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The Effect of Media on Children and Adolescents

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159:595.

Television is the elephant in the American living room. Since its invention 70 years ago, it has quickly come to dominate the lives of American children. Today, there are more televisions than toilets in US households. Although over 20% of parents remain concerned about the amount of television their children watch, prior research has found that children under the age of 5 years watch an average of 1 to 3 hours per day.¹ More than one third of children under the age of 6 years have televisions in their bedrooms.^1-2 The average child spends more time watching television than doing any other single activity except sleeping. But television is but 1 source of what is now being called "media time"; video and computer games, DVDs, the Internet, and instant messaging all contribute to a "wired" child phenomenon.

We know surprisingly little about the reasons for and the effects of all of this electronic media exposure on children’s health, cognitive, social, and behavioral outcomes. In general, media research has not kept pace with the rapid rise of the technology itself and many of our best-done studies have limited applicability today. To be sure, the effects of media are by no means all negative. There have been and likely still are demonstrable benefits to the appropriate use of these technologies. Given that media exposure is sure to increase, understanding all of the effects it has on children and adolescents remains a critical research agenda with relevance to pediatricians, parents, and policy makers. How can these media serve the best interests of our children and adolescents?

The April 2006 issue of ARCHIVES will be a special theme issue devoted to the effects of media. We want to solicit and consolidate a comprehensive array of high-quality research articles relating to media and children and adolescents. We anticipate that these studies will come from the many and diverse disciplines that bring science to bear on this issue, including pediatrics, psychology, engineering, epidemiology, sociology, and communications. Articles received by September 1, 2005, will have the best chance of being included in this special issue. Please consult information for authors on our Web site at http://www.archpediatrics.com for guidelines on preparation and submission.

AUTHOR INFORMATION
Correspondence: Dr Christakis, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Child Health Institute, University of Washington, 6200 NE 74th St, Suite 210, Seattle, WA 98115-8160 (dachris{at}u.washington.edu).

Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, Associate Editor; Frederick P. Rivara, MD, MPH, Editor

REFERENCES
1. Christakis DA, Ebel BE, Rivara FP, Zimmerman FJ. Television, video, and computer game usage in children under 11 years of age. J Pediatr. 2004;145:652-656. FULL TEXT | ISI | PUBMED 2. Rideout VJ, Vandewater EA, Wartella EA. Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers. Menlo Park, Calif: Kaiser Family Foundation; 2003.

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ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT