Ask the Mediatrician

Are smartphone apps in the classroom a good thing?

Q: What is your take on smartphone apps being used in the classroom? I know a lot of schools are using them now, and I’m not sure what to think about it.

-Smartphones for Smart Kids?, in Somerville, MA

A: Dear Smartphones for Smart Kids,

For most children and adults these days, cell phones are simply part of life, but what does that mean in the classroom? Schools answer that question in a wide variety of ways, from banning cell phones entirely to making smartphone applications integral parts of their lesson plans.

There are many potential benefits of learning with cell phones, such as that learning can happen in any location at any time, and that experiences can be personalized for each user. However, this field is young, and there are still many challenges to face: the variety of cell phones available makes standardization difficult, and using cell phones increases the amount of time that kids spend in front of screens during the day.

Consider this example of using cell phones for learning, which is detailed in a report from the Joan Gantz Cooney Center: Upon arriving at an art museum, each child receives a cell phone loaded with a program called MyArtSpace. This program is specifically designed to actively engage children in museum visits. With these phones, kids can "view multimedia presentations of museum exhibits, take photos, make voice recordings, write notes, and see who else has viewed the exhibit...Back in the classroom, they can...share material with other children and create presentations." In this situation, the cell phone serves as a way to engage students more fully in an experience and focus their thinking in ways that best support their learning. 

This example helps illustrate that, like all media, cell phones are tools—they can be used effectively for specific purposes in education. But like all media, their use should be supported by a clear understanding of why they are appropriate and useful in that specific context. By using phones in focused, goal-oriented ways to enhance an experience, educators can help model for students healthful ways of using phones in their out-of-school lives as well.

Enjoy your media and use them wisely,
The Mediatrician®

What are kids learning from Lady Gaga's music videos?

Q: I recently saw the music video for the song “Telephone,” by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. It is full of sexualized violence. I can’t imagine what kids are learning from this. I know my son loves listening to Beyoncé, and I’m sure he has seen or will see this video. How can I talk to him about what he’s seeing in videos like this?
-Vexed by Videos

A: Dear Vexed,

Music videos, like all media, provide an educational experience -- a chance for kids to learn something about the world. Music videos are especially powerful because they combine music with images to capture attention and make us feel excited as we watch them. They can provide entertainment, titillation, social commentary, or artistry; they can be fun or frightening, relaxing or infuriating. But whatever their goals, the mood and atmosphere they create do not often reflect reality.

Research shows, for example, that music videos disproportionately portray white women as victims of violence and black men as both perpetrators and victims. These representations matter because kids are in the process of forming their understanding of the world and how it works. Anything they’re exposed to, whether realistic or not, becomes part of that understanding.

When it comes to music videos like “Telephone,” adults’ concerns often focus on the amount of skin showing, and the implied (or even quite explicit) sexual behavior. But it’s not so much the simple fact of skin exposure that’s potentially harmful for kids; rather, it’s the nature of the way sex is portrayed that is potentially damaging. In music videos like this one, sex is shown in a way that has nothing to do with intimacy or relationships. It is instead used as a way to exploit others and is tied to violence and death. While this edgy approach is great for attracting attention and for selling CDs or downloads, the music video audience tends to be teens or pre-teens who are just starting to think about their sexuality. Thus, anything they see will become part of their growing body of knowledge about sex.

It makes sense that you wouldn’t want your son to see this video, but also know that it can present a great opportunity for discussion. First, ask whether he’s seen the video (or any other Beyoncé or Lady Gaga videos) in a non-judgmental, open way. Then ask what he thinks of it—what does he think the video is about? What does he like about it, and what does he find disturbing? Does he think it’s realistic? If not, then why does he think these artists made this video? What are they trying to say? Genuinely listen to his responses, and encourage his thinking with questions. You can also take this opportunity to compare what happens in this video to what happens in real life, to help keep his understanding of the world realistic and healthy.

Enjoy your media and use them wisely,
The Mediatrician®

Do models in ads affect how girls feel about their own bodies?

Q: My 10 year old daughter loves reading teen magazines, but she’s at an age when she and her friends are starting to talk about weight and appearance a lot, and I don’t want her to think she has to look like just the tiny models in the ads to be valued.  How can I talk to her about this?
-Beauty of the Beholder

A: Dear Beauty,

The goal of all media is to tell a story and affect the way the user thinks about an issue, whether it's a website that presents information on a social issue, a documentary that details the lives of apes, or an advertisement for a beauty product.  Advertising is an extremely powerful form of media because that story needs to be compressed into anywhere between the 2 seconds it takes to flip a magazine page to the 30 second spots that companies buy during TV shows. 

To get all of this work done in so little time, the images in ads need to pack quite a punch. They portray extreme versions of thinness, wealth, speed, strength, and other qualities that even the models themselves can rarely achieve without photo editing and camera tricks.

As you mention, children and teens can learn unhealthy expectations from these ads, since they are still developing their understanding of who they are and how to go about becoming who they want to be. In fact, research shows that both young men and young women who read teen magazines have higher rates of distorted body image, dieting behaviors, and dissatisfaction with their appearance. 

So what can you do to help support healthy, positive body image in the face of messages that are likely to make kids feel inferior? Talk about what you see! When you’re exposed to advertising that sells not just a product, but an image of how people should look, open up a conversation about it. Find out what your kids think and how the ads make them feel, and reinforce that ads are designed to get people to purchase a product, not to portray how the world really works. If all else fails, showing them this commercial that pokes fun at advertising techniques will at least get them thinking as they laugh!

Enjoy your media and use them wisely,
The Mediatrician®

How should I get my kids set up with their first email account?

Q: My kids are "tweens" and want to get their own email accounts. What is the best email program for children of this age?
-Entering the Email World, in Memphis, TN

A: Dear Entering the Email World,

For tweens, you might want to consider whether the email program you choose for them is free or subscription-based. Although it is certainly tempting to use a program that doesn’t cost money, know that what you don’t pay in dollars you do pay in advertising exposure. And not all kids know that they are even being advertised to. One study showed that children learn to recognize online advertisements as they get older, with 6 year olds recognizing ads 25% of the time and 10-12 year olds recognizing ads 75% of the time.  

Another thing to think about in regards to advertising is that unlike TV commercials, ads embedded in email programs are personalized for each user. The email program scans the text of each email and then matches up ads to the content of that email. The data is not shared directly with advertisers, but because the ads are more relevant to the user, they are more likely to be clicked on. For example, if your child writes to a friend about the new video game that she got, she may see ads for other video games or for merchandise related to the specific game she mentioned. 

In addition to considering the specific structure of a given email program, sit down with her and have an open conversation about why and how she’d like to use email, as you would when introducing any new technology (see example of cell phone conversation starter). Maybe her teachers distribute and accept homework through email, or maybe she wants to be able to keep in touch with family members (most kids use text messages rather than email to communicate with friends—for them, email is the way they communicate with adults, like parents and teachers).

Hear her out; then ask her what responsibilities she thinks should come with getting an email account. Use that as a jumping off point for a conversation about responsible Internet use and safety. Make sure your tween knows that the Internet is a public space where she should not share personal information, should communicate only with people she knows, and should say only things she would say to anyone’s face.

Enjoy your media and use them wisely,
The Mediatrician®