|
Com 316: Fundamentals of Broadcasting |
Dr. Janet McMullen Fall 2002 MWF 9:00
|
Effects: |
Updated: 11/22/02
Some facts you should know.....(TV Guide 10/26/96 p. 68)(Mediascope, 1998)
According to a study by Bronfenbrenner in 1970: The primary socializing agents before WWII:
After WWII:
The impact of TV on kids has been a focus of study for many years:
In 1969, a government funded 6-volume study published on the effects of TV: Television and Social Behavior.
1988: The Early Window: Effects of Television in Children and Youth emphasized influence of multiple variables in the process - TV is A cause of aggressiveness, not THE cause of aggressiveness.
Let's look at some specific areas of influence.....
Advertising:
As early as 1750 BC, societies were concerned about the influence of advertising on children. In fact, Hammurabi's Code made it a capital crime (that's right- punishable by death!) to try to sell anything to a child without obtaining the power of attorney. (AAP, Feb, 1995)
The goal of advertising is obviously to sell products and those who want to advertise to children usually place their commercials and ads in places kids will see them. These products are usually for candy, sugary cereals, toys and fast food. The American Academy of Pediatrics published a report on advertising and children ( http://www.aap.org/policy/00656.html ). There was concern that most of the things promoted to children are not particularly good for their health and the academy "believes advertising directed toward children is inherently deceptive and exploits children under 8 years of age." While adolescents understand that ads are designed to sell products, advertising does more than encourage brand selection. It may encourage greater usage by adolescents of products designed for adults, such as cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. As money spent on alcoholic beverage advertising increased, so has consumption in the U.S. The same thing happened in Japan when spending on cigarette advertising increased; smoking increased as well. Conversely, when all beer and wine advertising was banned in Sweden in the mid-1970's, consumption dropped.
While cigarette manufactures don't admit advertising to children, two studies showed that one third of all three year-old children and almost all kids over age 6 recognized Joe Camel; that's as many as recognize Mickey Mouse!!! Camels accounted for one third of all cigarette sales to minors (illegal sales...)
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all tobacco and alcoholic beverage advertising be banned -that's in ALL media, including "passive" advertising such as banners and sponsorship of sports events.
It also encourages more restrictions on advertising in children's programs and regulation of all toy-based programs by the FCC. (AAP, Feb. 1995)
Some facts concerning television advertising to children:
To help a child understand, he or she must be taught. Ask
If kids don't understand it's a commercial and the purpose of the commercial, then it's deceptive and unfair.
Another issue is program length commercials: Do the shows exist before toys, or the toys exist before shows? Ninja Turtles? Power Rangers? X-Men? Is THE LION KING now a program length commercial for Disney Merchandise?
What are the implications?
Children Now holds an annual conference on children and the media, and offers a report of the 1997 event on their web site. "Children Watching Television: The Role of Advertisers." The report offers some insight into the advertiser and regulatory perspective of advertising to children.
You can find it at : http://www.childrennow.org/media/mc96/MCReport.html
In 1990, Congress enacted children's television legislation that dealt with some of these issues. Be sure you know how....
How does TV effect the child in other ways?
Educational Impact
Verbal skills: (Morgan, JQ aut 1986) Verbal intelligence is markedly and consistently lower for heavy TV viewers. This occurs in childhood and continues into adulthood.
Due to low intellectual level of the medium and
the fact that TV is watched rather than reading is taking place.
Reading achievement: The relationship between television usage and reading achievement is similarly negative. The displacement hypothesis may not be totally correct: kids may replace reading with radio, CD's, nintendo, etc. So kids might not be reading even if they weren't watching TV.
Attitudes toward school: A few years ago, a high school teacher wrote after interviewing some of her students:
They...
"When I asked some of these kids what they'd do if they were assigned three hours of homework a night, many replied that they'd refuse to do it. "If you mess with people's TV, they'd quit school. I can't read books because I've got programs to watch."
Some positives: TV can make recent history come alive, science fascinating...IF they kids it.
(Patrick Welsh, TV Guide 5/23/87 Author of " Tales out of the School", Penguin, 1987.)
Boredom with school:
Socialization: Social expectations theory is most applicable here: What does TV tell kids about the way life is and they way they are supposed to be?
High Expectations:
Television shows people living luxurious lifestyles of the upper middle class and even the very rich. Since this appears to be the norm on tv, they think they can attain that.... "in the ghetto, boys father babies they have not intention of supporting.... they have goals, and wives and babies get in the way" In white communities babies are put off or aborted so that careers can be had to finance the desired lifestyle. (TVGuide 7/26/86:Interview with Bill Moyers)
In a study in Public Opinion (11/12-86 p 42) one student said, "If I can live even half as well as the people on Dallas bu the time I'm their age, that would be doing really well...Even "Falcon Crest" would be all right."
At the same time these people have no idea how to achieve that lifestyle, when they watch TV instead of study, look instead of read and haven't the perseverance to focus attention in class. (combine this with the immediate gratification issue)
These high expectations can apply to body image; dating expectations, success expectations, etc.
This concern about high expectations if evident in the controversy surrounding the use of CHANNEL ONE in school systems. In exchange for television equipment and other benefits, the school is provided a live news feed and two minutes of commercials. The commercials sell for up to $200,000 / 30 seconds and Channel One delivers a captive teen audience the size of a Super Bowl Audience. (40% of the American Teen population; 8 million teens 12-18 yrs old). Concerns exist about selling our kids to advertisers, but also there is concern about the implications of commercials and the Channel One web site (http://www.channelone.com ) which has links to some sites parents might not be crazy about.
DISILLUSIONMENT WITH HEROES AND LEADERS
No mystery about adults, sex, anything.....
We as adults and children used to look at our presidents, but the news media's adversarial position to government seeks out any minute negative in hopes of a story....Magnifies and sometimes MANUFACTURES flaws...
Kids have been very involved in learning about and talking about the Clinton scandal in 1998. They got most of their information from television news, but parents reported they did not restrict the amount of television the children saw. Parents reported that the scandal seems to have caused their kids to lose respect for politicians, especially for high school students. Younger kids seems to have lost respect for politics and government on a broader scale. More than 50% responded that their kids had lost respect for politicians. (Pew Research, 1998) We have to ask what the long-term results for our democratic republic will be.....
Television is a SECRET EXPOSING MACHINE
Television focuses on
When this is what children see of life, do we question why they are depressed, disillusioned and sometimes even suicidal....What does this do to our society?
HURRIED CHILDHOOD:
Look at children's commercials on Saturday morning...Girls are made up, boys are trying to act like teenagers. Years ago, there were distinctions in childhood. Boys wore short pants, girls
had shorter dresses than older women. Kids were to be seen and not heard. Participating in the adult world was a privilege to be earned....
Now we make our children look and act like miniature adults....No chance to be kids any more.
Example: 13 year old girl on Oprah in the November 1997 was dating an 18 year old boy... out till all hours, in "love." We have children having babies.... Kids don't know how to be kids and without that time, they aren't prepared to be adults because the foundation of security isn't there....
The COOL kid is the one who acts OLDER, who DOES what is older.
This applies to teens and MTV as well. MTV has tremendous emphasis for teenagers, especially for males. There is a high degree of sexual and violent content. Guys usually find that content in a video appealing, but girls don't like it. But guys buy more music than girls, so the content is used because it attracts the prime prospects for that music. MTV is a stronger influence of music buying behavior:
The goal of MTV according to executive Bob
Pittman, who designed the channel, is simple: His job, he says is to
"amplify the mood and include MTV in the mood." Young Americans, he
argues , are television babies, particularly attracted to appeals of the heart
rather than the head. "If you get their emotions going, " he
says," forget their logic, you've got 'em". (Journal of
Communication, W86 p57-78)
ISOLATING : reducing the importance of interpersonal relationships and skill in those relationships.....
PROBLEM SOLVING:
Emphasis on VIOLENT means to solve problems. Turtles and Power Rangers are examples here.
Physical Concerns: Obesity
Research published in the Journal of The American Medical Association demonstrated a relationship between television viewing and obesity in children. Children who watch a lot of television are likely to be much less active than those who do not, and the resulting inactivity contributes to obesity in children. (Andersen, et al, 1998)
The American Academy of Pediatrics found a connection between watching music videos and MTV and adolescent drinking. In a study of more than 2600 ninth graders, it was found that "for every extra one hour per day of watching music videos, young teens were 31 percent more likely to begin drinking over the next 18 months. In addition one extra hour of watching television per day increased teen's chances of drinking by nearly 10% over the next 18 months." Other studies have demonstrated that alcoholic beverages are the most common beverages shown in television and music videos. (AAP, 1998)
Sexuality:
The American Academy of Pediatrics released a Policy Statement stating that the pregnancy rate in the U.S. is up to five time higher than in other countries and one of the primary reasons they cite is "inappropriate depiction of sexuality in the American Media." (AAP, 1995)
We will discuss the impact of sexual content in media after we have discussed regulatory issues. It is a complex area of media impact.
Stereotypes:
Children develop expectations about the world from television, especially in areas with which they have little experience. There are lots of studies which explore the areas of television influence in the areas of race and class, but Children Now (http://www.childrennow.org ) summaries the research findings very well in a special site: "Why it Matters: Diversity on Television" (http://www.childrennow.org/media/medianow/mnsummer2002.htm )
Cognitive Concerns about TV and Children:
Social learning theory is especially applicable here.
In summary, over the last 20 years, research has shown than television does have negative effects on kids. Those like obesity, lower reading skills, poor fitness are due to indirect effects because kids are NOT doing other things when watching TV. Additional effects are related to social expectations about the what the world is like, what other people are like and what is or is not appropriate behavior. One of the key areas of concern is related to violence, which we will discuss in more depth in a separate lecture, involves three serious effects: kids may be less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, they may be afraid of the world around them, and they may imitate aggressive behavior.
WHO IS most likely to be effected:
(TVG 6/21/86, Dr. Robert Coles, Child Pyschologist at Harvard. Author of THE MORAL LIFE OF CHILDREN.)
62% of all mothers with children under the age of 18 work outside the home
41% work full time (Public opinion NOV/DEC 86)
Even mothers at home use TV for babysitter. We know that the impact of television is reduced when parents watch WITH kids and talk about what they're watching together. When parents aren't there or are busy with other things, it just makes sense that the influence of television is heightened.
PRO-SOCIAL EFFECTS:
TV can have positive effects, and there are many good programs out there.
These are all positive programs. Every year, TV GUIDE does a special report to guide parents concerning what shows are on for kids, what the content is and which ones are the best bets. When you have kids of your own, watch for it, and check the Internet for information about what your kids are watching. Chances are you KIDS will check the Internet sites for the shows they like, and you'd better know what is on them as well....
Kids DO learn from TV, and they sometimes learn very positive things. A lot depends on the types of programs they watch...(Surprise!) A research project sponsored by the Annenberg School of Communication found the following about pro-social effects:
What should parents do?
Most of the web sites listed offer suggestions about mediating television's effects. An especially good list is found at Project Look Sharp at http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/resources/
1990: Children's Television Act was the result of pressure put on Congress by parents, medical and educational organizations. Broadcasters were mandated to meet the informational and educational needs of children and a prerequisite to licence renewal. In addition, there limits placed on children's advertising.
1992: The FCC AUDIT of television stations found that most stations were complying, but some had egregious violations. Some stations claimed programs like "Coach" and "Roseanne" and "Who's the Boss" were children's programs. The FCC handed out thousands of dollars in fines (Oct 25th 1993, Broadcasting ) and finally made specific rules requiring each station to broadcast three hours of educational and informational programming.
The other result of concern over television's effects on children came in the Communications Act of 1996. It mandated the adoption of the V-Chip and the creation of a voluntary ratings system. After much haggling, an age-based rating system was adopted. The plan was proposed by Jack Valenti, President of the MPAA, and it was based on the MPAA system he designed for motion pictures.
There was much opposition to the plan, saying that it wasn't clear enough. It did not provide content information; the Valenti folks said that more information would jeapardize the First Amendment Freedoms of television writers and producers.
After the Ratings system was adopted in January of 1997, the complaints continued. The HBO content-based system which had been used for years was held up as an example. Finally in the summer of 1997, the ratings were changed:
This was a compromise for the HBO system which actually indicated (V) for violence; (L) for language, etc.
On October 1, 1997, additional symbols went into effect:
All of the NETWORKS but NBC immediately accepted the change. NBC continues to hold out saying, it has not plans to adopt the new system until the public demands it and they have not. NBC still contends that fewer ratings are less threatening to the First Amendment. They also contend there are receiving pressure from members of Congress and others....
The impact of these ratings is yet to be seen, but some research indicates that boys are more attracted to programs with "mature" ratings, but girls are not. Kids whose parents USE ratings, choose to say away from mature rated programs, while others do not.
This is a clear example of how social scientific research and public awareness and involvement led to policy changes on a massive scale. The positive or negativeness of these events is to be determined in years to come. (Broadcasting and Cable 7/4/97; 10/6/97)
A poll taken in March of 1998 showed that parents are not using the ratings as much as they might. The poll was taken by the Associated Press and found that 7 of 10 adults said they paid little or no attention to ratings. Even in homes with kids, only 40% of parents said they used the ratings regularly. But even though they may not use them as much as might be expected, 84% of those polled believed it was the network's job to provide content information to viewers. (Associated Press, 3/2/98) Prior to the implementation of the ratings 51.8% of parents said they would use them often. (Annenberg Public Policy Center, 1998)
So what's the bottom line?
Some effects we can prove, others we can't. The limitations of social science and ethical concerns forever will limit what we can definitively prove. Nether the less, there is a large body of evidence that shows television is a powerful influence in the lives of our children. As a parent and a citizen, by greatest concern is the influence television (and other media) holds on our culture. Our society is changing, and not for the better. Family stability, social stability, even long held intellectual and educational standards are shifting. (More on that in ethics...)
I encourage you to read all you can about these issues, and to think very seriously about them during this semester and long after you're done with this class. My children are nearly raised, and many times I felt like I was in a war against the culture, fighting the battle of my life, just to teach them the values our family has held dear. If it's that hard now, what's it going to be like for your children? What are YOU going to do about it?
I'm not alone in my concern. Three of four Americans polled by Voter/Consumer Research (a national pollster based in Maryland) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, "The values promoted in today's movies, on television and in music lyrics do not represent my own views." In another project, two of three single parents agreed with the statement, "These days, it's too difficult for parents to deal with this (the pop culture) alone." (Maginnis, 1995)
The Parent's Television Council has begun an advertising campaign to encourage advertisers to withdraw their advertising from programs which are particularly problematic for children and families. Full page ads have been taken out in the nation's leading newspapers. This Los Angeles -based group a great web site on which you can view the ads and get information about the television and its effects. (PTC, 1998) PTC also has an annual list of "Least and Most Family-Friendly Shows." You can find that at Http://parentstv/org
There is a lot of information here, and I hope you will take the time to explore the information during the semester, but even more important, I hope you will give these issues serious thought in the weeks and years to come.
While you may not want or need to use them now, you may need a list of resources in this area some time in the future. Here are some good one I found....
Web Resources:
Books on the subject: (These are some of the classics.)
Partial List of Resources: (Others citing in text)
Dr. Janet McMullen
Return to 316 page