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=__**Media and its Effects on Children**__= =__**DEFINITION:**__= Media influence or media effects are used in media studies, psychology, communication theory and sociology to refer to the theories about the ways in which mass media affect how their audiences think and behave.

=__OVERVIEW:__= The children of America spend their time on many different activities. One of the most time consuming activities is watching television. Television plays a large role in the social and emotional development of children today.

Did you know...

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF):
 * two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day
 * kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs
 * kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games.

Television, in moderation, can be a good thing: Preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet on public television, grade schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news. No doubt about it — TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer.

But despite its advantages, too much television can be detrimental:
 * Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight.
 * Kids who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behavior but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.
 * TV characters often depict risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking, and also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes.

__**This video gives in detail what the Social Media and its Effects it has on on Children**__: media type="youtube" key="bv0ftd1hUCg" height="315" width="560"

__**Ellen Wartella on Media Influence on Children:**__ media type="youtube" key="YUN7hml2PIM" height="315" width="560"

__**BLOGS**__: [] This is a great blog that talks about many ways social media affects parenting online and offline.

[] This blog talks about how electronic media harms and how it helps.

__**JOURNAL ARTICLES**__: [] Unraveling new media's effects on children and responds to a barrage of questions from the public, researchers are just starting to discover how electronic technologies influence child development.

[] Some parents and psychologists have said that there are children who benefit from the proficiency and coordination of playing video games while others disagree.

[] This is an around the world view of how media affects children and adolescents.
 * __RESOURCES:__**