Despite clear European and Dutch policies about media education, there is currently no media education curriculum in Dutch schools. A survey among preadolescents (n = 257) in six primary schools in the Netherlands included questions regarding media access, fears, risks, parental mediation of television and the internet, and the need for media…

School-age children spend more time watching television than in any other activity except sleeping. Although some studies have suggested that watching educational programs can have positive effects on learning and behavior, numerous studies have found an association between television viewing and negative childhood outcomes. This study finds that…

Marie Evans Schmidt and Elizabeth Vandewater review research on links between various types of electronic media and the cognitive skills of school-aged children and adolescents. One central finding of studies to date, they say, is that the content delivered by electronic media is far more influential than the media themselves. Most studies, they…

This longitudinal study explored the long-term effects of television viewing on the development of children's reading competencies. Among 2 cohorts of German children (N[subscript 1] = 165, N[subscript 2] = 167), measures of television viewing were collected over 4 years, and tests of reading speed and reading comprehension were administered…

The number of TV shows viewed appears to have only a marginal negative relationship with educational achievement, while encouraging behavioral impulsivity. More study in this area is urged. (KR)

This article discusses representations of television in written texts found in elementary school Portuguese language textbooks (PLTb) from 5th to 8th grade. In order to obtain the necessary information for this article, six PLTb collections were selected (out of the 35 that were analyzed and approved by Brazil's National Textbook Program--PNLD--in…

This 2-part report investigates the role of mass media in the lives of pre-school Scandinavian children. The first part presents a portrait of one child, giving a personal picture of the child's family life and her relationships to various forms of media. Part II continues the discussion of the role of media in children's lives, based on the…

Tests G. Armstrong's and B. Greenberg's model of the effect of background television on cognitive performance, applied to reading comprehension and memory. Finds significant deleterious effects of background television, stronger and more consistent effects when testing immediately after reading, and more consistently negative effects resulting…

This study relied on telephone survey interviews of adults in two U.S. metropolitan areas to examine whether the relationship between mass media use and social capital varies according to ethnicity. A multigroup approach taken with structural equation modeling validates a four-factor model of social capital for Blacks and Whites and then, with the…

Based on the associational nature of memory, the distinction between episodic and semantic memory, and the notion of memory strength, a model was developed of the role of emotion in the memory of television commercials. The model generated the following hypotheses: (1) emotional commercials will more likely be recalled than nonemotional…

Since the average child spends an estimated 30 hours a week watching television, it is important to consider the negative and positive effects of television viewing on the development of reading attitudes and habits. Possible negative aspects of television viewing include the following: the rapid pacing of programs encourages shallow reading; the…

Some studies have suggested that TV encourages a variety of problems such as malnutrition, drug consumption, poor consumer habits, and violence. Others have argued that TV is a window to the world, promoting knowledge, cultural experiences and positive social values. This article examines some of these controversial claims and evaluates the impact…

A brief overview is presented of the effect of television viewing on the cognitive and affective learning processes of young learners and on the growth of the social interaction skills of this same viewing audience. The main conclusions of the report are that (1) the effects of television viewing are complex and are both positive and negative; (2)…

Assertions that television (Sesame Street in particular) produces hyperactivity, impulsivity, disorganized behavior, and shortened attention spans in pre-school children were investigated. No evidence was found that rapid television pacing has an immediate negative impact on behavior of preschool children. (Author/STS)

A review of literature and two surveys, one of college students and one of a random sample of adults, were used to examine four aspects of media embedded interactions (social behavior in front of a TV or radio): their functions, their environment, their effects, and the reactions of the interactants to them. Television is seen as performing a…