Teens and Media

The media: It’s been around for ages, but what you experienced growing up is worlds away from what your children are growing up with today.

Some children’s lives are consumed by the media, and there can be negative effects. How does the media affect your child, and how can you set healthy media guidelines?

Media Content

• Sex. According to the RAND Corporation, teens that see sex in the media are twice as likely to engage in sexual acts themselves. If your child does start to watch TV shows in which characters have sex, use the show as a learning experience to teach your child what should not happen in reality.
• Violence. You don’t have to look very closely at the media in your child’s life to see the presence of violence. Even when the good guy wins, it’s usually because he uses violence to defeat the enemy.

Most children know that violence isn’t the answer to conflict, but the media contradicts this message. You can’t completely block these images from your child, but you can explain that the violence in the media is meant as entertainment and not as realistic problem solving.

It’s also a good idea to check the ratings on video games to see what is appropriate for your child.

Media Influence

• Obesity. Obesity is an increasing problem in America. Many factors affect this reality, and one of them is the media. If your children are watching TV, browsing on their phone, scrolling through videos or playing on the computer, they’re probably not doing anything physically active. 
  
  Kids need physical activity every day, so help your child think of physical alternatives to sitting in front of a screen. If your children log more than two hours of screen time each day, they have a higher chance of becoming obese.
• School Performance. Overexposure to the media is linked to poorer academic skills. Excessive media use can negatively affect attention span, writing skills, communication and critical thinking.

Tips for Media Safety and Health

• Don’t have any media present during dinner or other meal times. Don’t eat in front of the TV, and don’t have the TV on in the background. Put all cellphones away. Focus on the people around you.
• Get rid of all media while your children are doing homework.
• Set aside a part of your children’s day for media, and keep the rest of your day separate. Don’t let them go over their limit.
• Don’t put TVs or computers in your children’s bedrooms. Keep devices in the kitchen, family room or living room where you can monitor them.
• Even if your children will be home without you, make sure that they obey the media rules in your house. This means telling a babysitter about the rules your children must follow or letting your older child be in charge of younger siblings.
• Once your children’s daily media limit is up, have them find something to do that’s active or uses their brain. One suggestion is for each minute your child uses media, they have to spend one minute doing something active mentally or physically. Encourage them to read or play outside.
• When you see a commercial or advertisement, think about who it’s targeting, if it’s successful, what makes it appealing or not and if it’s realistic. (Will you really get a girlfriend if you use that deodorant?) Talk to your children about marketing strategies aimed at them. Help them to identify and separate fiction and fantasy from reality.
• Set a good example for your children. Don’t watch TV for hours if your child is only allowed to watch TV for a half hour each day.

Remember that the media doesn’t have to have a negative impact. It can help children learn independently, communicate, have fun, relax and grow up. Stay aware, keep conversations open and take responsibility to help your children use media wisely.

Reviewed by: Jean Jacquemet, R.N.

Last reviewed: June 2019