Media Influences in Young People’s Lives

The rich media world Canadian children and youth enjoy so much – television, movies, music, videos and video games, and the Internet – has a profound influence on their views of themselves and the world around them. While media offers children many opportunities to learn and be entertained, some media images and messages have been linked to health concerns such as aggressive behaviour, substance use and abuse, poor nutrition, obesity, unhealthy body image, risky sexual behaviour and media dependency. In some areas of study, the evidence is irrefutable. In other areas, while so-called “common sense” indicates a strong correlation, more research is needed.

Canadian children and youth are big media consumers – more than 8 in ten listen to music and watch TV every day (1). Sixty-six percent of Canadian youth report that they play video games at least once or twice a week, and by the time students reach Grade 7, almost 75 percent of adults do not tell their children what video or computer games they can or cannot play (2). Ninety-nine percent of young people aged 9 to 17 have used the Internet and five in ten say they go online at least one hour every day (3).

To find out how the Internet is influencing the lives of Canadian children, and the extent to which parents are aware of its risks and influences, Media Awareness Network (MNet) conducted two benchmark surveys in 2000 and 2001 – one with parents and the other with children and youth. The Young Canadian In A Wired World (YCWW) research highlighted the contrast between parents and young people’s knowledge and attitudes about the Internet and provided important food for thought about the Internet’s potential impact on the healthy mental and physical development of this first Internet generation.

In November 2003, MNet began a second phase of YCWW research, conducting focus groups with parents and youth in three Canadian centres – Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto. This new round of research demonstrates that the digital generation gap is continuing to widen. Parents are less convinced that the Internet provides educational value to their kids’ lives, while kids continue to be “out there” and “on their own” in their exploration of a media that is global, interactive and unregulated.

In response to concerns triggered by the YCWW research, Media Awareness Network met with representatives of the child health community who felt there was urgent need to inform health care professionals about the impact of media on young people, and to encourage them to integrate media awareness into the practice setting. In June, 2003, Media Awareness Network and the Canadian Paediatric Society launched MediaPulse: Measuring the media in kids’ lives, a national initiative aimed at raising awareness among health practitioners about the health implications of young people’s media culture.

The Steering Committee which oversaw the development of the MediaPulse initiative included Drs. Simon Davidson, Arlette Lefebvre, Patricia Morris and Peter Nieman. In an advocacy article written in the May/June 2003 issue of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Steering Committee wrote: “As socially conscious child and youth health professionals acting in the best interests of our patients, we must be aware of the ubiquitous and influential presence in media in our patients’ lives. Moreover, we must inform and educate both our young patients and their parents about the potential health effects of the media and challenge them to be media savvy.”

Though many clinicians agree that the influence of media is an important health issue, few receive any formal training in this area. The MediaPulse project provides practical information and tools to help physicians, psychiatrists and other health professionals understand the possible influences of media on the health of young patients. Project resources include a professional development guide that outlines current research and provides a media history form to help measure the media use and habits of young patients. The guide, along with other MediaPulse resources, can be accessed online at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/ special_initiatives/media_pulse/index.cfm.

Not all children react in the same way to a violent video game, a scary movie or a television show that depicts high-risk behaviours. Media influences on young people’s emotional health, attitudes and behaviours is a complicated matter and it’s the topic of this issue of the Review. It is our hope is that the articles will stimulate discussion, prompt exploration of the ways in which young patients understand and respond to media influences, and remind us of the need for further research.