Good Media
Gathering Information on Lazy August Days
Andrea Rock, contributing editor
Wow, time flies! We are halfway through August, and school will be starting before we know it! And in the fall, television will be launching new series, new films will be released — particularly in time for the holidays — and technology companies will be releasing newer models of all sorts of devices that our children covet and we will need to learn. The entire spectrum offers both good news and bad news for our children, and we parents must constantly be aware of what media they are consuming and how it may influence their values, their self-image, and even their brain development.
A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Northwestern University reveals that use of all media by 8-to-18-year-old children is frighteningly high: Asian Americans logged the most media use (13 hours, 13 minutes a day), followed by Hispanics (13 hours), blacks (12 hours, 59 minutes), and whites (8 hours, 36 minutes.) If we want our kids to have eight hours of sleep per night, we can see that too much of their time seems to be taken up by use of media! So in this world of ever-expanding media platforms, opportunities, and availability to shape our children, we must continue to educate ourselves so that we may guide our children in the choices they make, and in how they interpret the worldview to which they are being exposed. So on these lazy, end-of-summer days, why take advantage of some of the good media available to parents, and gather information that will help us help our children!
The Kaiser Family Foundation performs research in a number of arenas, including the role of media in our kids’ lives, as the above citation observes. To see their work, log on here: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/index.cfm.
For wonderful parenting advice that includes advice on media, go to http://www.parentfurther.com/technology-media/facts/facts_vlent.shtml. Their approach is built on the Search Institute’s Developmental Assets: 40 common sense, positive qualities and experiences that help influence the choices kids make.
For a Canadian-based research site that has strong advice for parents and teachers, look here: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/corporate/about_us/index.cfm.
For an ongoing look at the objectification of women and girls in advertising, look here: http://www.about-face.org and for research on the subject, look to the American Academy of Pediatrics, here: http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report.aspx.
Children Now covers a good deal of research on media’s influence on kids: http://www.childrennow.org/index.php/learn/medias_impact/.
For research on the power of video games in our kids’ lives, look here: http://www.video-game-addiction.org.
In our December issue, I recommended the following websites for film reviews, and I offer them again here:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org
Commonsense media also includes reviews of books, websites, apps, TV, games, and music. It offers thoughtful articles on a variety of subjects that will further inform and enlighten parents.
http://www.kidsfirst.org
Kidsfirst includes the opportunity for parents to become trained in media literacy so that you may become a “Juror” and start your own Junior Film Critics program in your neighborhood, school, scout or youth group.
http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/moviereviews/main.asp
For a Christian perspective, these are excellent:
http://www.crosswalk.com/movies
This is a full Christian website, with many articles and resources beyond film and television reviews.
http://movieguide.org
This also includes articles on a variety of social issues, in addition to film reviews from a Christian viewpoint.
For a Catholic perspective, try:
http://www.americancatholic.org/movies/default.aspx
This is a Catholic website that includes some in-depth film reviews from that worldview.
I do hope that you’ll have time, during the remainder of your summer, to peruse these wonderful resources, and bookmark those that resonate most with you. We can never gather too much information, where our children are concerned!
