Psychosocial development of children

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

1.1 Introduction

The influence of the media on the psychosocial development of children is profound. Thus, it is important for physicians to discuss with parents their child's exposure to media and to provide guidance on age-appropriate use of all media, including television, radio, music, video games and the Internet.

In a matter of seconds, most children can mimic a movie or TV character, sing an advertising jingle, or give other examples of what they have learned from media. Sadly, these examples may include naming a popular brand of beer, striking a "sexy" pose, or play fighting. Children only have to put a movie into the VCR, open a magazine, click on a Web site, or watch TV to experience all kinds of messages. It really is that easy.

Media offer entertainment, culture, news, sports, and education. They are an important part of our lives and have much to teach. But some of what they teach may not be what we want children to learn.

This report gives an overview of some of the messages media send young people that could be negative or harmful to their health. You will learn how you can teach your children to better understand the media messages they see and hear in print, over airwaves, on networks, and on-line.

The objectives of this study are to explore the beneficial and harmful effects of media on children's mental and physical health, and to identify how physicians can counsel patients and their families and promote the healthy use of the media in their communities.

Effects of media is categorise as 1)internet 2)music video 3)video games 4)television

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

What would be the possible impact of media on youth due to the increasing trend of violence, sexual abuses, nutritional disorders, less reading habits and useless long hour's television viewing?

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of the study was to measure the impact of media on children and youth in Peshawar region in year 2008. In this report I try to find out that how television is affecting our young generation and what are the pros and cons of watching the television.

1.4 LITERATURE SURVEY

The literature survey has been structured as follow:

• First impact of different media on youth and children were discussed.
• Then the impact of television on youth and children were discussed.

1.4.1. Impact of Different Media on Youth

According to Canadian pediatric society (PP 2003-01). “The impact of media use on children and youth has a severe impact on children lives.

In a research carried out by media awareness network (USA) Media exert a significant displacement effect 2 to 3hours per day spent watching television or playing video games means less physical activity, reading, and interaction with friends but such data do not speak to cause-and-effect concerns. Likewise, content analyses can only demonstrate what the average child or adolescent will view. Even so, such analyses are disturbing when they reveal what the average American child or teenager is exposed to annually.

Now how can you guide you're child's television viewing? The government, in cooperation with the television industry, has implemented a rating system for television programming. This system is to help guide parents and assist them in establishing guidelines for their children's TV viewing. However, the American Psychological Association Help Center reminds us that television networks rate their own programs, unlike the motion picture association.

In 1996, the Telecommunications Act was passed in an attempt to help parents restrict the viewing habits of their children. The Act specifies that all television sets sold in the United States must contain a programmable v-chip. Mark Nadel, an attorney specializing in communication law and policy, explains that this will allow parents to block undesirable programming.

Even with the rating system and the v-chip in place, parents still need to take an active interest in what their children are watching on television. Here are some suggestions from the Department of Education

Set Limits. Know how much TV your child is watching. Set some basic rules such as no television before homework or chores are done or during meals.

Participate. Watch TV with your child and discuss the program. Ask them questions and express your views. This will also let you know what your children are watching.

Monitor. Avoid shows, movies, or video games that have violent or sexual content. Encourage children to watch programs about characters who show cooperation and caring.

Analyze Commercials. Help children to critically evaluate advertisements.

Be a Good Role Model. This suggestion comes from the Parents as Teachers National Center. Because children model behavior, set a good example with your own television viewing habits. Avoid watching programs containing adult content when your child is in the room or nearby.

The power of media messages

Sometimes you can see the impact of media right away, such as when your child watches superheroes fighting and then copies their moves during play. But most of the time the impact is not so immediate or obvious. It occurs slowly as children see and hear certain messages over and over, such as the following:

• Fighting and other violence used as a way to "handle" conflict
• Cigarettes and alcohol shown as cool and attractive, not unhealthy and deadly
• Sexual action with no negative results, such as disease or unintended pregnancy

Further the power of the media and its effects can be seen as:

Music Videos

Music videos may have a significant behavioral impact by desensitizing viewers to violence and making teenagers more likely to approve of premarital sex (American academy of pediatrics community of music and videos). Up to 75% of videos contains sexually explicit material (American academy of pediatrics community of music and videos), and more than half contains violence that is often committed against women. Women are portrayed frequently in a condescending manner that affects children's attitudes about sex roles. Attractive role models are the aggressors in more than 80% of music video violence. Males are more than three times as likely to be the aggressors; blacks were overrepresented and whites underrepresented. Music videos may reinforce false stereotypes. A detailed analysis of music videos raised concerns about its effects on adolescents' normative expectations about conflict resolution; race and male-female relationships (Rich M). Music lyrics have become increasingly explicit, particularly with references to sex, drugs and violence. Research linking a cause-and-effect relationship between explicit lyrics and adverse behavioral effects is still in progress at this time. Meanwhile, the potential negative impact of explicit music lyrics should put parents and pediatricians on guard - pediatricians should bring this up in anticipatory guidance discussions with teenagers and their parents. At the very least, parents should take an active role in monitoring the music their children are exposed

Video Games

Some video games may help the development of fine motor skills and coordination, but many of the concerns about the negative effects of television (e.g., inactivity, asocial behavior and violence) also apply to excessive exposure to video games. Violent video games should be discouraged because they have harmful effects on children's mental development (Thompson KM). Parents should be advised to familiarize themselves with various rating systems for video games and use this knowledge to make their decisions.

The effect of violent video games on children has been a public health concern for many years. No quantitative analysis of video game contents for games rated as suitable for all audiences were made until 2001 (Thompson KM). The study concluded that many video games rated as suitable for all audiences contained significant amounts of violence (64% contained intentional violence and 60% rewarded players for injuring a character). Therefore, current ratings of video games leave much room for improvement (Walls D)

Internet

Parents may feel outsmarted or overwhelmed by their children's computer and Internet abilities, or they may not appreciate that the ‘new medium' is an essential component of the new literacy, something in which their children need to be fluent. These feelings of inadequacy or confusion should not prevent them from discovering the Internet's benefits. The dangers inherent in this relatively uncontrolled ‘wired' world are many and varied, but often hidden. These dangers must be unmasked and a wise parent will learn how to protect their children by immersing themselves in the medium and taking advice from the many resources aimed at protecting children while allowing them to reap the rich benefits in a safe environment. The physician is in a good position to encourage parents and children to discover the Internet and to use it wisely.

The Internet has a significant potential for providing children and youth with access to educational information, and can be compared with a huge home library. However, the lack of editorial standards limits the Internet's credibility as a source of information. There are other concerns as well.

The amount of time spent watching television and sitting in front of computers can affect a child's postural development (Salter RB). Excessive amounts of time at a computer can contribute to obesity, undeveloped social skills and a form of addictive behavior (Canadian Pediatrics society). Although rare, some children with seizure disorders are more prone to attacks brought on by a flickering television or computer screen. No data suggest that television viewing cause weakness of the eyes. It may be different when a child is closely exposed to a computer screen for long periods, although there are no definitive references to support this.

Other concerns include pedophiles that use the Internet to lure young people into relationships. There is also the potential for children to be exposed to pornographic material. Parents can use technology that blocks access to pornography and sex talk on the Internet, but must be aware that this technology does not replace their supervision or guidance.

1.5 IMPACT OF TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENT

Television has the potential to generate both positive and negative effects, and many studies have looked at the impact of television on society, particularly on children and adolescents (Johnson JG). An individual child's developmental level is a critical factor in determining whether the medium will have positive or negative effects. Not all television programs are bad, but data showing the negative effects of exposure to violence, inappropriate sexuality and offensive language are convincing (American academy of pediatrics). Still, physicians need to advocate continued research into the negative and positive effects of media on children and adolescents

Television's Impact on Kids

Television is one of the most prevalent media influences in kids' lives. According to Kids' Take on Media, a survey conducted in 2003 by the Canadian Teachers' Federation, watching TV is a daily pastime for 75 percent of Canadian children, both boys and girls from Grade 3 to Grade 10.

How much impact TV has on children depends on many factors: how much they watch, their age and personality, whether they watch alone or with adults, and whether their parents talk with them about what they see on TV.

To minimize the potential negative effects of television, it's important to understand what the impact of television can be on children. Below you will find information on some areas of concern.

Family is the most important influence in a child's life, but television is not far behind. Television can inform, entertain and teach us. However, some of what TV teaches may not be what you want your child to learn. TV programs and commercials often show violence, alcohol or drug use and sexual content that are not suitable for children or teenagers. Studies show that TV viewing may lead to more aggressive behavior, less physical activity, altered body image, and increased use of drugs and alcohol. By knowing how television affects your children and by setting limits, you can help make your child's TV-watching experience less harmful, but still enjoyable.

You may not realize it, but there are many ways that television affects your child's life. When your child sits down to watch TV, consider the following:

Learning

Television can be a powerful teacher (Wright JC). Watching Sesame Street is an example of how toddlers can learn valuable lessons about racial harmony, cooperation, kindness, simple arithmetic and the alphabet through an educational television format. Some public television programs stimulate visits to the zoo, libraries, bookstores, museums and other active recreational settings, and educational videos can certainly serve as powerful prosocial teaching devices. The educational value of Sesame Street has been shown to improve the reading and learning skills of its viewers (Huston AC). In some disadvantaged settings, healthy television habits may actually be a beneficial teaching tool (Wright JC).

Still, watching television takes time away from reading and schoolwork. More recent and well-controlled studies show that even 1 h to 2 h of daily-unsupervised television viewing by school-aged children has a significant deleterious effect on academic performance, especially reading.

Television affects how your child learns. High quality, nonviolent children's shows can have a positive effect on learning. Studies show that preschool children who watch educational TV programs do better on reading and math tests than children who do not watch those programs. When used carefully, television can be a positive tool to help your child learn.

For older children, high-quality TV programs can have benefits. However, for younger children it's a very different story. The first two years of life are especially important in the growth and development of your child's brain. During this time, children need good, positive interaction with other children and adults to develop good language and social skills. Learning to talk and play with others is far more important than watching television.

Until more research is done about the effects of TV on very young children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend television for children younger than two years of age. For older children, the AAP recommends no more than one to two hours per day of quality screen time.

Nutrition

Studies show that children who watch too much television are more likely to be overweight. They do not spend as much time running, jumping and getting the exercise they need. They often snack while watching TV. They also see many commercials for unhealthy foods, such as candy, snacks, sugary cereals and drinks. Commercials almost never give information about the foods children should eat to keep healthy. As a result, children may persuade their parents to buy unhealthy foods. Because television takes time away from play and exercise activities, children who watch a lot of television are less physically fit and more likely to eat high fat and high energy snack foods (CPC). Television viewing makes a substantial contribution to obesity because prime time commercials promote unhealthy dietary practices (J.C). The fat content of advertised products exceeds the current average Canadian diet and nutritional recommendations, and most food advertising is for high calorie foods such as fast foods, candy and presweetened cereals (J.C). Commercials for healthy food make up only 4% of the food advertisements shown during children's viewing time (ditz WH). The number of hours of television viewing also corresponds with an increased relative risk of higher cholesterol levels in children (ditz WH). Television can also contribute to eating disorders in teenage girls, who may emulate the thin role models seen on television (ditz WH). Eating meals while watching television should be discouraged because it may lead to less meaningful communication and, arguably, poorer eating habits (Briggs).

Sexuality

Today, television has become a leading sex educator in Canada. Between 1976 and 1996, there has been a 270% increase in sexual interactions during the family hour of 2000 hours to 2100 hours (crespo CJ). Television exposes children to adult sexual behaviors in ways that portray these actions as normal and risk-free, sending the message that because these behaviors are frequent, ‘everybody does it'. Sex between unmarried partners is shown 24 times more often than sex between spouses (AAP), while sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy are rarely mentioned.

Teens rank the media as the leading source of information about sex, second only to school sex education programs. Numerous studies document adolescents' susceptibility to the media's influence on their sexual attitudes, values and beliefs (brown JD).

A detailed guide to responsible sexual content on television and in films and music can be found in other peer-reviewed publications (brown JD).

­Some people believe that the media can influence sexual responsibility by promoting birth control, such as condom use. No current empirical evidence supports this concept; it is expected that the debate will continue.

Alcohol and smoking

Messages about tobacco and alcohol are everywhere in media. Kids see characters on screen smoking and drinking. They see signs for tobacco and alcohol products at concerts and sporting events. Advertising and movies send kids the message that smoking and drinking make a person sexy or cool and that "everyone does it." Advertising also sways teens to smoke and drink. Teens who see a lot of ads for beer, wine, liquor, and cigarettes admit that it influences them to want to drink and smoke. It is not by chance that the three most advertised cigarette brands are also the most popular ones smoked by teens.

Advertisers of tobacco and alcohol purposely leave out the negative information about their products. As a result, young people often do not know what the health risks are when they use these products. Sometimes TV broadcasts and print articles do the same thing. For example, a magazine might do a story about the common causes of cancer but not mention smoking as a top cause. Does your child know why? The answer may be that the magazine publisher takes money to publish tobacco ads or even owns another company that makes cigarettes.

Canada's two largest breweries spend $200 million on advertising each year (McKenzie). On an annual basis, teenagers see between 1000 and 2000 beer commercials carrying the message that ‘real' men drink beer. Convincing data suggest that advertising increases beer consumption (brown JD), and in countries such as Sweden, a ban on alcohol advertising has led to a decline in alcohol consumption (romelsjo).

Tobacco products are not advertised directly on television in Canada. However, passive promotion occurs when, for example, a soap opera star light a cigarette in a ‘macho' act, a Formula One race car has cigarette advertising on it or sporting events carry the names of tobacco companies. There is evidence that passive advertising, which glamorizes smoking has increased over the past few years.

Television is not the only way that children learn about tobacco and alcohol use; the concern is that the consequences of these behaviors are not accurately depicted on television. One-half of the G-rated animated feature films available on videocassette, as well as many music videos, show alcohol and tobacco use as normative behaviors without conveying the long-term consequences of this use (Thomas K).

Viewing habit

It's easy to let your child fall into the TV trap. First you let him unwind with a cartoon after school. Then you let him keep the television on while you make dinner. Before you know it, he -- like the average American kid -- is watching four hours a day, well above the two-hour maximum limit recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

TV has a powerful hold on most school-age kids. It provides the effortless entertainment they crave. By this age, children can also have a measure of control over what they watch: They've mastered the remote, and their reading and time-telling skills help them figure out when their favorite programs are scheduled. "They're also intensely curious, and TV is one way they learn about the world," says Jane Healy, PhD, author of Your Child's Growing Mind. "But its imperative that parents set limits on both content and the amount of screen time."

Here's why: Early grade-schoolers lack the ability to regulate their own viewing habits. And a child who's constantly glued to the set is missing out on the chance to exercise, socialize, study, and play. Numerous studies have shown that young kids who watch too much TV struggle with schoolwork and are more likely to behave aggressively and become overweight than those who don't. Want to curb your child's viewing habits? Here are seven strategies you may not have tried yet.

Advertising

Advertising can have positive effects on children's behavior. For example, some alcohol manufacturers spend 10% of their budget on advertisements warning about the dangers of drinking and driving. In addition, although some health care professionals disagree about the health benefits of appropriate milk use, milk consumption has increased as a result of print and broadcast advertisements.

The developmental stage of a child plays a role in the effect of commercials. Young children do not understand the concept of a sales pitch. They tend to believe what they are told and may even assume that they are deprived if they do not have advertised products. Most preschool children do not understand the difference between a program designed to entertain and a commercial designed to sell. A number of studies have documented that children under the age of eight years are developmentally unable to understand the difference between advertising and regular programming (Michael).

The average child sees more than 20,000 commercials each year (AAP). More than 60% of commercials promote sugared cereals candy fatty foods and toys (AAP). Cartoon programs based on toy products are especially attractive. Advertisements targeting adolescents are profoundly influential, particularly on cigarette use (Strasburg VC).

The question of whether children are more resilient to the influence of television is debated frequently. Most studies show that the more time children spend watching television, the more they are influenced by it (Strasburg VC). Earlier studies have shown that boys may be more susceptible than girls to television violence (Gould MS).

Time

Children in the United States watch about four hours of TV every day. Watching movies on tape or DVD and playing video games only adds to time spent in front of the TV screen. It may be tempting to use television, movies and video games to keep your child busy, but your child needs to spend as much time exploring and learning as possible. Playing, reading and spending time with friends and families is much healthier than sitting in front of a TV screen.

Professional Wrestling

In recent years, the entertainment industry saw the booming and revitalization of professional wrestling. Professional wrestling is so popular today that ABC's Monday Night Football and the NBA Playoffs were dominated in terms of ratings (Fennelly). Professional wrestling continuously tops the charts among cable programming. In spite of all this, what is happening to America's youth? Vince McMahon, the chairman and owner of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), reports that 15% of his audience are 11 years old and under. Another 15% are between 12 and 17 years old. Adults from 18 years and older comprise the other 70% of the total viewers. McMahon notes his television shows are rated TV14 (McMahon). However, what happens to the 15%, or one million viewers of his audience who are 11 years old and under?

Some people blame professional wrestling as the cause for an increase in violence among children. The two top organizations today are the WWF and its rival, World Championship Wrestling (WCW). WCW is a little more toned down than the WWF. In either case, violence is available to children across America every Monday night. In one episode of WCW, "Macho Man" Randy Savage attacked an opponent and his valets, Miss Madness and Gorgeous George, jumped off a turnbuckle onto his opponent and choked him out with a heel (Fennelly).

Today's version of professional wrestling, WWF in particular, is more violent, sexual, and vulgar than ever before (Fennelly). Many pediatricians and parents argue that wrestling is teaching children at a young age everything that is bad in society. Is it acceptable to make racial stereotypes? Is it acceptable to make crude remarks? Is it acceptable to have children say, "Kiss my ass" or "Suck it" (Rosellini)? In a shocking study of 50 episodes done by an Indiana University-Inside Edition, there were "1,658 instances of grabbing or pointing to one's crotch, 157 instances of an obscene finger gesture, 128 episodes of simulated sexual activity, and 21 references to urination" (Rosellini). In other episodes of the controversial wrestling shows, a mock crucifixion, S&M scenes, wrestlers mooning others and a woman sucking on an Italian sausage was shown (Rosellini).

Some of the characters depicted on WWF television advertise a type of message not meant for children. The character Val Venis, portrays a former film star that gyrates over opponents in the ring. (WWF Val Venis) Then, there is the Undertaker who portrays every bit of evil as a messenger of death. (WWF Undertaker) Val Venis' friend is the Godfather who portrays a pimp. Before every match, a few ho's (whores) accompany him to the ring. (WWF Godfather) Finally, there is Debra, who uses sex by stripping to her underwear on television to distract an opponent. Even more shocking is the way her breasts have come to be known as "puppies" (WWF Debra). Therefore, besides violence, kids are exposed to sex and death on television. In fact, Rena Mero, a former WWF employee, recently filed suit claiming that the WWF had become "obscene and violent" (USA Today

Violence

The amount of violence on television is on the rise . The average child sees 12,000 violent acts on television annually, including many depictions of murder and rape. More than 1000 studies confirm that exposure to heavy doses of television violence increases aggressive behavior, particularly in boys (AAP). Other studies link television or newspaper publicity of suicides to an increased suicide risk.

The following groups of children may be more vulnerable to violence on television:

• Children from minority and immigrant groups;
• Emotionally disturbed children;
• Children with learning disabilities;
• Children who are abused by their parents; and
• Children in families in distress.

Physicians who see a child with a history of aggressive behavior should inquire about the child's exposure to violence portrayed on television.

Children learn their attitudes about violence at a very young age and these attitudes tend to last. Although TV violence has been studied the most, researchers are finding that violence in other media impacts children and teens in many of the same harmful ways.

From media violence children learn to behave aggressively toward others. They are taught to use violence instead of self-control to take care of problems or conflicts.

Violence in the "media world" may make children more accepting of real-world violence and less caring toward others. Children who see a lot of violence from movies, TV shows, or video games may become more fearful and look at the real world as a mean and scary place.

Although the effects of media on children might not be apparent right away, children are being negatively affected. Sometimes children may not act out violently until their teen or young-adult year.

Over the past two decades, hundreds of studies have examined how violent programming on TV affects children and young people. While a direct "cause and effect" link is difficult to establish, there is a growing consensus that some children may be vulnerable to violent images and messages.

Researchers have identified three potential responses to media violence in children:

Increased fear—also known as the "mean and scary world" syndrome

Children, particularly girls, are much more likely than adults to be portrayed as victims of violence on TV, and this can make them more afraid of the world around them.

Desensitization to real-life violence Some of the most violent TV shows are children's cartoons, in which violence is portrayed as humorous—and realistic consequences of violence are seldom shown. This can be especially true of young children, who are more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior after viewing violent TV shows or movies.

Parents should also pay close attention to what their children see in the news since studies have shown that kids are more afraid of violence in news coverage than in any other media content. Fear based on real news events increases as children get older and is better able to distinguish fantasy from reality

The Research Center for Families and Children indicates that moderate television watching with discretion in program viewing can be somewhat beneficial for school age children. Van Evra is in agreement. Both indicate that those children who watched a moderate amount of TV performed better academically than those children who excessively watched television or those children who did not watch television at all.

Research on media violence is often misunderstood by the general public. One reason has to do with research methodology. We can't randomly assign children early in their lives to watch different doses of violence on television and then 15 years later see which children committed violent crimes. But the same type of limitation also exists for medical research: We can't randomly assign groups of people to smoke differing amounts of cigarettes for 15 years, and then count the number of people who developed cancer.

Tobacco researchers conduct correlational studies in which they look at the amount people have smoked during their lives and then chart the rate at which they have succumbed to cancer. They control statistically for other factors, of course--other healthy and unhealthy behaviors that either reduce or promote the tendency to develop cancer. Then they can find out whether smoking contributed to cancer, over and above these other influences. And since they can't do cancer experiments on people, they use animal studies. These are artificial, but they tell us something about the short-term effects of tobacco that can't be found from correlational studies. Putting the two types of research together, we now have powerful data about the effects of smoking on the development of cancer.

Similarly, media violence researchers do longitudinal studies of children's media exposure and look at the types of behaviors they engage in over time. They also control for other factors, such as previous aggressiveness, family problems, and the like. They don't look at media violence in a vacuum; they examine whether there is a correlation between television viewing and violent behavior, even controlling for other influences. They also do experiments. Like the animal experiments for cancer, these are not natural situations, but such experiments fill the gaps they cannot fill otherwise. Experiments are designed to show short-term effects, like increases in hostility or more accepting attitudes toward violence--changes that we know increase the likelihood of violent actions, both in the short term and in the long run.

A second reason for the misunderstanding of the media-violence work is that most public discussions of the problem focus on criminal violence and ignore the other unhealthy outcomes that affect many more children. In an attempt to clarify the issues, I will first discuss the research consensus about some of the major consequences of exposure to media violence, illustrating the general trends in the data with specific studies that make the outcomes more comprehensible. I will then discuss some of the implications of these findings for parents and educators and for society at large.

Effects of Media Violence on Aggression, Desensitization, and Interpersonal Hostility

Most of the research and public attention has focused on the important question of whether viewing violence in the media makes children and adolescents more violent. The question is not, of course, whether media violence causes violence, but whether viewing violence contributes to the likelihood that someone will commit violence or increases the severity of violence when it's committed. The most direct and obvious way in which viewing violence contributes to violent behavior is through imitation or social learning. There is a wealth of psychological research demonstrating that learning often occurs through imitation, and, of course, most parents know that children imitate televised words and actions from an early age. Media apologists, who cannot deny that imitation sometimes happens, try to argue that the effects are trivial because children know better than to imitate anything that's really harmful. We are all familiar with incidents in which criminal and lethal violence has had an uncanny resemblance to a scene in a movie. However, any crime is the result of many influences acting together, and skeptics and even researchers will point out that isolated anecdotes cannot be generalized to society at large. Because most children are so fully immersed in our media culture, it is usually difficult to link a specific media program to a specific harmful outcome, even though some similarities between media scenarios and subsequent acts seem too close to be considered coincidences.

Once in a while researchers get the chance to conduct a "natural experiment" that makes a vivid and compelling point in a systematic and rigorous fashion. This happened in the mid 1990's in Israel, shortly after World Wrestling Federation was introduced to Israeli TV. Noting news reports that this program had resulted in a crisis of playground injuries in schools, Dafna Lemish of Tel Aviv University conducted a nationwide survey of elementary school principals, with follow-up questionnaires of teachers and students in selected schools. What Lemish found was that more than half of the principals responding to her survey reported that WWF-type fighting had created problems in their schools. The principals had no trouble distinguishing the imitative behavior they were suddenly seeing from the martial-arts type behaviors that had occurred prior to the arrival of WWF. The new behaviors occurred during re-creations of specific wrestling matches that had aired, and included banging heads, throwing opponents to the floor and jumping onto them from furniture, poking their eyes with fingers, pulling their hair, and grabbing their genital areas. Almost half of the responding principals reported that these new behaviors had necessitated first aid within the school, and almost one fourth reported injuries (including broken bones, loss of consciousness, and concussions) that required emergency room visits or professional medical care. Although most of the children involved were old enough to know that the wrestling they were watching was fake, this knowledge did not stop many of them from trying out the moves themselves. The mayhem continued throughout Israel until programmers agreed to reduce the frequency with which WWF appeared, and until schools initiated media literacy programs designed to counteract the program's effects. During the past few years, there have been news reports of groups of children imitating WWF matches in the United States,

and of physicians dealing with the consequences of such imitation on a regular basis.

Simply copying what is seen in the media is only one means by which viewing violence contributes to unhealthy outcomes among youth. Another commonly discussed psychological process is desensitization. Desensitization occurs when an emotional response is repeatedly evoked in situations in which the action tendency that is associated with the emotion proves irrelevant or unnecessary. For example, most people become emotionally aroused when they see a snake slithering toward them. The physiological response they are experiencing is part of what is called the "flight or fight" reaction - an innate tendency that prepares an organism to do what it needs to do when it's threatened. But the individual who spends a good deal of time around harmless, nonpoisonous snakes, knows there is no need to retreat or attack the animal, and over time, the body "learns" not to experience increased heart rated, blood pressure, or other physiological concomitants of fear at the sight of snakes. In a somewhat analogous fashion, exposure to media violence, particularly that which entails bitter hostilities or the graphic display of injuries initially induces an intense emotional reaction in viewers. Over time and with repeated exposure in the context of entertainment and relaxation, however, many viewers exhibit decreasing emotional responses to the depiction of violence and injury. Studies have documented that desensitization results in reduced arousal and emotional disturbance while witnessing violence. More disturbingly, studies have reported that desensitization leads children to wait longer to call an adult to intervene in a witnessed physical altercation between peers, and results in a reduction in sympathy for the victims of domestic abuse. Few people would argue that these are healthy outcomes. Today's youth have greater opportunities for desensitization to media violence than ever before. We now have so many television channels, so many movies on video, and so many video-, computer-, and Internet-based games available, that media-violence aficionados have a virtually limitless supply and can play intensely gruesome images over and over, often in the privacy of their own bedrooms.

A third common outcome of viewing violence is an increase in hostile feelings. Some people argue that the well-substantiated correlation between chronic hostility and violence viewing simply shows that people who are already hostile are more likely to choose violence as entertainment. Well, its true that violent, hostile people are more attracted to media violence, but research shows that the relationship goes both ways. A 1992 field investigation is a good illustration of this process. Researchers in Quebec went to a theater and asked moviegoers to fill out the Buss-Durkee hostility inventory either before or after they viewed a film that they themselves had selected. The findings showed that both the male and female viewers who had chosen the Chuck Norris action movie, Missing in Action, were initially more hostile than the viewers who had selected the nonviolent drama, A Passage to India, demonstrating that people who were more hostile to begin with were more likely to be attracted to a violent than a nonviolent film. Furthermore, viewers levels of hostility were even higher after viewing the violent movie, but were at the same low level after viewing the nonviolent movie. This study once again disproves the sometimes-popular notion of "catharsis," that violence viewing helps purge people of their hostile inclinations. To the contrary,

What are the consequences of this increased hostility after viewing violence? Often, it interferes with the ability to interact in interpersonal settings. One aspect of this effect has been termed an increased hostile attribution bias. A 1998 study illustrated this outcome in an experiment in which 9- to 11-year-old girls and boys were asked to play one of two video games.

One was a nonviolent sports game called NBA JAM: TE; it was a somewhat sanitized version of MORTAL KOMBAT II, a highly violent martial arts games. After playing the game, the children were read five stories involving provoking incidents in which the intention of the provoker was ambiguous. For example, in one story, a child gets hit in the back with a ball, but it is unclear whether the person who threw the ball, always a same-sex peer of the research participant, has done this on purpose or by accident. In answering questions after hearing the stories, the children who had just played the violent video game were more likely than those who had played the nonviolent game to attribute bad motives and negative feelings to the perpetrator, and to anticipate that they themselves would retaliate if they were in that situation. Participating in violence in fantasy apparently cast a negative cloud over the children's views of interpersonal interactions.

And this increase in hostility is not necessarily short-lived. A 1999 experiment looked at the interpersonal consequences of repeated exposure to gratuitous violence in movies. Researchers randomly assigned both male and female college students to view either intensely violent or nonviolent feature films for four days in a row. On the fifth day, in a purportedly unrelated study, the participants were put in a position to help or hinder another person's chances of future employment. The surprising results indicated that both the men and the women who had received the recent daily dose of movie violence were more willing to undermine that person's job prospects, whether she had treated them well or had behaved in an insulting fashion. The repeated violence viewing apparently provided what the researchers termed an enduring hostile mental framework that damaged interactions that were effectively neutral as well as those that involved provocation.

These are just a few studies that illustrate some of the unhealthy effects of media violence. But how representative are these studies? Although media spokespersons argue that the findings are inconsistent, meta-analyses, which statistically combine the findings of all the studies on a particular topic, show otherwise. The most widely quoted of these meta-analyses was conducted by Paik and Comstock in 1994.

This meta-analysis combined the results of 217 empirical studies appearing between 1957 and 1990, and included both published and unpublished studies that reported on the relationship between viewing violence and a variety of types of antisocial behavior. Using the correlation coefficient (r) as a measure of association, Paik and Comstock reported an overall r of .31. Although the size of the correlations varied depending on the age of the participant and the genre of programming, a significant association was observed for viewers of all ages and for all genres of programming.

A meta-analysis conducted in 2001 confirmed and updated Paik and Comstock's conclusions. Bushman and Anderson's analysis included studies that appeared between 1956 and 2000. The sample of studies was smaller because it included only published studies and only studies involving aggressive behavior (eliminating measures of self-report of aggressive intent and nonviolent antisocial effects). The meta-analysis, which included 202 independent samples, found an overall correlation of .20 between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior. Anderson and Bushman also published a meta-analysis of the effects of violent video games on aggression and found a similar effect size (r = .19, based on 33 independent tests)

Confronted with the meta-analytic results that the findings on the relationship between media violence on aggressive and hostile behaviors consistently show an effect, media apologists often claim that the effects are very small. However, Bushman and Anderson have compared the results of media violence meta-analyses to those of well-documented relationships in nine other areas. Their data showed that Paik and Comstock's media-violence effect was second in size only to the association between smoking and lung cancer. Even using the smaller effect sizes associated with Bushman and Anderson's own meta-analyses, the media violence effect sizes are still among the largest--larger, for example, than the relationship between exposure to lead and low IQ in children, and almost twice as large as the relationship between calcium intake and bone density.

Effects of Media Violence on Fears, Anxieties and Sleep Disturbances

Although most of researchers' attention has focused on how media violence affects the interpersonal behaviors of children and adolescents, there is growing evidence that violence viewing also induces intense fears and anxieties in young viewers. For example, a 1998 survey of more than 2,000 third through eighth graders in Ohio revealed that as the number of hours of television viewing per day increased, so did the prevalence of symptoms of psychological trauma, such as anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress. Similarly, a 1999 survey of the parents of almost 500 children in kindergarten through fourth grade in Rhode Island revealed that the amount of children's television viewing (especially television viewing at bedtime) and having a television in one's own bedroom, were significantly related to the frequency of sleep disturbances. Indeed, 9% of the parents surveyed reported that their child experienced TV-induced nightmares at least once a week. Finally a random national survey conducted in 1999 reported that 62% of parents with children between the ages of two and seventeen said that their child had been frightened by something they saw in a TV program or movie.

Two independently conducted studies of adults' retrospective reports of having been frightened by a television show or movie demonstrate that the presence of vivid, detailed memories of enduring media-induced fear is nearly universal. Of the students reporting fright reactions in the study we conducted at the Universities of Wisconsin and Michigan, 52% reported disturbances in eating or sleeping, 22% reported mental preoccupation with the disturbing material, and 35% reported subsequently avoiding or dreading the situation depicted in the program or movie. Moreover, more than one-fourth of the respondents said that the impact of the program or movie (viewed an average of six years earlier) was still with them at the time of reporting.

Studies like these and many anecdotal reports reveal that it is not at all unusual to give up swimming in the ocean after seeing Jaws -- in fact, a surprising number of people report giving up swimming altogether after seeing that movie. Many other people trace their long-term fears of specific animals, such as dogs, cats, or insects, to childhood exposure to cartoon features like Alice in Wonderland or Beauty and the Beast or to horror movies. Furthermore, the effects of these depictions aren't only "in the head," so to speak. As disturbing as unnecessary anxieties are by themselves, they can readily lead to physical ailments and interfere with school work and other normal activities (especially when they disrupt sleep for long periods of time).

For the most part, what frightens children in the media involves violence or the perceived threat of violence or harm. It is important to note, however, that parents often find it hard to predict children's fright reactions to television and films because a child's level of cognitive development influences how he or she perceives and responds to media stimuli. My associates and I have conducted a program of research to explore developmental differences in media-induced fright reactions based on theories and findings in cognitive development. This research shows that as children mature cognitively, some media images and events become less likely to disturb them, whereas other things become potentially more upsetting.

As a first generalization, the importance of appearance decreases as a child's age increases. Both experimental and our survey research supports the generalization that preschool children (approximately 3 to 5 years old) are more likely to be frightened by something that looks scary but is actually harmless (like E.T., the kindly but weird-looking extra-terrestrial) than by something that looks attractive but is actually harmful; for older elementary school children (approximately 9 to 11 years), appearance carries much less weight, relative to the behavior or destructive potential of a character, animal, or object. A second generalization is that as children mature, they become more disturbed by realistic, and less responsive to fantastic dangers depicted in the media. This change results from developmental trends in children's understanding of the fantasy-reality distinction. Because of this, older elementary school children begin to be especially susceptible to fear produced by the news and other realistic presentations. A third generalization is that as children get older, they become frightened by media depictions involving increasingly abstract concepts, such as world problems and invisible environmental threats. The media's constant showing of the events of September 11 th and their aftermath had something to frighten viewers of all ages, but different-aged children most likely responded to different features of the presentations. Prior research suggests that preschoolers most likely responded to images of bloodied victims and expressions of emotional distress; older elementary school children most likely responded to the idea of their own and their family's vulnerability to attack; teenagers, like adults, were able to grasp the enormity of the events and the long-term implications they presented for civilized society.

Parents have been given tools, such as media ratings and filtering devices like the V-chip, but publicity for these tools has been so sporadic that parents have little understanding of what they are or how to use them.

Parents need to receive better information about the effects of media violence, and they need more convenient and reliable means of understanding what to expect in a television program, movie, or video game.

Parents also need information on parenting strategies that will help them counteract some of the negative effects of media violence on their children. Research in cognitive development, for example, has explored effective ways to reassure children who have been frightened by media threats. Strategies for coping with media-induced fears need to be tailored to the age of the child. Up to the age of about seven, nonverbal coping strategies work the best. These include removing children from the scary situation, distracting them, giving them attention and warmth, and desensitization. Eight-year-olds and older can benefit from hearing logical explanations of why they are safe. If what they saw is fantasy, it helps children in this age group to be reminded that what they have seen could never happen. If the program depicts frightening events that can possibly occur, however, it may help to give older children information about why what they have seen cannot happen to them or to give them empowering instructions on how to prevent it from occurring.

As for reducing the aggression-promoting effect of media violence, research is just beginning to explore mediation strategies that can be used by parents and teachers. In a study published in 2000, we tested means of counteracting the effects of classic cartoons, a genre involving nonstop slapstick violence that trivializes the consequences to the victim. This study showed not only that watching a Woody Woodpecker cartoon could increase boys' endorsement of aggressive solutions to problems, but that empathy-promoting instructions could intervene in this effect. Second- through sixth-grade boys were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) a no-mediation group, who watched the cartoon without instructions; (2) a mediation group who were asked, before viewing, to keep in mind the feelings of the man in the cartoon (this was the tree surgeon who was the target of Woody's attacks); and (3) a control group, who didn't see a cartoon. As is usually found in such studies, the children who had just seen the violent cartoon without instructions scored higher on pro-violence attitudes than those in the control condition (showing stronger agreement with statements like, "Sometimes fighting is a good way to get what you want"). However, the children who were asked to think about the victim's feelings showed no such increase in pro-violence attitudes. As a side-effect, this empathy-promoting intervention reduced the degree to which the children found the cartoon funny. An empathy-promoting intervention may therefore have a dual benefit -- intervening in the direct effect of viewing and perhaps reducing future choices of similar fare. More research is needed to explore other ways to intervene in the negative effects of media violence.

In conclusion, media violence has many unhealthy effects on children and adolescents. Even though violence has been and will continue to be a staple of our media environment, it is appropriate to speak out when especially problematic presentations are aired in contexts in which children are likely to see them and when inappropriate programming is actively marketed to vulnerable young people. Although the entertainment industries are mostly concerned with profits, they sometimes react to large-scale criticism and sponsors and local television stations prefer to avoid public censure.

Beyond complaining about media practices, researchers and advocates for the welfare of children can work to diminish the negative influence of media violence by providing better public education about media effects, by developing and promoting more useful content labels and filters, and by exploring effective intervention strategies based on research findings. We also need to expand media literacy education for children, including helping them place what they see in perspective, and encouraging them to engage in a critical analysis of their own media choices

Karen Jaffe, from the Family Education Network, has suggested that some contemporary shows such as “Blue's Clues,” “Bear in the Big Blue House,” and “Big Bag” can be educational and promote pro social behavior. The Research Center for Families and Children states that television, if properly used in moderation, can stimulate a child's education and creativity.

1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

Based on literature survey the following hypothesis was developed:

1.6.1 Measuring Variables

The variables used to measure the Compulsive buying behavior in this recently conducted research are reading habit ,viewing habit,voilence,sextuality,and nutrition Their descriptions has been mentioned below.

Reading Habit

It is an activity that is both fun and enlightening. It can help us be more knowledgeable and successful. However, it is an activity that many people don't engage in very much.

Viewing Habit

It is the measure of action how much the individual spends their time in wathcing tv.

Nutrition

Nutrition is the good we get from all the food we eat and it helps our bodies work. Food is made up of different types of nutrients that contribute to our food being nutritious! These nutrients include carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water.

Voilence

Violence is a general term to describe actions, usually deliberate, that cause or intend to cause injury to people, animals, or non-living objects or an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists); "he may accomplish by craft in the long run what he cannot do by force and violence in the short one"

Sextuality

Referring to the interplay of physical, psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual makeup of an individual. It also encompasses gender, gender role, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual preference, and social norms as they affect physical, emotional, and spiritual life

2.0 METHODOLOGY

The methodology adopted for the subject study is briefly discussed below.

2.1 POPULATION AND SAMPLE SIZE

The population for the subject study is the number of household in Peshawar. According to an estimate there are 0.2 million households in Peshawar, excluding non recognized colonies. If sample were to be drawn on simple random, the approximate sample size comes out to 60. However to have a better representation, about 110 samples were drawn. These were drawn non-randomly from pre-selected areas.

2.2 DATA COLLECTION METHOD

Based on the literature survey a theoretical framework and a closed-ended questionnaire were developed and were pre-tested before being launched. The people belonging to different occupation, education and income levels living in different regions and places of Peshawar appropriately filled them. The instrument contained 13 questions of which 7 were related to personal data and the rest were related to the subject study. The questionnaire comprised of a rating scale numbering from 5 to 1.

2.3 VARIABLE AND MEASURES

The questionnaire administered for the study was based on 13 items. Seven questions were related to personal information: Age, Education, Gender, Income, Marital status, Occupation and Location. The nominal scale was used for measuring the personal information.

The impact of media was measured through five dimensions. These are as follow:

• Reading habit
• TV Viewing habit
• Violence
• Sexuality
• Nutrition

The above variables were predictors' variables (independent variables). The demographic generally have contingent effect on the independent variable therefore; it has been used as moderating variable.

2.4 DATA ANALYSIS METHOD

The data were mostly measured through the measure of central tendencies. The developed hypotheses were tested through Simple ANOVA and Regression.

3.0 SURVEY FINDINGS

The survey findings were analyzed linearly, cross-section ally in order to have a better comprehension and understanding of the relationship between dependent and independent variable, which are discussed below:

3.1 Measure Of Central Tendencies

The respondents' opinions on the determinants of media impact on children and youth were obtained. The determinants were reading habit, TV viewing habit violence, sexuality, and nutrition. The summarized results related to measure of central tendencies and measure of dispersion is presented below:

Table-1: Measure of central tendencies

	Reading Habit	Viewing Habit	Violence	Sexuality	Nutrition
Mean	2.08	3.72	3.86	3.76	3.84
Standard Error	0.09	0.10	0.09	0.08	0.08
Median	2.00	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00
Mode	1.50	3.00	4.00	4.50	3.50
Standard Deviation	0.97	1.01	0.98	0.83	0.84
Sample Variance	0.94	1.02	0.95	0.68	0.70
Kurtosis	(0.02)	(0.20)	0.16	(0.33)	0.32
Skew ness	0.92	(0.43)	(0.74)	(0.55)	(0.57)
Range	3.50	4.00	4.00	3.50	4.00
Minimum	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.50	1.00
Maximum	4.50	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00
Sum	230.50	413.00	429.00	417.50	426.50
Count	111.00	111.00	111.00	111.00	111.00

According to the respondents' opinions, the violence was high with a mean of (3.86). On the other extreme the respondents' opinion on reading habit was low (2.08).

The standard deviation of respondents' opinions on sexuality was the least (0.83), as compared to others dimensions. This indicates that there is less polarization on the respondents' opinions on this “sexuality” dimension. The Standard Deviation of respondents' opinion on viewing habit was the highest (1.01), as compared to other dimensions. This indicates that there is a high polarization of the respondents' opinions on this “viewing habit” dimension.

The Skew ness for all the determinants of media impact on children and youth were negative except of reading habit determinant, which is (0.92). The negative determinant I was as low as (0.43) for viewing habit and as high as (0.74) for violence. The negative skew ness indicates that the respondents' opinions on the respective determinants were below average.

3.3 Hypothesis Testing

Four different hypotheses were developed. The results a