Mind Altering Media...

Cheryl has for some time held the belief that TV is detrimental to child development and behavior, particularly the large majority of children's programming which portrays violent themes. This discussion has come up a few times over the years. I only have anecdotal evidence to suggest that media alone cannot possibly be the cause as there is a long history of violent behavior prior to the invention of electricity. Even Stephen Pinker brought this up at the recent TED conference and in an article in New Republic last month:

In sixteenth-century Paris, a popular form of entertainment was cat-burning, in which a cat was hoisted in a sling on a stage and slowly lowered into a fire. According to historian Norman Davies, "[T]he spectators, including kings and queens, shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized." Today, such sadism would be unthinkable in most of the world. This change in sensibilities is just one example of perhaps the most important and most underappreciated trend in the human saga: Violence has been in decline over long stretches of history, and today we are probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on earth.

I played video games, I watched R rated violent movies, and I played with a gun and I turned out ok right? Well, the April issue of New Scientist has a feature article Mind Altering Media that discusses the effects of television and video games on children. They point to some research that further backs up the findings that helped formulate Cheryl's beliefs:

When it comes to TV, however, there's no getting away from the fact that the bad news outweighs the good. One of the biggest studies was done by Jeffrey Johnson and colleagues at Columbia University in New York, who followed more than 700 families for 17 years, recording their viewing habits, health, backgrounds and various behavioural tendencies. Their findings confirm those of previous, smaller studies showing that the amount of TV watched during childhood and teens correlates with changes in attention and sleep patterns, among other things.

The group's latest analysis will be published next month, so Johnson can't reveal details yet, but says: "High levels of TV viewing may contribute to elevated risk for a type of syndrome which is often characterised by two or more of the following types of problems: elevated levels of verbal and physical aggression; difficulties with sleep; obesity and long-term risk for obesity-related health problems from a lack of physical exercise; and attention or learning difficulties."

There is also reference to Bandura's Bobo effect (also known as Social Learning Theory in Academic Circles):

One of the most straightforward demonstrations dates back to 1961, by Albert Bandura at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. He showed short films to pre-schoolers. Half saw a man beating up a plastic clown (called a Bobo Doll). The other half saw more innocuous images. After watching the film the children were allowed to play with all kinds of toys, including the doll. Those who had seen the beating went and punched it, even copying details like words the clown said. The Bobo doll studies show that children will imitate violent acts in precise detail.

So, it really comes down to a risk assessment. How much enjoyment is there from these violent observations versus the risk that good parenting will not be enough to counter-act negative behavior. The American Academy of Pediatrics made a few recommendations in the article:

* no tv at all for children under 2 (Cheryl says babies need direct interaction that the TV does not provide - so all those Baby Einstein videos are overpriced crap and studies have shown that the potential costs greatly outweigh any meager gain in knowledge that a child could and generally does get elsewhere.)
* no more than 1 or 2 hours a day thereafter
* with teenagers, set conditional rules with homework
* encourage alternative activities
* look for nonviolent shows and games (there are some spatial awareness and other positive effects from video games)
* discuss what is real and what is make-believe (Cheryl says this is one of the many reasons why Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is a quality show)

More information:

* www.tvtroubles.com
* www.mindscience.org

So, even though G.I. Joe taught me that "knowing is half the battle", our kids will learn that lesson from a different source.