Children, adolescents, and the media / Victor C. Strasburger, Barbara J. Wilson ; with contributions by Jeanne B. Funk, Edward Donnerstein, Bob McCannon.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Children and Adolescents: Unique Audiences -- Media Environment and Habits of Today's Youth -- Children Are Different From Adults -- Children Are Different From Each Other -- Adolescents Are Different From Children -- Developmental Differences in Processing the Mass Media -- Advertising -- Historical Changes in Advertising to Children -- Content Analyses of Television Advertising -- Children's Processing of Advertising -- Persuasive Impact of Advertising -- Phases of Consumer Behavior During Childhood -- Marketing Strategies in the 21st Century -- Regulation of Advertising Targeted to Youth -- Teaching Advertising Literacy -- Media Violence -- How Violent Are American Media? -- Does Media Violence Attract Youth? -- Can Media Violence Lead to Aggression? -- Can Media Violence Desensitize Young People? -- Can Media Violence Produce Fear? -- Cultural Debates About Media Violence -- Guns and the Media -- Suicide and the Media -- Japan Versus the United States: A Cross-Cultural Comparison -- Can Media Violence Have Positive Effects? -- Electronic Games / Jeanne B. Funk -- Video Games Grow Up: Electronic Games in the 21st Century -- Conclusion: Where Do We Go From Here? -- Sexuality and the Media -- Television as a Source of Sexual Information -- What Do Children and Teenagers Learn From Television? -- Why Teenagers May Be Particularly Susceptible to Sexual Content in the Media -- Movies -- Questionable Language and Taste in Movies and Television: A New Trend? -- Print Media -- The Nature of the Research -- Prosocial Sexual Content on Television -- Contraceptive Advertising -- Pornography -- Solutions -- Conclusion: Unanswered Questions -- Drugs and the Media -- Adolescent Drug Use -- Determinants of Child and Adolescent Drug Use -- Impact of Advertising on Children and Adolescents -- Cigarettes -- Alcohol -- Drugs -- Eating and Eating Disorders -- Food Advertisements -- The Impact of Food Advertisements on Behavior -- Food in Television Programming and Movies -- Food Advertised in Schools -- Does Television Viewing Increase Childhood Obesity? -- Eating Disorders and Body Image -- Disordered Body Image -- Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia -- Rock Music and Music Videos -- Rock 'n' Roll Music -- How Teenagers Use Music -- Music Videos and Music Television (MTV) -- The Internet / Edward Donnerstein -- The Internet: What Is It? -- Is the Net Being Used? -- Concerns About the Net -- Sex on the Net: A Primary Concern -- Other Areas of Concern -- Solutions to Internet Concerns -- On the Positive Side -- Media Literacy: What? Why? How? / Bob McCannon -- McLuhan's Global Village: What Happened? -- Become Informed -- A Media Literate Advocate -- Media Literacy: Understanding the Trade-Offs, the Opportunity Costs -- An Opportunity for Activists -- Family Media Literacy: A Media Diet--Some Guidelines -- Media Literacy for School and Family -- Tools of Media Analysis -- How Effective Is Media Education? -- Conclusion: Doing Media Education -- Ten Arguments in Favor of Solutions -- Improving Programming Quality -- Improving Advertising -- Perceiving Media Violence as a Public Health Threat -- Creating a Uniform Rating System for All Media -- Improving the Portrayal of Sex and Sexuality in the Media -- Conducting More Research -- Increasing Media Education for Children -- Increasing Media Education for Parents and Health Professionals -- Using Media to Campaign for Health and Prosocial Purposes -- Stepping Up Media Advocacy -- Media Literacy Skills -- An Advocate's Guide to Media Literacy Resources -- Definition of Media Literacy.

This book overviews what is known about the impact of mass media on youth in the 21st century. The goal is to provide a comprehensive, research-oriented treatment of how children and adolescents interact with the media. Each chapter reviews the latest findings as well as seminal studies that have helped frame the issues in such areas as advertising, violence, video games, sexuality, drugs, body image and eating disorders, music, and the Internet. Because research alone can be dry and difficult to follow, each chapter is liberally sprinkled with illustrations, examples from the media, policy debates, and real-life instances of media impact. The intent is to show the relevance of social science research to media-related issues involving youth. The book concludes with chapters on media literacy and a series of recommendations for how students can help in the search for solutions to current media-related problems. The authors take an approach grounded in the media effects tradition, targeting areas that are most controversial and at the heart of debates about mass media and public health and equipping students to approach the media as critical consumers.