Issues
What the Statistics Indicate
Unlike any previous generation, today's teens are bombarded at an alarming rate by media messages conveyed through television, movies, radio, Internet, video games, billboards, T-shirts and caps, magazines, newspapers, bumper stickers, and packaging. Two-thirds of all teens have a TV in their room; nearly one in five has a computer there; and 90% own a tape player or CD player (Rodriguez 3). It is estimated that teens spend about eight hours a day using media (Arnett 423). Over the course of a year, more time is spent watching TV than any other activity, except sleeping (Media Violence). During their high school years, students watch approximately 20,000 hours of television and listen to an estimated 10,500 hours of rock music. The amount of time teens spend watching television and listening to music during their high school years is about equal to the time that they spend in school over 12 years (Folb 16). It is within this context that educators must compete for young people's attention (Rodriguez 3).
Because many media messages condone, glamorize, or promote drug use, violence, sex, unrealistic body images, and other high risk behaviors, media literacy can be a tool to help teens recognize the manipulation and untruths that are told in media messages. (De Benedittis). Media literacy is the ability to raise the right questions about what one watches, sees, hears, and reads. It is defined as the - ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a variety of forms (Aufderheide 97). The goal of media literacy is for students to become competent, critical and literate in all media forms so that they can control the interpretation and not vice versa (Thoman). Media literacy teaches children and teens to navigate their environment and culture so they will not be manipulated by corporations that profit each time a teen buys their product or embraces their message.
Two favorite teen activities are listening to music and watching movies. Teens are the single largest group of movie consumers. Fifty percent of the movie consumers are teens. Because teens are so involved in these two forms of media, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Department of Health and Human Services sponsored research that analyzed substance abuse language and messages in the 200 most popular movie rentals and the top 1,000 most popular songs from 1996 to 1997. (Roberts, Henriksen, and Christenson Popular Movies).
The researchers found that 98% of the movies depicted illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or over-the-counter/prescription medicines. Alcohol and tobacco appeared in more than 90% of the movies, while illicit drugs appeared in 22%. About one-quarter of the movies that depicted illicit drugs contained explicit, graphic portrayals of drug preparation or ingestion. Less than half of the movies portrayed any of the short-term consequences of drug use, and only 12% depicted any long-term consequences (Roberts, Henriksen, and Christenson Popular Movies).
When songs were analyzed, researchers found that drug references were particularly common in Rap, a form of music that is popular with teens. Illicit drugs were mentioned in 63% of Rap music versus about 10% of the lyrics in other categories. Alcohol references appeared in almost half of the Rap lyrics versus 13% or fewer of the other genres. In song lyrics that mentioned illicit drugs, marijuana was by far the most frequently mentioned drug. Coincidentally, marijuana is also the illicit drug most commonly used by teens. Only 19% of the songs with illicit drug lyrics mention any consequences. When these researchers compared song lyrics to five-minute movie segments, they found that illicit drug messages appeared five times more frequently in songs than in movies (Roberts, Henriksen, and Christenson Popular Movies).
The same researchers also studied television shows to identify drug messages. The researchers studied 1680 episodes and found that illicit drugs were mentioned or seen in 20% of the episodes, tobacco in 22%, and alcohol in 77%. Only one-third of the episodes that mentioned or showed illicit drugs made negative statements about drugs (Roberts, Henriksen, and Christenson Prime-Time Television). Alcohol was consumed in 77% of all episodes, including 65% of the episodes most popular with teens. Researchers found that episodes popular with African-American teens were less likely to mention and depict tobacco use. Episodes popular with white teens were somewhat more likely to contain dialogue referring to excessive drinking. Teen viewers were considerably less likely to see smoking on television than in movies, and somewhat less likely to see alcohol consumption (Roberts, Henriksen, and Christenson Prime-Time Television).
What is Media Literacy?
Media literacy is a tool to create healthier teens by helping them recognize how media messages influence their behaviors; to internalize skills to protect themselves against messages condoning unhealthy lifestyles and choices; to develop critical thinking skills to analyze messages and decide whether to accept or reject them; and to foster self-esteem by creating their own messages (Office of National Drug Control Policy).
Over the years media educators have identified five key ideas and questions that everyone should know and ask about media messages:
1. All media are constructed, and have been created by at least one person. The audience only sees the images and words that are accepted by the creator or creators, not those that were rejected.
2. Media literacy teaches students to deconstruct the message, to understand the pieces that make the whole, and to understand the message's motives so that they will not be manipulated by the creators of the message. The media literate student should ask and answer the following question: Who created this message and why?
3. Media messages are constructed using creative language consisting of such things as music, camera angles, and lighting. The media literate student should ask and answer the following question: What techniques are being used to attract my attention?
4. Different people experience the same media message differently depending on age, gender, race, and socioeconomic level. The media literate student should ask and answer the following questions: What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in this message? How might other people understand or interpret this message differently than I do?
5. Media are primarily the messages of businesses driven by a profit motive. For example, newspapers lay out their advertisements first, then the remaining space is used for news. Many news items do not make it onto the pages of the newspaper because there is not enough space. Someone on the newspaper staff determines the articles that are newsworthy enough to be in the newspaper and those that will be left out. The real purpose of television programs is not entertainment but rather to create an audience to watch the advertisements and commercials created by the program's sponsors. For instance, feminine products are advertised during soap operas. Likewise, products that appeal to men such as beer, automobiles, and financial services are advertised during sporting events. All media messages have embedded values and points of view. The choice of age, gender, race, lifestyle, attitudes, and behaviors that are portrayed in the media are carefully selected to communicate the messages and values that are being sold. The media literate student should ask and answer the following question: What is omitted from this message? (Thoman).
Why Media Literacy?
Media literacy can be used to protect teens from many of the issues identified in this book: substance abuse, anorexia and body image problems, violence, pregnancy and sex, suicide, depression, driving, and bullying. The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, one of the U.S. Government's largest media campaign, is being used to address the high rate of teen drug use. The Campaign was launched in 1998 to educate and enable teens to reject illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Drug use prevention messages are delivered to children and teens aged nine to 19, with an emphasis on middle-school aged adolescents because the transition from elementary to middle-school marks a major increase in tobacco and drug use. More young teens start smoking during the ages of 12 and 13 than at any other time. In order to convey its anti-drug message, the Campaign relied heavily on purchasing advertising media, developing a variety of media-based tools for playground backboards, developing Internet Web sites, organizing educators and community groups, distributing parenting brochures, and placing advertisements in movie theaters (Office of National Drug Control Policy).
Violence and the Media
Research has shown that the strongest single predictor of violent behavior is previous exposure to violence (Media Violence). Fifty-seven percent of all television programs contain some depiction of violence (Office of National Drug Control Policy). The American Psychological Association estimates that the typical child sees 10,000 television acts of violence each year. Children and teens witness even more extreme forms of violence in feature films. Researchers for The National Television Violence Study analyzed 2500 hours of television and found that over half of all television programs show violence. Eighty-seven percent of premium cable program show violence, while 44% of network television programs show it. (Arnett 422).
One intriguing study on television violence involved a natural experiment in which a Canadian community was studied both before and after the introduction of television. Before receiving television, these children were compared to children from other communities that had television. The children without television were found to be much less aggressive. After the introduction of television into the community, the aggressiveness of these children increased within two years to match the aggressiveness of children who had always had television (Arnett 424).
Body Image and the Media
Another teen issue that media literacy could effectively address is that of body image. Magazines relentlessly promote the gender socialization of adolescent girls toward the traditional female role in which physical appearance is stressed (Arnett 427 ). Models in fashion magazines are thinner than 98% of all American women. According to Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention in Seattle, the average American woman is 5 feet four inches tall, and weighs 140 pounds. But the average American model is five feet eleven inches tall, and weighs 117 pounds. Through media literacy, teens can learn what normal looks like. Although 90% of people with eating disorders are girls, boys do suffer from eating disorders. While girls want to be thinner, boys want to be heavier, fill out, and become more muscular. Because of this desire to beef up, boys may be susceptible to steroid use. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study identifies steroids as a drug whose use is increasing in popularity (Finkelstein 721).
By trying to emulate models in fashion magazines, many teens may become obsessed with losing weight. Teens may become susceptible to developing eating disorders or abnormal eating patterns, such as skipping meals, eating only certain items, and excessively avoiding certain foods. Dissatisfaction with body image and weight can happen when teens compare their own bodies to the ideal that is presented in the media; by observing parents and friends who are critical of their own bodies; and by direct criticism or teasing from family and peers (Wolfe).
One popular teen magazine, YM, recognized the danger in communicating a message about extreme thinness and has elected not to print stories on dieting. Their editors are under strict orders not to show emaciated-looking models in the magazine. In addition, YM editors have started including larger models in the magazine's stories (YM).
Sex and the Media
Sex is second only to violence as a topic of public concern with respect to the possible effect of television on adolescents (Arnett 425). According to The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, there is strong evidence that teens are influenced by television exposure to sexual content and sexual beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors (Folb 16). In one study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 75 percent of teens said that TV shows and movies make it seem like it is normal for teenagers to have sex, which is one reason teens have sex. Although teens appear less susceptible than young children to media violence, they are probably more susceptible to sexual content because they tend to believe that what they watch on television is real. A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that more than two thirds of all network prime time shows contain either talk about sexuality or sexual behavior, averaging more than five scenes with a reference to a sexuality-related topic per hour. Of all shows with sexual content, only nine percent include any mention of the possible risks, consequences, or responsibilities of sexual activity, or any reference to contraception, protection, or safe sex (Folb 16).
A study by Monique Ward analyzed the sexual content of the television shows most often viewed by adolescents. She found that both men and women were often portrayed as having a recreational orientation toward sex. Ward found that sexual relations were frequently portrayed as a competition, a battle of the sexes in which men and women discussed scoring, cheating on partners, and stealing partners (Arnett 425). Another part of the recreational orientation was the view of sexual relations as fun, a natural source of play and amusement that can be enjoyed without concern over commitment or responsibility. Contraception is rarely shown or discussed on television programs.
Even though there is a considerable amount of sexual content on network television, these shows also have the potential for educating the public about sex and health concerns. In 1997, a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that awareness of emergency contraceptive pills increased by 17 % among regular viewers of ER (those who watched three or four episodes per month) after seeing a one-minute dialogue about this option to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. Even before this episode aired, viewers were more likely to say they knew about emergency contraception from television than from their doctors (63% versus 11 %). Furthermore, regular viewers of ER say they learn about other important healthcare issues from the show. Thirty-two percent say that what they learn from ER about heath issues helps them make choices about their own or their family's healthcare. Twelve percent say they have contacted their doctor about health concerns because of issues raised on ER (Folb 16).
Media literacy counteracts risky teen behaviors by:
1. Debunking the glorification of risky teen behavior;
2. Revitalizing students' commitment to schools by including materials in the curriculum that are relevant to the culture of the students. A study conducted by the Carnegie Foundation found that education becomes increasingly irrelevant to children when they are exposed to media messages that devalue education.
3. Reducing academic failure by teaching critical thinking skills;
4. Deglorifying the mass media that consume so much of a teen's time;
5. Discrediting risky behavior. This is done by showing teens how they and their friends have been manipulated by entertainment and advertising media;
6. Counteracting the pressure of friends who use drugs or participate in risky behaviors by removing the power of the media that endorses the behavior;
7. Improving students' low sense of self-esteem by combating media messages that tell teens that they are fat or ugly;
8. Reducing students' natural tendency to rebel by having them recognize that certain industries are manipulating them;
9. Postponing early drug use or involvement in risky behaviors. The longer teens can postpone the risky behavior, the less likely it will become embedded or addictive. Helping teens recognize that drug use is harmful and has consequences (De Benedittis).
Media literacy lesson plans can be found on the World Wide Web. One good resource which provides information about teen issues and the media is, http://teenhealthandthemedia.net/.
Resources:
Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen. "Media." Adolescence in America: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Jacqueline V. Lerner and Richard M. Lerner. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC CLIO, 2001.
Auferheide, Patricia. "Media Literacy: A Report to the National Leadership Conference on Media Literacy." In Media Literacy in the Information Age. Ed. Robert Kubey. 1997. 79-86.
DeBenedittis, Peter. Media Literacy for Prevention: A Science-Based Rationale. 12 Aug. 2002, http://www.medialiteracy.net/research/pdfs/media_literacy.pdf.
Finkelstein, Jordan W. "Steroids." Adolescence in America: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Jacqueline V. Lerner and Richard M. Lerner. Santa Barbara: ABC CLIO, 2001.
Folb, Kate Langrell. "Don't Touch That Dial!" SIECUS Report: Adolescent Sexuality and Popular Culture 28.5 (2000): 16-19.
Media Literacy: An Exciting Tool to Promote Public Health and Safety for Washington's Communities and Schools. Apr. 1999. 12 Aug. 2002, http://depts.washington.edu/ecttp/medialiteracy/medialit.pdf.
"Media Violence." Pediatrics 108.5 (2001): 1222-27.
"Youths See More Ads for Alcohol." Naples Daily News 25 Sept. 2002: 3A:1.
Office of National Drug Control Policy, and National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, eds. Helping Youth Navigate the Media Age: A New Approach to Drug Prevention. Findings of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign Media Literacy Summit, White House Conference Center, 1 June 2001. N.p.: n.p., 2001. 12 Sept. 2002, http://www.mediacampaign.org/kidsteens/media_age.pdf.
Roberts, Donald F., Lisa Henricksen, and Peter Christenson. Substance use in Popular Prime-Time Television. Office of Drug Control Policy. 12 Aug. 2002, http://www.health.org/govstudy/tvmediastudy/index.htm.
Roberts, Donald F., Lisa Henriksen, and Peter Christenson. Substance Use in Popular Movies and Music. Office of National Drug Control Policy. 12 Aug. 2002, http://www.health.org/govstudy/mediastudy/new.htm.
Rodriguez, Monica. "SIECUS Forum on Adolescent Sexuality and Popular Culture." SIECUS Report: Adolescent Sexuality and Popular Culture 28.5 (2000): 3-6.
Thoman, Elizabeth. "Skills and Strategies for Media Education." Educational Leadership 56.5: 50-54.
Wolfe, Cassie. Body Image Blues. 12 Aug. 2002, http://www.sxetc.org/library/genLibArticle.asp.
YM: Diet Stories No More. 12 Aug. 2002, http://66.100.119.154/onthemedia/transcripts_012602_ym.htm.
Inquiries? Please contact Dr. Jami Jones