Center on Media and Child Health

Connections in News, Media, and Research: Teen Tech Week Edition

March 10-16 we celebrate Teen Tech Week, an initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association. Read more about Teen Tech Week here, and keep reading to learn about some research, news, and cool resources for encouraging digital literacy and creativity.

• Tweeting about Teen Tech Week to share your tips or ask some questions? Use the hashtag #ttw13.
• This virtual "quilt" of links will take you to some great websites that will help your teens learn how to code, create their own comics, or publish their writing.
• Media and technology can be powerful educational tools. Consider this study on how teens use technology to communicate about schoolwork, this study on how a video game encouraged tweens to change their diets for the better, and this study on how combining a traditional lecture with an educational game led to increased understanding of school subject matter.
• Want to celebrate Teen Tech Week with younger children? Check out the Association for Library Service to Children's Great Websites for Kids page or the Best Websites for Teaching and Learning page from the American Association of School Librarians.
• The key to all media and technology is positive use, which includes moderation. Take a look at this illuminating article on emotional intelligence and Instagram.
• How much do you know about Internet security? Test yourself by trying out How Secure Is My Password.
• Teens with technology skills and a global outlook should consider entering this contest sponsored by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the International Organization of Migration. By creating a video about global themes and social justice, winners can make an impact, learn some skills, and win a free trip to New York.
• Gamers can take their expertise and apply it to building an entirely new game on this website.
• The Video Intervention/Prevention Assessment, or VIA, is a CMCH project that puts cameras into the hands of young people living with chronic disease. Their video diaries not only allow them to express themselves, but they also inform doctors of what it's really like to live with certain conditions. Learn more about the study results and outcomes here and here.

What are you doing to celebrate Teen Tech Week?

Recently Added Studies on Children, Media, and Health

Check out these studies of interest that were recently added to our database.

Durham, Meenakshi Gigi. (2011). Blood, lust and love: Interrogating gender violence in the Twilight phenomenon. The Journal of Children and Media, 6(3), 281-299.

• The researcher investigated the popular YA book series The Twilight Saga and looked at gender stereotypes and dating activities and customs. The author considered what influence the gender roles in the series might have on its readers.

Lwin, May O., & Malik, Shelly. (2011). The role of media exposure, peers, and family on body dissatisfaction amongst boys and girls in Singapore. Journal of Children and Media, 6(1), 69-82.

• Researchers surveyed 10- to 13-year-old children in Singapore to learn about their body image and body dissatisfaction. They found that both parents and peer groups have an effect on tweens and early adolescents' body image, as does media exposure.

McDermott, Jeanne T. (2011). Getting it on: An examination of how contraceptives are portrayed in young adult literature. Young Adult Library Services, 9(4), 47-53.

• The author of this study, a youth services librarian, analyzed the content of 25 YA novels published between 1995 and 2010 to determine what types of portrayals of contraceptive use each book contained. She determined that fiction alone was not a good enough resource for teens.

Mossle, Thomas, et al. (2010). Media use and school achievement--boys at risk? British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28(pt 3), 699-725.

• In this study, researchers looked at the connection between media use and academics. They found that boys who used media frequently were more likely than girls to have lower school achievement, especially when video and computer games were involved. They also found that children whose schools had a media literacy education program were more likely to have high achievement.

Wansink, B., et al. (2012). Can branding improve school lunches? Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 166(10), 967-968.

• This letter from the researchers described an experiment in which schoolchildren were given branded and unbranded food items, healthy and unhealthy, in an effort to determine whether the presence of a recognizable character, such as Elmo, would make them more likely to choose a certain item.

To find more studies on children, media, and health, click here to search our database.

Connections in News, Media, and Research: National Family Literacy Day Edition

In honor of National Family Literacy Day (November 1), we are highlighting some interesting links and studies available in our database on children/adolescents, health, and literacy.

• National Family Literacy Day is an intiative by the National Center for Family Literacy.
• There are so many public service announcements (PSAs) on smoking, drinking, drugs, and other health issues, some directed at children and young adults and others directed at adults. But what effect do PSAs about reading have, if any? This study looked at positive and negative literacy television messages and assessed children's thoughts about them.
• If you're a parent or doctor interested in promoting early literacy and all the great health and social gains that come out of it, you might find websites like Zero to Three, Reach Out and Read, the Center for Early Literacy Learning, or UNICEF's Early Childhood website helpful.
• Talking, singing, and reading with babies is great for the development--and markedly different from watching television with them--as this study observes.
• That's not to say that media can't be a valuable way to help children learn. Take a look at this study on the transfer of learning from books and video, a study on media-rich literacy interventions, a study on low-income preschoolers learning to use books and television, and another study on the use of audiobooks with adolescents with dyslexia.
• A 2008 study in our database just wanted to know what kinds of books adolescents read, when they read, and why.
• Want some perspectives from professionals not in the health field? Take a look at the National Education Association's facts about children's literacy and their intiative Read Across America. You might also like to read about the American Library Association's stance on family literacy, including various intiatives sponsored by their ethnic caucuses and library divisions.
• Family literacy isn't just about getting every member in the family to read. It's also about promoting positive family interactions and togetherness. Here is a study on family dinners and television to take a look at. In 2010, the New York Times found that time families spent together was increasing. Finally, the grassroots organization the Family Dinner Project offers families lots of resources for spending quality fun time together--think of all the possibilities that eating together can lead to: conversation can increase the vocabularies of babies and toddlers; children and parents can talk about the books they're reading or the things they're leanring in school; and cooking together means the potential for a much healthier meal than you might find in a restaurant.
• Finally, take a look at this article on how mothers who are literate can help make their kids healthier.

Are you planning on celebrating National Family Literacy Day?

Connections in News, Media, and Research: Teen Read Week Edition

In honor of Teen Read Week (October 14-20), we are highlighting some recent news and studies available in our database that are related to children/adolescents and literacy, reading, books, and magazines.

• The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) sponsors Teen Read Week and has a website that will let you learn more about it, whether you're a librarian or not. They encourage teens to read any sort of media (print books, ebooks, magazines, graphic novels, etc) just for the fun of it. Their reasoning for a special week dedicated to encouraging teen engagement with literacy? "Although teens realize the importance of reading, they have a huge menu of activities to choose from when deciding how to spend their free time, and reading gets lost in the shuffle. Reading skills get rusty when they are not used. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that over the last 20 years there have been only modest gains in reading achievement. And although there are many active literacy campaigns, very few efforts focus on teenagers."
• In a 2011 study, researchers asked children to watch television clips on literacy and assessed the children's reactions to them. They found that the children could remember and understand the clips, but they did not find any connection between watching the clips and changing opinions of literacy. Then again, only three years earlier, a study asked 4- to 8-year-old children what they thought of kids who read, kids who watched television, and kids who played video games. Their answers? Readers were "smart," TV fans "lazy," and gamers "bored."
• Children's and Young Adult (YA) novels are gaining in popularity, leading to fans of all ages. CMCH has been collecting content analyses and studies that look at how these books (and children's and teens' magazines) might portray things like substance use, thinness and beauty messages, violence, tobacco use, aggression, sexual initiation, and food advertising.
• Has your son/daughter/patient been spending more time on social networks not called Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace? If they're readers, they might be members of social reading sites, gaining in popularity, which are dedicated to reading lists, user book reviews, and community, all through shared reading experiences and interests. Popular sites include GoodReads, LibraryThing, Copia, and BookLamp.
• There's no doubt that different media messages can contribute to self-image. If you're interested in how this works in print media for young people, check out this study on portrayals of disability in picturebooks, one on magazine advertisements and body image, one on how media exposure affects sexual behavior in teens, and one on how reading can improve emotional health and school performance.

Do you have any plans for Teen Read Week?

Media in the Media - News We're Following

Here at CMCH, we're always finding news, websites, games, and other great stuff that promotes positive use of media, shows young people engaging with technology in creative ways, informs us of new studies underway, and highlights other items of interest to practitioners, researchers, parents, teachers, and advocates. Here are some of the things we're excited about lately.

• GenZPlay has developed an app for kids that only functions if they're doing physical activity. What an interesting way to make sure technology-loving kids go outside and play once in awhile!Available for iPhone, Big Cat Race pits the iPhone holder against a lion, leopard, or cheetah and encourages them to race.
• In a study titled "The New Definition of Childhood," The Global Kids Study found that kids use technology in a variety of positive ways, helping make this generation's world a lot smaller than it is for their parents.
• YA (young adult, meant for teens) literature has enjoyed a surge of popularity lately and is becoming more widely read by both tweens and adults. In these two posts at Teen Librarian's Toolbox, bloggers Christie and Karen discuss what the covers of YA books might say, imply, or promote about body image and size.
• The great accessibility of the Internet has led to crowdsourcing new musical albums, book reviews, and health information. Just take a look at Kickstarter, Goodreads, or HealthTap if you want to see how people of all backgrounds provide others--even if they don't know them in person--with everything from support for a business upstart to answers to common health questions. Now teens are doing that too, with the public launch of Hallway, a crowd-sourced homework help website.
• Confused about why so many girls love seemingly vapid and meaningless pop songs? This insightful essay about Taylor Swift, the guitar-playing young popstar known for writing songs about breakups and heartbreak (and directly naming her exes) talks about why Swift's lyrics really are quite accurate and pertinent to teen life.
• Those interested in understanding how teens use various forms of technology might be curious about the approach, opinions, and expertise of those who work with adolescents outside of the medical sphere. Professional magazine VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) provides freely available archives online of their column Tag Team Tech, which discusses everything from cyberbullying to pleasure reading to visual literacy. 
• With so many media messages about how girls should hate math or how computer programming is for boys, it's great to see this news about African American girls succeeding at and enjoying computer programming. The program Black Girls Code aims not only to educate and engage these girls but also to change their perspectives on what the stereotypical programmer looks and acts like, hoping to get a little more diversity into the field.
• GURL.com talks about why celebrity "bump watching" is silly, and they also take a jab at the idea that girls who don't watch their eating must be pregnant. Previously, though, they encouraged readers to speculate on whether actress and singer Selena Gomez, who was rushed to the hospital, was pregnant or just sick. What do you think tabloid media and reality shows that focus on pregnancy or pregnancy speculation do to the perceptions of the teens that read and watch them? P.S. If you want to see what else this site, frequented by teen girls and dedicated to everything from health tips to fashion, says, click on the links at the bottom of the article for "pregnant" and "pregnancy."

If you're looking for peer-reviewed articles and scholarly research, remember to check the CMCH database.

Media in the Media - News We're Following

Here at CMCH, we're always finding news, websites, games, and other great stuff that promotes positive use of media, shows young people engaging with technology in creative ways, informs us of new studies underway, and highlights other items of interest to practitioners, researchers, parents, teachers, and advocates. Here are some of the things we're excited about lately.

• In an effort to speak to minority youth and find an innovative way to provide them with HIV facts and data, researchers at Yale are working on an iPad game called Playforward: Elm City Stories. The game will allow players to "live" the life of a young person who must navigate through the tricky world of sexuality and sexual health.
• You've probably heard of DoSomething.org, a social change organization that encourages teens to get involved with charity and social justice work. The founder of DoSomething recently began Crisis Text Line, which will provide teens with referrals and information on dating violence, depression, and other health issues via text message (who makes phone calls anymore?).
• Facebook is generally thought of as the site of much cyberbullying, but it looks like Facebook administrators are out to change that perception by partnering with the Australian government in a fight to combat it.
• Recess is considered an essential part of the school day for physical activity, mental rest, and the development of socialization skills. But are kids actually doing at recess? This study aims to discover the racial and gender differences that inform recess activities. And for those educators and parents who are worried about the state of recess in their school, it might be interesting to take a look at this innovative program that brings facilitators to low-income schools to encourage play of all kinds outside, or at this new high-tech playground that tries to get video game-oriented kids back outside.
• Schools in Washington, DC, are switching to a blended model that mixes traditional classroom learning with online learning, in the hopes that this will boost student engagement with learning and also provide both teachers and students with innovative new tools and 21st century tools that will help students be ready for college. We're interested to see how their first year goes!
• Parents who are worried about ever-younger children wanting to join social networking sites might be interested in BiblioNasium, a pilot social network revolving around books and reading, designed specifically for 6-12-year-olds and their parents, teachers, and mentors. Not only does the site encourage social sharing and friendships made through shared interest in reading, but it also offers recommendations and reviews complete with Lexile Framework for Reading guidelines so that teachers and parents can find appropriately leveled books for their kids.
• "Kids these days." It may seem that all they want to do is be left alone with their smartphones, but a new UK survey revealed that kids prefer simple summer activities like family bike rides and picnics to more elaborate outings like theme parks. What a relief to know that what's tried, true, and inexpensive is still pretty great!

If you're looking for peer-reviewed articles and scholarly research, remember to check the CMCH database.

Recently Published Studies on Children, Media, and Health

Check out these recently published studies available in the CMCH database.

Backett-Milburn, K., & Jackson, S. Children's concerns about their parents' health and wellbeing: Researching with ChildLine Scotland. Children & Society, 26(5): 381-393.

• Children use media for a variety of reasons, including, as this study shows, to learn or talk about their parents' own health. This study followed the work of ChildLine Scotland, which handles unsolicited calls from children, and looked at the way children react to, cope with, or take care of their parents' health issues. It yielded interesting data on the topics most affecting children and their parents as well as how and why they seek help over the phone.

Gao, Z. Motivated but Not Active: The Dilemmas of Incorporating Interactive Dance Into Gym Class. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 9(6): 794-800.

• The trend today is to tout exergames as an excellent, 21st century-friendly way to get young people to incorporate exercise into their daily lives. In this study of school physical education courses using the game Dance Dance Revolution, the researcher found that students were certainly motivated to play the game and enjoy the physical activity that came with it, but that the levels of exertion were still lower than desireable until they reached a high level of mastery with the game. Conclusions indicate that such games, while fun, are not sufficient as a sole method of physical activity.

McLaughlin, M., et al.  2012. A videosharing social networking intervention for young adult cancer survivors. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(2): 631-641.

• Clinicians are familiar with the challenges of helping adolescents transition from pediatric care to adult care. This study focuses on the experiences of teen cancer survivors and discusses their specific challenges and needs, finally leading to an explanation of a videosharing program that allowed the teens to network and share coping strategies and life stories with other survivors.

Pinkleton, B.E., et al. The role of media literacy in shaping adolescents' understanding of and responses to sexual portrayals in mass media. Journal of Health Communication, 17(4): 460-476.

• This study showcased one of the many ways that that educators and physicians must share the burden and collaborate in interventions addressed towards adolescents, health, and media use. Researchers conducted a study of teens who had participated in a media literacy educational program, as well as a control group who hadn't, that looked how teens seek out and respond to media about sexuality, sexual intercourse, and sexual health. Qualitative and quantitative results are presented, and the study found that this was a good way to target both girls and boys with good results.

Shechtman, Z., & Abu Yaman, M. SEL as a Component of a Literature Class to Improve Relationships, Behavior, Motivation, and Content Knowledge. American Educational Research Journal, 49(3): 546-567.

• This study looked at connections between literature and emotional health and learning. The researchers assumed that emotional competencies lead to better coping skills, academic achievement, and mental health. By using classroom teachers and students, the researchers found that "affective teaching" of literature led to positive results for students.

Looking for other studies? Use the CMCH Free Database of Research to find them.

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.