An assortment of attitudes and beliefs are evident in public discourse about the effects of media exposure. Parents especially are concerned with how media exposure and content may influence the healthy development of their children.

Survey data from the Kaiser Family Foundation indicate that many parents are concerned about the amount of sex and violence that their children see on television. Earlier proposals for parental warnings appeared on the cover of CDs with explicit lyrics and on television programs with inappropriate material and language. The growth of the media and networking has adapted an unsuitable roll on behalf of the youth identity, social networks, and parent-child relationships.

The media is an essential leg to the table of current issues, awareness and news. However, the Committee of National Academies explained that “claims and counterclaims about possible benefits and detrimental effects of different kinds of media exposure appear regularly in the popular press, but often without strong grounding in peer-reviewed research.” Continue reading →