Center on Media and Child Health

Research Wrap-Up: Recently Published Studies-February 8

Check out recently published studies on children, media, and health which explore a range of topics:

Arvaniti, F., et al. (2011). Salty-snack eating, television or video-game viewing, and asthma symptoms among 10- to 12-year-old children: The PANACEA study. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111(2), 251-257.

• This study found that salty-snack consumption was positively associated with the hours of television/video-game viewing. Consumption of salty snacks (>3 times/week vs never/rare) was associated with a 4.8-times higher likelihood of having asthma symptom.

Coyne, S.M.; Padilla-Walker, L.M. ; Stockdale, L.;& Day, R.D. (2011). Game on...girls: Associations between co-playing video games and adolescent behavioral and family outcomes. The Journal of Adolescent Health. Published online February 3.

• The study authors found that co-playing video games with parents was associated with decreased levels of internalizing and aggressive behaviors, and heightened prosocial behavior for girls.

Dovey, T.M.; Taylor, L.; Stow, R.; Boyland, E.J.; & Halford, J.C. (2011). Responsiveness to healthy television (TV) food advertisements/commercials is only evident in children under the age of seven with low food neophobia. Appetite, Online jan 20

• This study found that children with low levels of food neophobia (fear of trying new foods) appear to respond to healthy food messages but children with higher levels of food neophobia do not. Instead, high food neophobic children will continue to consume more chocolate following exposure to food adverts irrespective of the healthy or unhealthy message they contain.

Kanthan, R. & Senger, J-L. (2011). The impact of specially designed digital games-based learning in undergraduate pathology and medical education. Arch Pathol Lab Med, 135(1),135-42.

• This study found that specially constructed digital games-based learning in undergraduate pathology courses showed improved academic performance engagement, increased student engagement, enhanced personal learning, and reduced student stress.

Morgenstern, M.; Isensee, B.; Sargent, J.D.; &  Hanewinkel, R. (2011).Exposure to alcohol advertising and teen drinking. Preventive Medicine, 52(2),146-151.

• This study found a positive association between exposure to alcohol advertising and multiple youth drinking outcomes, showing that the association is content-specific, not just a function of general ad exposure.

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Use the free CMCH Database of Research to find other studies on children, media, and health.

Research Toolbox: AAP-Community Pediatrics

Have you seen the new AAP Division of Community-based Initiatives (DOCBI) website? The new design makes it easy to get to the many useful resources.

The AAP Division of Community-based Initiatives raises awareness of community pediatrics and supports pediatricians and child health professionals in developing a community perspective of pediatrics. This AAP division promotes understanding of the factors that affect child health and supports pediatricians and child health professionals to improve child health through the practice of community of pediatrics.

Their website offers a variety of resources, including health topics, webinars, and funding opportunities. The DOCBI also has a grant database, searchable by seven major categories: target population, health topic, state/territory, project activity, AAP program, AAP district, and project year.

You can subscribe to the Listserv to receive Community Pediatrics e-newsletters, program information and funding opportunities.

Research Toolbox: Media Multitasking Research

Media multitasking—using more than one media activity at a time—has become prevalent in children’s lives. What is the impact of media multitasking on children’s learning, development and health?

To help advance understanding and research about media multitasking, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop just made available a seminar report, The Impacts of Media Multitasking on Children’s Learning & Development. This report describes the current state of knowledge on media multitasking highlighted by leading scholars and industry leaders as it relates to cognitive development and learning in children.

According to the report, some of the current research needs are:

• need to define definitions and common vocabulary.
• need to create a multidisciplinary academic field, which encompassed the fields of child development and learning (formal and informal).
• need for development of new tools and research methodologies.
• need to set research priorities.

Resources on Media Multitasking

• Digital Nation

In Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier, FRONTLINE presents an in-depth exploration of what it means to be human in a 21st-century digital world.

• Ulla G. Foehr (2006). Media Multitasking among American Youth: Prevalence, Predictors, and Pairings. Kaiser Family Foundation.

This Kaiser Family Foundation Report presents the key findings explore how pervasive media multitasking is among young people, potential cognitive and social development implications, and which teens are most likely to multitask.

• Media Multitaksing website at Standford University

This is the website for the Media Multitasking Project, with information about the project's background.

• CMCH Database of Research

Database of scientific research on children and media effects from the Center on Media and Child Health.

Recent Questions on Ask the Mediatrician

If you haven't checked out Ask the Mediatrician lately, head on over to see these and other recent questions from parents and answers from Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH:

• My son wants Call of Duty, but how do these games affect teen boys?
• Will my preschooler fall behind if she doesn't learn how to use the computer?
• Does multitasking with media distract kids from homework?

If you know of a website whose audience could benefit from the free Ask the Mediatrician service, send the webmaster these simple steps to add an Ask the Mediatrician button like the one below!

Research Toolbox: Upcoming Conferences

Save the dates! To help you keep track of relevant conferences and events, here is a list of upcoming conferences from around the world that may be of interest

Conferences

• Society for Research in Human Development (SRHD) Biennial Conference, 25-27 March, San Antonio, TX.

• 3rd Annual Media Literacy Confereence-Media Literacy and its Impact on Substance Abuse, 25-26 March, Harrisburg, PA.

• e-Youth: Balancing between Opportunities & Risks?  27–28 May, Antwerp, Belgium.

• EuroITV 2010- 8th European Conference on Interactive Video and TV, 9-11June, Tampere, Finland. 

• 8th International  Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference, 17-21 June, Hong Kong.

• The International Association for Media and Communication Research - IAMCR 2010, 18-22 July,  Braga, Portugal.

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Let us know if you know about any conference or event of interest that you would like us to post.

 

"Can an iPhone be good for your 3 year old?" Discussion

Earlier this month, Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH, was quoted in an article titled "Why an iPhone Could Actually Be Good for your 3-year-old." Writer Neil Swidey explores what benefits may come from letting preschoolers play with iPhones and the apps that are being made specifically for their age group. 

Last week, the Elliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at nearby Tufts University organized a brown bag lunch for faculty, grad students, and others to come discuss the article.  One of the goals of the session was to come up with potential questions and topics for further exploration by the research community.  Here is a summary of the panelists' ideas from what turned out to be a very lively discussion:

Professor Richard Lerner wondered if we are destroying the integrity of the established developmental sequence by always trying to "hurry-up" childhood learning.

Professor Marina Bers was very interested in how apps could be designed specifically to optimize children's learning instead of trying to evaluate whether what's currently offered is beneficial.

Professor Ann Easterbrooks thinks that we need to find out if kids are able to receive the  things they need to thrive through the use of smartphones. 

Writer Neil Swidey pondered the "video deficit" (it takes kids a lot longer to learn something from a video than for them to learn something from a person).  He wonders if smartphones are an "in-between" way of delivering instruction that would decrease the amount of time it takes to learn from a video because smartphones allow for interaction.

So graduate students -- if you don't have a dissertation topic yet and the deadline is approaching, you might consider some of these questions.  We need you and other researchers to generate answers so that society can continue to use technology in ways that optimize children's learning and development.  

For those who attended, we encourage you to check out our free resources at www.cmch.tv/interact for ways to keep up with news and research on media and child health. 

Research Toolbox: New Journal on Emerging Media and Learning

Check out this new journal published by the MIT Press:

The International Journal of Learning and Media focus on emerging forms of media and learning and provides an international forum for scholars, researchers and practitioners to explore the relationship between emerging forms of media and learning, in a variety of forms and settings.

The first issue is now available online for free. Some of the topics in that issue include:

• Why Virtual Worlds Can Matter
• Games and Learning: What's the Connection?
• A Developmental Lens for Designing Virtual Worlds for Children and Youth

 

Behind the Scenes of Children’s TV

The following was written by guest blogger Carolyn Lertzman, a former CMCH intern who went on to work behind the scenes of children's television.  Here, she gives us an inside look at her fascinating job.  

When your kids watch their favorite TV shows, have you ever wondered how these programs make it on the air?  Sure, there are writers, producers, cast and crew that create what you see on the screen, but did you know there is also a group of professionals tracking the shows you and your family love as they develop?  These professionals are otherwise known as the folks in Standards and Practices—and, I am one such professional.  Our job is assuring that the content you watch on television and online upholds the standards of our network, appropriately reflects the brand associated with our network, and abides by related federal laws, while still being entertaining and educational.

In our department, colleagues are assigned to specific series or movies and are part of the many stages that happen to get a show aired: from the development of the premise to the working out of a storyboard to the writing of a script to the final product that runs on TV.  Depending on the target audience and the show itself, we provide notes that will help the show reflect the standards I mentioned before.  For example we comment on things such as whether the dialogue is appropriate for the audience, whether the wardrobe matches standards we’ve agreed to, and whether the actions of the characters are something kids might imitate and could possibly be hurt by doing.

One of the most interesting types of guidelines we have to accommodate are those from the Federal Communications Commission.  The FCC notes that children have difficulty determining when a television show ends and a commercial begins.  Therefore guidelines require that we use “bumpers” to assist the child in making the visual transition between the show and the commercials, so that we do not falsely persuade them to purchase items they may believe are a continuation of the show.

For me, one of the most exciting aspects of this profession is that as new trends emerge in popular culture and world affairs—including new media platforms and developments in public health -- the standards by which we review a program also evolve.  I really enjoy being able to say that my job is to review content to make sure it is safe and healthy for our audiences to watch.

Using Digital Games to Improve Children's Learning and Health

How can we best use digital games to improve children's learning and health?  A new report entitled Game Changer: Investing in digital play to advance children's learning and health, by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, tackles this question with renewed vigor.

Digital games have been shown to aid in learning in particular contexts, but the question of how far this potential goes has yet to be fully explored. For that reason, in addition to discussing specific games that encourage physical health, development of healthy long-term habits, and disease management, the report calls for strategic investment in this field to maximize the potential of this technology.

The report also outlines a strategy of research and development, innovative partnerships, support for the adults who guide children's digital lives, modernization of public media, and increased public dialogue about digital media.

Will Technology in the Classroom Change How Kids Learn?

How and whether to use technology in K-12 classrooms is a highly debated topic. Although it is far from the norm in K-12 around the country, however, some educators are exploring the possibilities of classroom use of educational video games.

Virginia recently became the first state with a pilot program that uses Tabula Digita's video game DimensionM, both to improve student's math scores and to motivate them to learn. Recent research on this game concluded that playing it had a positive effect on student math achievement in a public high school setting.

Early this week, through a live chat on Education Week.org, Richard Van Eck, an associate professor in the instructional design and technology program at the University of North Dakota, addressed questions about when games should be explored as instructional tools, what advantages games bring to the classroom, and how to overcome obstacles that make game integration into curricula difficult. Professor Van Eck believes that digital game-based learning has the potential to be an exciting tool for educational purpose and offers a list of online resources, including k-12 games, organizations and research, and games and tools.

**Update:5/25/09** BusinessWeek listed CMCH blog Will Technology in the Classroom Change How Kids Learn? as one of the blogs which explores technology use in the classroom.