communications. Fall 2003. Vol 2 pp153-169.

Advertisements: Commericals affect Children's Health

Television Commercial advertisements have a negative effect on America's Youth

1) Advertisers spend more than $12 billion each year for advertising messages aimed at the youth market. The average child watches more than 40,000 television commercials each year.

2) The American Psychological Association has found that children under the age of eight lack the cognitive development to understand the persuasive intent of television advertising are uniquely susceptible to advertising’s influence.

3) Studies have found strong associations between advertising for non-nutritious foods and childhood obesity.

4) Research findings show that children recall content from the ads to which they’ve been exposed and preference for a product has been shown to occur with as little as a single commercial exposure and strengthened with repeated exposures, directly effecting products purchased. Sugared cereals, candy, sweets, sodas, and snack foods are commonly market towards children and research has shown this directly links to poor nutritional choices, directly affecting the childhood obesity epidemic.

5) Adult Commercials focused around things such as tobacco and alcohol are attractive to children creating a positive attitude towards the products and high product awareness. These products and their spokes-characters have been found to be featured in programming and publications frequently viewed by minors, and reviews of this research (including the Surgeon General's analysis) conclude that advertising of them contributes to youth smoking and drinking.

Resource: American Psychological Association
Willenz, P. (2004, February 23). TELEVISION ADVERTISING LEADS TO UNHEALTHY HABITS IN CHILDREN; SAYS APA TASK FORCE. Retrieved December 3, 2008, from http://www.apa.org/releases/childrenads.html

The effect of Celebrity Tabloid Magazines on Adolescents

*Americans fuel the gossip in Celebrity Tabloid Magazines by continually buying them
~creates more negative influence on media coverage of celebrities and their lives
*"Celebrity Culture"

*Celebrity Obsession
~Readers and viewers of the "Celebrity Culture" want to eat, read, buy, wear, have the same hobbies, and essentially attempt to live the way celebrities constantly slammed on the covers and in Celebrity Tabloids live theirs.
*Paparazzi have fueled and made this nation dominated by celebrities
~Paparazzi receive huge sums of money for taking shots of certain celebrities to be put in Celebrity Tabloid Magazines.

*Media has one of the largest influences on the masses of people
~increased substantially over the past couple of decades, focusing on celebrities
*Gives celebrities more power to influence the masses of people

*Readers of these magazines look up to the celebrities the magazines are focusing on
~Celebrities set the standard and ideal for "perfect" and "beautiful"
*Causes many young girls, adolescents, and even young women to try and fit into that standard
~Potentially harmful to fit into these unrealistic figures in the media.
~Potentially lower adolescents self-esteem, causing them to become self destructive, and even cause mental health problem or eating disorders.

*"American Dream" Anyone can succeed in America and live up to these celebrity standards, when in reality it's extremely hard to become as successful as many celebrities, and half of their beauty is made up by makeup, botox, plastic surgery, or Photoshopped or airbrushed.

*Celebrities sell themselves for the "face" of products, also in tabloids
~Readers are forced to see the image over and over again, making them think they want to buy the product because this celebrity is endorsing it AND it is ingrained in their minds that this is what's supposed to be beautiful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hb1XqHJL9s&feature=related

J, Bridget . Are the Values Promoted By Celbrity Tabloids Harmful. Riverdale: Exhibition Template , 2005. 23 Nov. 2008 .

Facts On Books

1) Women and females in general are often portrayed in a negative and biased manner in children's books.
2) In a 30 year old study done on Caldecott Medal Award medal books, researchers found that "males had higher occupation roles than females and overall males appeared 11 more times often than females in the central role, as the main character or even in the title.
3) Illustrated books especially influence gender development for children.
4) Stereotypes hinder the accomplishments and choices of children and limits them to what society thinks is correct.
5) Men and women need to be displayed equally as human beings and some progress has been made in childrens' books of today.

Source:Gooden, Angela, Mark Gooden. "Gender Representation in Notable Children's Picture Books: 1995-1999. Sex Roles. 45.1/2 (2001): 89-101

Commercials effect on children

• Commercials present gender stereotypes through overt factors, such as activities and language, as well as through more subtle features, such as voiceovers and production features. Many media messages tend to reinforce gender roles

• Those who spend more time “living in the world of television are more likely to see the ‘real world’ in terms of images, values, portrayals, and ideologies that emerge through the lens of television. That is, heavy television viewers are more likely to express opinions and hold values similar to those represented on television than light television viewers are. 17% of children in the United States watch more then 5 hours of television a day, they become more susceptible to adapting to television world view, particularly as it relates to the social construction of gender and gender roles.

• Girls and boys are often portrayed in stereotyped roles in commercials. Activities portrayed in commercials often signify traditional gender roles. For example, girls engage in shopping, whereas boys did not, and that only boys preformed antisocial behaviors, such as stealing or fighting.

• Research indicates a relationship between exposure to these gendered images and children's perceptions about gender roles. Research on children's programs and advertising indicates that children perceive gender role stereotypes and apply gendered attributes to characters. Research suggests that children are aware of the gendered portrayals in commercials and thus have learned the gender "appropriateness" of toys through modeled behavior, which may affect their toy preferences and the nature of their play. The repeated exposure to these images contributes to the development of children's conceptions of gender and their expected roles as men and women.

• Researchers exposed adults to gender-stereotyped and reverse gender-stereotyped commercials and then coded the achievement and homemaking themes in essays participants wrote about their expected life 10 years in the future. The researchers found that themes of achievement significantly increased among women who viewed the reverse role depiction. Women who viewed the stereotypical depictions expressed significantly fewer achievement themes in their essays than did men who had been exposed to the same condition. This study showed a societal and mass media priming effect of acceptable gender behaviors through future ambitions. Research with children suggests that nontraditional images can change their perceptions of gender roles as well.

Pop Culture and the influence on children

1. "A child learns and absorbs all the information around them on a daily basis thus helping them to formulate their own ideals, opinions, and outlook on life.... If these children are overly exposed to pop culture media such as television or movies, some part of their newly formed identity will be based on this medium. "

2. "American children spend an average of 4 hours of television a day, 28 hours per week watching TV; by age 18 they have watched 22,000 hours of TV - more time than they ever spent in the classroom." (Jason)

3. "Sex, drugs and crime are three main topics parents should be made aware of. Sex is prominent in most forms of entertainment. Media no longer has harsh stipulations on what is acceptable or not. In the 1950's parents on television had separate beds. Today, you can watch almost any prime time show and find some form of sex be it innuendos, the physical act or discussion about it."

4. "Pop culture is so ingrained into our society that it's almost impossible not be influenced by it. This is especially true for the youth of America today. With easier access, quicker results, and uninformed parents, children are exposed to a tremendous amount of information fed to them by the pop culture world. This influences and shapes the identities of our children."

5. "While environment is not the only means to forming an identity, it is one of the more significant, well researched, and documented influences responsible for identity in the early stages of life. (Anderson)"

Nixon, Jenn. "Popular Culture's Influence on Children's Identity." Associated Content. 1 June 2006. 4 Dec. 2008 . http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/35092/popular_cultures_influence_on_childrens.html?cat=25

Research Question

Does the media, such as commercials, movies, music, etc reinforce and influence gender-specific social roles on children/teens?