Television, video games, the Internet, social media, and music platforms all have one thing in common. They are obsessively consumed by today’s youth and their generation. Almost all children born in the 2000s, ages 2 to 18, have a mobile phone with Internet capability. According to a statement published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, around 75 percent of teenagers today have a smartphone (Moreno, Megan A. et al). The sheer amount of media available to these youths across all platforms is unprecedented and has never been seen in history. Parents of these children nowadays did not have this access to media in their childhood. Considering the full spectrum of media, television has remained the all-time most popular form of media consumed by children. The American Academy of Pediatrics also states that the average time a child – ages 8 and older – spends watching television a day is over 2 hours (Moreno, Megan A. et al). That is a staggering amount of consumption. This excessive consumption of media through television has many effects on a child. This essay seeks to delve into and explain, in-depth, the positive and negative effects of television on developing children, ages 2 to 18, in today’s culture. 

Media consumption only started taking off a few years ago. In past years, there were no smartphones, video game consoles, or widespread television like there is today. Adults today can attest to the difference in media availability between their generation and later ones. The latest generation of children is the first one that is truly inundated with media, as media prevalence has risen exponentially over the past few years. According to an article published by Common Sense Media, “The percent of children with access to some type of ‘smart’ mobile device at home (e.g., smartphone, tablet) has jumped from half (52%) to three-quarters (75%) of all children in just two years” (Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America 2013). Another statistic published in this article states that over half (58%) of children today watch television at least once a day (Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America 2013). This is not only children in the United States, but also children in other developed countries all over the world. In a TED talk done by Oda Faremo on the effects of media on youth, she quotes a statistic from a Norwegian study done to find out how much media children in Norway consume each day. The children who were surveyed estimated that they used the Internet for three and a half hours a day (Faremo). All this consumption can create many different side effects. 

There has been extensive research into the effects that this media consumption has on developing children. Many pediatric organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, have published multiple studies on the topic. It is very apparent to physicians, parents, and even children themselves that this consumption of media has a lasting effect. Others, such as television producers, pop culture stars, and the makers of these media platforms, have some idea of how their work affects children through media. As children are their target audience, this topic has an enormous number of invested viewers.  

Some of the more common sense benefits are easier to see. Social media allows for connectivity for family members and friends who are separated by long distance (Moreno). In addition, exposure to different forms of media can provide new information and new ideas to children, and raise awareness for current events (Moreno). Furthermore, public access television has presented itself as a possibility for educational purposes (Haywood). Even so, this is not widespread, and public access television is mainly used by students, and requires an older age to use it. Educational television shows have the most real estate when it comes to benefits. A book titled “Children in the Digital Age – Influences of Electronic Media on Development” explains educational television shows in more detail (Calvert et al). In Chapter 9, they explain that there was an act in 1990 called the Children’s Television Act of 1990 (Calvert et al. 180). This requirement by the government made television stations show a certain amount of “educational” television shows for every non-educational show (Calvert et al. 180).  Although, having this many programs for children to watch is clearly beneficial, there is a limitation.  Watching excessive television can isolate children.  The child watching the show is still limited in what they can interact with, it is not a full education as it is not teaching social interactions. 

Educational television has some other benefits. The Mr. Rogers Show is a dated but wildly well-known television show that targeted children. This television show is a perfect example of the few positive benefits of television on children, in several different ways. First, the show is pointed towards children. Once this is made known to parents and guardians, then they are more likely to let their children watch it. This is beneficial because the show is good for them. Another benefit of the show is the content, which is easy enough to see. The last major benefit of this television show is not something that can easily be seen - understimulation. 

 In a speech entitled “Media and Children,” the speaker, Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician, makes a point regarding the reality of children’s television shows. He starts the talk by explaining how children’s attention spans are very short. The television producers know this and therefore make shows that will capture and retain the child’s attention (Christakis). This is done by making the shows more exciting and fast-paced than life (Christakis). The downside to this that will be further addressed later is that once children look away from the television, they get bored immediately (Christakis). The thing about the Mr. Rogers Show is that it is slower than life. It slows things down so children can understand what they are seeing better (Christakis). What this does is improve the child’s attention span and focus elsewhere. After watching the show, the child is more interested in what is going on around them and can focus better (Christakis). This one television show demonstrates the main benefits of media on children and their development. 

 There are, however, many dangers and risks of media on children. The first and most common risk of television is the time consumption. According to an article on the Pediatrics and Child Health Journal, the average child will spend more time watching television than in the classroom, all the way until graduation (Ford-Jones, Anthony, et al). This can have significant downside for school performance. There are correlations between the amount of violence seen on television and the aggressive behavior of children (Ford-Jones, Anthony, et al). Other negative effects include health problems associated with the inactivity of watching television (Ford-Jones, Anthony, et al). Internet, television, and other media consumption can also increase sexual and inappropriate behaviors prematurely (Ford-Jones, Anthony, et al). Other risks include premature alcohol use after viewing popular figures on television drink (Selter). In the same vein, when developing children see popular figures smoke and abuse tobacco products, a strong attraction is formed between looking “cool” and abusing the same dangerous products (Selter). One of the final risks is the general danger of placing personal information on different social media platforms. This can lead to identity theft, cyberbullying, and stalking problems. The last and perhaps most profound issue is the problem of overstimulation by children’s television shows (Christakis). 

The danger of overstimulation comes about when television shows are targeted at very young audiences. Everyone is familiar with the inability of developing children to focus for long periods of time on anything. In a TED talk by Dmitri Christakis, the aforementioned pediatrician and researcher explains the results of recent studies on the effects of common television shows and attention deficit disorders later in life (Christakis). He explains that from the ages of 1 month to around 2 years, the child’s brain grows and develops more than during any other time span during their life (Christakis). Too little stimulation of the brain during this time span is harmful to proper brain development (Christakis). An excellent example of this is the Romanian Orphanage Study (Weir). In 1989, there was a huge influx of children born into Romania’s very impoverished conditions, so much so that the children in orphanages outnumbered employees 15 to 1 (Weir). What occurred was an extreme under-stimulation of these children’s brains. The effects of this are very well-studied, and they are nothing positive (Weir). These problems can range from delays in cognitive function, language, motor development, or lower IQ scores to more inclination to unfortunate socio-emotional behaviors; and the children studied were more likely to experience more psychiatric disorders (Weir). As Dr. Christakis explains, under-stimulation is bad: however, over-stimulation is also detrimental, as can be seen when we look at fast-paced television shows targeted at young audiences. 

Early in the speech, Dr. Christakis introduces the idea of several television shows, and how fast-paced they are. He uses the example of “Baby Einstein” and he shows clips of the show to the audience (Christakis). It is very easy to see how unrealistic it is. It is full of loud, exciting noises and very fast screen changes (Christakis). As the show’s producers know, this is perfect for capturing the attention of young children. In the speech, his hypothesis is then presented as follows: “Prolonged exposure to rapid image change during the critical period of brain development can precondition the mind to expect high levels of stimulation,” which would then lead to inattention later in life (Christakis). Children are conditioned to be bored with life later, after having a childhood filled with over-stimulating television shows (Christakis). With the prevalence of television and the abundance of these shows, this is a certain culprit for academic struggles later in life. 

Another common risk of children consuming popular television is the danger of copying what they see. In this new age, one of the most common concerns parents have for their children involves tobacco and related products. Yet this copying behavior is not limited to one action. As today’s media becomes more and more sexualized, inappropriate behaviors and visuals are more and more prevalent. Virtually anything can be accessed with a few touches of a screen. Violence also covers a very large portion of this argument. Cartoons can even show up to 20 violent acts an hour (Beresin). And as children are unable to distinguish the line between reality and fantasy, everything they see on television becomes that much more real (Beresin). 

For this essay, however, I will restrict the effects to only smoking, as it provides the widest base of research. In recent years, smoking has become a negative point of conversation. After the early craze and popularity, the abundance of smokers – specifically children and teens – has decreased, but not due to popular movies. A study was published on the effect on youth of clips of movies and advertisements that contained people smoking (Pechmann, et. al.). It was run in the early 2000s to study two common theories on “the effects of smoking in feature films on youths and the ability of antismoking advertising to nullify those effects” (Pechmann, et. al.). This was an extensive study run on two groups of ninth graders in response to the rising fear of smoking and its effects (Pechmann, et. al.). The results supported the so-called ‘Forbidden Fruit Thesis’ in which young children, with malleable minds, tend to desire those things they are told they cannot have, and yet see often (Pechmann, et. al.). This can be nullified, as found in the study, by seeing antismoking advertising, but only if the advertisement is shown before the film or pro-smoking advertisement (Pechmann, et. al.). One of the bottom lines here is that the ‘Forbidden Fruit Thesis’ can be applied very broadly to different effects, not only to smoking (Pechmann, et. al.). It can be very dangerous for children, who do not know better, to see mature or inappropriate content. Such content is becoming only easier to access and more common in television.  

In today’s culture, people are becoming more and more concerned for children’s health. An article published by the New York Times in 2008 nicely summarized the effect of media on children’s health, specifically that of childhood obesity. The article states it very clearly: “In a clear majority of those studies more time with television, films, video games, magazines, music and the Internet was linked to rises in childhood obesity…” (Selter). The inactivity associated with watching television and interacting with these media outlets has created a common sedentary theme. 

Childhood health risks are not limited to the United States. In a publication from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the issue of media and obesity is covered (Strasburger). The report talks on how rising obesity problems are occurring all around the world (Strasburger). It also discusses the risks of watching too much television as a child, and the impact on the likeliness of adult obesity (Strasburger). In a study that followed subjects for several years conducted in the United Kingdom, it was found that “For each additional hour of TV watched on weekends at age 5, the risk of adult obesity increased by 7%” (Strasburger). The report contains various other studies and results that almost all point to the same theme. The more television watched as a child, the more sedentary their life, and therefore the more risk there is for health problems (Strasburger). Children who watch more television tend to have a higher-caloric-intake diet; they have more abnormal sleep routines as an effect of the screen time; and the watching of television “Displaces more active pursuits” (Strasburger). There is also support for this position from the Harvard School of Public Health. In an article published by the school of public health, links to diabetes and cardiovascular disease were made (Grontved, Anders and Frank B. Hu). In a meta-analysis of published studies that linked TV to risks of diabetes, premature death and cardiovascular disease, they found that “more than two hours of TV viewing per day increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and more than three hours of daily viewing increased risk of premature death” (Grontved, Anders and Frank B. Hu). Television can definitely  have some serious health risks associated with it. 

With all the risks and dangers of television and media, it is impressive how common it still is in our culture. Furthermore, television is becoming increasingly more common. Even though media can have limited benefits for children, media exposure to children – especially television – carries significant risk in today’s culture. The question now becomes: how can these dangers be avoided? How can the negative effects of media on developing children be mitigated? According to reports from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Pediatrics, moderation is key (Strasburger, Beresin). To combat all the possible negative effects, parents and guardians need to take responsibility for the wellbeing of their children, not only television but on all media platforms (Beresin). Some of the most common methods of this involve limiting access to television, smartphones, and tablets (Beresin), as well as forcing other activities, such as outdoor play and playing with toys rather than screens (Strasburger). Another common idea is taking televisions out of children’s rooms, thereby promoting activity and protecting against sedation (Strasburger). Any combination of these would provide a great help to children who live in a world where their screen time takes up more time than school (Beresin). It all starts with the parents. Children cannot care for themselves, and their wellbeing is on the shoulders of those who take care of them. Children are the next generation of leaders, and parents today need to act to give their children the best and healthiest childhood possible, whatever the cost. 
