Making Wise Use of the Media at Home

It's a typical evening. After working all day you're exhausted. As soon as you get home and walk in the door, you plop on the couch and join your children in front of the television. Or maybe you flip on your PC and escape into surfing the Internet while your son or daughter is absorbed in Nintendo and your spouse listens to a favorite CD.

Technology and the media are central to most American homes. More than 99% of Americans own at least one TV and 80% own more than one. Millions of children have televisions in their bedrooms—60% of teenagers and 30% of younger children. Most children watch at least two to three hours of television each weekday and even more on the weekends.³

Video games and the Internet also play an important part in the lives of many youngsters. According to one research firm, by the end of 2002 more than 116 million Americans will have access to the Internet.¹⁵ Teenagers see more movies than any other group, and Hollywood gears a good portion of its fare to that age group.

Although the media can be used in harmful ways, their potential for good is tremendous. Many people believe technology is God-given because it makes information and education so widely available. But, as one author pointed out, the media can create problems for parents who want to teach their children wholesome values:

It's challenging to live God's standards of modesty and morality . . . . Program after program presenting life-styles and relationships in violation of Heavenly Father's commandments—and making sins seem not only commonplace but somehow right—can make it tougher to choose wisely.¹⁸

If families use technology and the media carefully, they can reap great benefits. But if they spend too much time watching television and playing video or computer games, or if they spend any time viewing violent, pornographic, or other immoral material, the media become a harmful influence.

Parents can take an active role in making sure the media are a good influence in their homes. Some general principles include:

• Set a good example. Children learn not only from what they are intentionally taught, but also from what they see their parents and other adults do. Don't show them it's okay to spend excessive time watching TV or it's okay to consume entertainment with unwholesome content.

• Make rules. Set limits on the amount of time family members watch television, play video games, use the Internet, etc. Also, decide what programs, games, and Internet sites are appropriate and which are not.

• Watch TV together. Watching television with your children gives you the chance to point out good content, bad content, and unrealistic content. It also decreases the negative effects and enhances the positive effects of television viewing. As you help your children analyze a TV show, they develop a better sense of what is right and wrong.

• Provide alternative activities. The Family: A Proclamation to the World teaches that happy families include "wholesome recreational activities" in their family life (¶ 7). As you limit television, video games, and Internet use, you'll need to help your children find other activities that are interesting and positive.

As you make decisions about the media in your family, you'll want to explore two important considerations: (1) content, and (2) amount of time spent consuming media.

Media Content

The media are not inherently bad or good. Researchers know that the media can have a negative or positive influence depending on their content.³ This article focuses mainly on how the media affect adolescents and children, though the effects on adults are discussed as well.

Researchers have found that children and adolescents are more vulnerable than adults to the influence of the media. Small children in particular have trouble distinguishing between what is real and what is not.^{3, 10, 14} The media, say researchers Bryant and Bryant, "can become a child's most authoritative source of information," particularly when parents don't play an active role. Without adult intervention, children too often learn what they think is right and wrong from television, movies, video games, and websites.

While children are most vulnerable to the media, adults are also susceptible. According to Dr. Thomas Radecki of the National Coalition of Television Violence, popular culture has a significant influence on adults: "There is overwhelming evidence that adults as well as children are affected by the glamorization and promotion of violence. TV-watching adults are more likely to purchase handguns, support military solutions to world problems, and overestimate the amount of violence in the real world".¹¹

Corrupt values. Very often the media don't reflect or respect strong values. Television shows in particular bombard children with negative role models. Researchers Bryant and Bryant have found substantial evidence that the combination of seeing negative role models on television and seeing them on the Internet encourages children to copy the antisocial behaviors being depicted.³

Michael Medved, a respected film critic, identifies four areas where the media challenge the values that most Americans endorse:

• Our fellow citizens cherish the institution of marriage and consider religion an important priority in life; but the entertainment industry promotes every form of sexual adventurism and regularly ridicules religious believers as crooks or crazies.

• In our private lives, most of us deplore violence and feel little sympathy for the criminals who perpetrate it; but movies, TV and popular music all revel in graphic brutality, glorifying vicious and sadistic characters who treat killing as a joke.

• Americans are passionately patriotic, and consider themselves enormously lucky to live [in America]; but Hollywood conveys a view of the nation's history, future, and major institutions that is dark, cynical, and often nightmarish.

• Nearly all parents want to convey to their children the importance of self-discipline, hard work, and decent manners; but the entertainment media celebrate vulgar behavior, contempt for all authority, and obscene language—which is inserted even in "family fare" where it is least expected.¹¹

Distorted view of society. The media often portray a distorted view of society that can be especially damaging to adolescents and children but also damaging to adults. The media offer "scripts" for thinking and behavior that often are heeded by the public.¹⁴ They especially affect perception of marriage and family, sexuality, and violence. "Viewing this distorted world of television reality can shape a child's view of society, especially if the depictions are believable and not directly contradicted by real-life experience".³

Damaging portrayal of marriage, family, and sexuality. The media send many harmful messages about marriage, families, and sexuality. Television programs and movies show abundant infidelity and divorce and treat them as normal. They also present cohabitation and homosexual relationships as natural and accepted. According to one researcher, children and teenagers in the U.S. see almost 14,000 sexual references every year.¹⁴

Children, and especially teenagers, can easily be confused by the mixed messages they see and hear about what is normal or good. One study showed that high school students who report a desire to have an ideal family but who watch a lot of television hesitate to pursue starting that family because they lack confidence to do so.³ For example, they see very few happy marriages portrayed in the media, and they may feel that they, too, are destined to fail. College students who view soap operas assume that more people are divorced or have affairs than is true.³ It appears that as a person's sense of what is normal or common is influenced by the media's representations, he or she becomes desensitized to abnormal behavior and more vulnerable to negative influences.

Music videos are another form of media that influences society, especially adolescents. Music videos are frequently violent and sexually explicit. They have a unique power because visual images are fused with music. Once someone has seen a music video, its images are likely to play again in a person's mind every time he or she hears the song.³ One study showed that teenagers partial to watching MTV were more likely to be sexually experienced than those who were not.³

Researchers don't yet know enough about the influence of sexually suggestive media on viewers, and more research needs to be done. Strasburger summarized three important studies completed to date. The first looked at unmarried teenage girls, half of them pregnant and half not. The results showed that before becoming pregnant, the pregnant girls watched more soap operas than did the non-pregnant girls. The second study, with a sample of 391 junior high school students, found that students who watched more sexually suggestive television were more likely to have lost their virginity the year before. The third study found that boys who watched the most television had the highest incidence of sexual intercourse. This same study also found that teenagers who usually watched television away from their families had sex three to six times more often than those who usually watched television with their families.¹⁴

Pornography. A form of media that sends some of the most distorted and damaging sexual messages is pornography. Pornography is readily available in magazines, movies, and the Internet. Many adults don't realize how easy it is for children to get pornographic material or to come across it inadvertently. One study reported that 92% of males and 84% of females had been exposed to pornographic magazines before the age of 15.¹⁴

Research about the influence of pornography is ambiguous, and this is another area where more research is needed. Some studies suggest pornography does not influence the viewer's behavior while others claim it does. It is clear, however, that when pornography is combined with violence, it can be extremely detrimental.¹⁰ Sex crimes are likely more common among those who view pornography.¹²

Violence. Violence permeates the media, and study after study shows that such violence has negative repercussions. The amount of violence portrayed on television and in movies has dramatically increased since the 1970s.³ Anyone who watches television is bound to be bombarded by violent images. According to Houston et al.:¹⁰

If we multiply [the] rates of televised violence by the amount of viewing of the average preschooler and school-aged child (2 to 4 hours per day), we begin to understand the magnitude of the problem. By the time the average child graduates from elementary school, she or he will have witnessed at least 8,000 murders and more than 100,000 other assorted acts of violence. Depending on the amount of television viewed, our youngsters could see more than 200,000 violent acts before…[becoming] teenagers.

These statistics are especially disturbing because research shows that those who view a lot of violence are more aggressive than those who don't.¹⁰ Research also shows that media violence leads to "real-life violence".¹⁴ Extensive viewing of violent acts apparently desensitizes both children and adults to violence in general.³

Bryant and Bryant say an important signal that a child's television viewing is causing harm is that his or her daily life is disrupted, such as sleeping poorly or eating poorly. One study found that 75% of children in elementary school or preschool said they had been scared by something on television or in a movie. Among parents of children at one elementary school, 43% reported their child had "experienced enduring fright" from watching television. In another study, 62% of parents said their children between the ages of 2 and 17 "had become scared that something they saw in a TV program or movie might happen to them".³ Nightmares are another frequent consequence of viewing violence.⁴ Even watching television news frequently results in the viewer feeling personally in danger.³

Albert Bandura, a distinguished psychologist and researcher, says:

If parents could package psychological influences to administer in regular doses to their children, I doubt that many would deliberately select Western gunslingers, hopped-up psychopaths, deranged sadists, slap-stick buffoons and the like. . . . Yet such examples of behavior are delivered in quantity, with no direct charge, to millions of households daily. Harried parents can easily turn off demanding children by turning on a television set; as a result, today's youth is being raised on a heavy dosage of televised aggression and violence.¹⁴

Like television, video games and computer games have become increasingly violent. Just a few years ago, nonviolent games like Packman and Space Invaders were popular, but today as many as 80% of all video games are violent.¹ Graphically violent games like Wolfenstein and Mortal Kombat have become the norm. Doom, commonly played by children and adolescents, is so real-to-life in its violence that the military uses it to train soldiers to kill.¹

Violent video games can be especially harmful because the player is actively involved as a perpetrator of violence. Anderson and Dill describe the consequences:¹

Each time people play violent video games, they rehearse aggressive scripts that teach and reinforce vigilance for enemies . . . , aggressive action against others, expectations that others will behave aggressively, positive attitudes toward use of violence, and beliefs that violent solutions are effective and appropriate. . . . Long-term video game players can become more aggressive in outlook, perceptual biases, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior than they were before the repeated exposure or would have become without such exposure.

A study by Wiegman and Van Schie found that those who spent a lot of time playing video games were less social than those who played less.¹⁶ Also, the grades of college students were adversely affected.¹

Practical help. Below are ideas to help you make sure media content in your home is wholesome:

• Get a TV Guardian to block inappropriate language from your television. (see http://www.tvguardian.com)

• Use VidAngel to skip selected scenes on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services you're already paying for. (see https://www.vidangel.com/)

• Consider buying a television that has the V-Chip to block shows with harmful content. (All televisions manufactured since January 1, 2000 are required to contain the V-Chip.) For more information, visit the V-Chip website at http://www.fcc.gov/vchip.

• Consider movie and television ratings but don't trust them to tell you what shows you should or shouldn't watch. Those who set the ratings may not have the same value system you do. Before watching a movie, check various sources to make sure the content is appropriate. For example, talk to a trusted friend who has seen the show you are considering. Or check http://www.screenit.com or https://kids-in-mind.com/.

• Get a filter for your Internet access. Filters block entrance to websites that contain inappropriate content. Many different software programs and internet service providers offer this service.

• Talk with your children about the shows and advertisements you see with them, comparing what is portrayed on the screen with real life. Your children will benefit as you communicate with them about the media and its influences.

Amount of Time Spent Consuming Media

Just as it's important for individuals and families to limit their exposure to objectionable media content, it's important to limit the amount of time they spend with all forms of media.¹⁰ Watching too much television, playing video games for hours on end, or surfing the Web too much is detrimental to families and individuals, especially children.

Psychological effects of overexposure. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, overexposure to television is especially harmful to very young children: "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. Too much television can negatively affect early brain development". The Academy recommends that older children watch less than two hours of TV per day.⁶

A recent study shows a connection between the amount of time a child watches television and academic performance. Those who watched more television, or even just had the television on in their home, did worse academically than those who participated in family activities other than television viewing.⁷ According to Houston et al., children who watch more than four hours of TV every day don't do as well in school, don't read as well, are less social, and don't have as many hobbies as others.¹⁰ Also, their vocabularies are weakened. It also appears that in young children heavy television viewing inhibits concentration development.⁸

Too much time spent on the Internet also can be detrimental. According to one researcher, extended Internet use encourages disengagement from society.¹⁵

Physical effects of overexposure. A recent study found that children who have the television on during two or more meals each day consume more meat, snack foods, and soda, and consume less fruits and vegetables than children who don't watch television at mealtime or watch it during only one meal. The study also found that children who watch television frequently during meals consume twice as much caffeine as children who do not.⁵

Excessive television viewing is also associated with obesity.² And playing video games for extended periods may bring about epileptic seizures.⁹

Practical help. Below are ideas to help you and your family decide how much time you want to spend consuming media:

• Consider setting a goal as a family to refrain from watching television for one month (or one week), and see the difference it makes.

• Decide on the amount of time each family member can watch television, then make a time log and have family members sign in and out when watching television. The same approach can be used for Internet usage and video game playing.

• Consider turning off the television during mealtime and interact with one another instead.

• Don't watch television out of boredom. Plan in advance which shows you or your family will watch, choosing only educational and uplifting shows. Stick to your plan.

• Consider having only one television in your home. This may discourage excessive TV viewing in your home.

• Consider getting rid of cable, if you have it. If you have fewer channels available to choose from, your family may spend less time in front of the TV.

• Consider getting rid of your Nintendo or PlayStation, or if that is too much at once, get rid of any violent video games you own.

• Get an entertainment center that has doors that close. Whenever the television isn't in use, close the doors. This may help to prevent the television from being perceived as an easily accessible alternative to other activities.

The Media as an Educational Tool

If you're selective, the media can be a great educational tool. The Internet is rich in good information. Television has many wholesome and educational shows. According to Stein, television can alert children to the world around them, making them more observant.¹³

Former U.S. Commissioner of Education Ernest Boyer stated: "Television sparks curiosity and opens up distant worlds to children. Through its magic, youngsters can travel to the moon or the bottom of the sea. They can visit medieval castles, take river trips, or explore imaginary lands. . . . With selective viewing, television can richly contribute to school readiness".¹⁷

One study found that children who watched Sesame Street progressed more intellectually than those who didn't. Other studies have found that watching Mister Rogers' Neighborhood helps children learn to nurture and care for others, to work well, and to use their imagination.¹⁰ Watching the show Reading Rainbow may increase a child's vocabulary and desire to read.¹⁷

Unfortunately, children's educational programming isn't a high priority for most television executives. Funding for children's programming has been repeatedly cut.¹⁰ Parents who value educational programming might consider donating to public broadcasting.

More Practical Ideas

Below are additional ideas to help you ensure the media plays a healthy role in your home:

• Hold a family council and decide together what role you want the media to play in your home. Set goals as a family about how much time you want to spend with the media and what kind of content is acceptable.

• Arrange your family room to be family friendly rather than media friendly. Two couches facing each other rather than both facing the television communicates that the family values conversation more than passive entertainment.

• Place computers that have Internet access in high-traffic areas in the home.

• Treat your television and computer like tools not toys.

• Encourage your children to read good books. Do this by example, by reading to your children from the time they are infants, and by making books easily accessible with a home library and/or frequent trips to your local library.

• Set aside one night a week as a family night. Instead of watching television or playing video games, spend time together as a family.

Written by Brynn Marie Blake Steimle, Graduate Assistant, and edited by Stephen F. Duncan, Professor, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University.

Suggested Readings

Hollywood vs. America, by Michael MedvedKick the TV Habit, by Steve and Ruth BennettTelevision and the American Family, edited by Jennings and Alison Bryant

Internet Resources

http://www.medialit.orghttp://www.parentstv.org/

References

1. Anderson, C. A., & Dill, K. E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 772-90.
2. Bennett, S., & Bennett, R. L. (1994). Kick the TV habit: A simple program for changing your family's television viewing and video game habits. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books.
3. Bryant J., & Bryant, J. A. (Eds.). (2001). Television and the American family (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
4. Cantor, J. (1998). Mommy, I'm scared. New York: Harcourt Brace.
5. Coon, K. A., Goldberg, J., Rogers, B. L., & Tucker, K. L. (2001). Relationships between use of television during meals and children's food consumption patterns. Pediatrics, 107(1), e7.
6. Dollahite, D. C. (Ed.). (2000). Strengthening our families: An in-depth look at the Proclamation on the Family. Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft.
7. Gentile, D. (1999, May 6). MediaQuotient [tm] study reveals relationship between family media habits and school performance, attitude, behavior. Retrieved from http://www.mediafamily.org
8. Flood, J., & Lapp, D. (Eds.). (1995). Television and reading: refocusing the debate. The reading teacher, 49(2), 161-163.
9. Graf, W. D., Chatrian, G. E., Glass, S. T., & Knauss, T. A. (1994). Video game-related seizures: A report on 10 patients and a review of the literature. Pediatrics, 93, 551-556.
10. Houston, A. C. et al. (1992). Big world, small screen: The role of television in American society. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
11. Medved, M. (1992). Hollywood vs. America: Popular culture and the war on traditional values. New York: HarperCollins.
12. Monson, T. S. (2001, July). First Presidency message: Pornography, the deadly carrier. Ensign,2-5.
13. Signorielli, N. (1991). A sourcebook on children and television. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
14. Strasburger, V. C. (1995). Adolescents and the media: Medical and psychological impact. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
15. Wicks, R. H. (2001). Understanding audiences: Learning to use the media constructively. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
16. Wiegman, O., & Van Schie, E. G. M. (1998). Video game playing and its relations with aggressive and prosocial behaviour. British Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 367-78.
17. Wood, J. M, & Duke, N. K. (1997). Inside "Reading Rainbow": A spectrum of strategies for promoting literacy. Language Arts, 74, 95-106.
18. Walker, J. (1993, June). Reel life vs. real life. Ensign, 15.

We live in the most technologically advanced civilization the world has ever known. When used wisely, technology and the media can bless our lives. Elder M. Russell Ballard said they are gifts from Heavenly Father that are meant to help us further the work of the Lord: "It is my judgment that much success will come as we become more expert and more able to harness the wonderful technology that our Heavenly Father has given man to proclaim his message".¹

But technology and the media can become a curse when they are used unwisely. Anytime harmful influences are allowed to enter the home, the Spirit leaves and family members become more vulnerable to problems of many kinds. Elder Ballard cautions that we must carefully choose the media we consume: "As we consider the importance of nourishing our intellects we must be ever cautious about our choices of programs and the impact of media upon our lives".¹

Elder L. Aldin Porter issued a similar warning in a recent General Conference address: "The print media, television and videos, and now the Internet constantly bring into our homes material that will pollute our souls and destroy our lives. Our homes in times past have generally been peaceful havens against the world. To retain that peace now takes an almost unrelenting vigilance".⁵

During the same General Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott cautioned us about how we use our free time. He said, "Satan has a powerful tool to use against good people. It is distraction. He would have good people fill life with 'good things' so there is no room for the essential ones".⁶

Research affirms that the media can have a destructive influence if we spend too much time consuming it or if we view violent or sexually explicit content. The First Presidency has warned for years about this destructive influence. Media content has become increasingly immoral, so the warnings have come with increased emphasis. In the January 1995 Ensign, Elder H. Burke Peterson wrote about how to wisely choose entertainment. He said:

"I plead with you to leave it alone. Stay away from any movie, video, publication, or music-regardless of its rating-where illicit behavior and expressions are part of the action. . . . The Doctrine and Covenants gives a warning and a promise. The promise says 'if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things'(D&C 88:67)" In an application of this scripture today, it is my understanding that anytime we look at or listen to this kind of material-even in its mildest form-the light inside of us grows dimmer because the darkness inside increases. The effect of this is that we cannot think as clearly on life's challenges-be they business, church, school, family, or personal. We have cluttered the channel to the source of all light with various unclean images. Our entitlement to personal revelation on any subject is severely restricted".⁵

As we listen to these servants of the Lord and as we study the scriptures and heedtheir warnings, we will create homes that are a haven from the world. Moroni gives us a pattern by which to judge whether a media offering isright for our family or not:

"For every thing which invited to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him" (Moroni 7: 16-17).

We must be careful to avoid allowing evil influences to enter our homes. We will be blessed as we seek after influences that are virtuous, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy (13th Article of Faith).

Written by Brynn Marie Blake Steimle, Graduate Assistant, and edited by Stephen F. Duncan, Professor, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University.

References

1. Ballard, M. R. (1996, July). Filling the world with goodness and truth. Ensign, 10.
2. Dalton, C. (2001, June). Setting family standards for entertainment. Ensign, 26-29.
3. Oaks, D. H. (2001, May). Focus and priorities. Ensign, 82-84.
4. Peterson, H. B. (1995, January). Leave it alone. New Era, 45.
5. Porter, L. A. (2001, May). To bear testimony of Mine Only Begotten. Ensign, 30-32.
6. Scott, R. G. (2001, May). First things first. Ensign, 6-9.