Media and the Well-Being of Children and Adolescents

Media and the Well-Being of Children and Adolescents brings together many of the field's most important scholars and media professionals to present cutting-edge theory and empirical research on both the benefits and risks to youth development. It examines the role that media play in the every-day lives of young people and their families, and considers both traditional media such as television and movies as well as "new" digital media, such as video games, cell phones, and the Internet. The volume is divided into four parts. Part One provides up-to-date trends on children and adolescents' access to media in the home, as well as the time they spend with television, computers, and the Internet. Part Two presents research that highlights the potentially negative impact of age-inappropriate or excess media use on children's physical, cognitive, social, and emotional well-being. Part Three offers examples of how media enhance children's education, health, and social connections. Part Four explores implications for the creation of high-quality, enriching content that speaks to the needs and interests of young people today. The volume's interdisciplinary perspective acknowledges the many controversies surrounding the effects of media on youth, and offers a balanced view of the challenges and opportunities that media represent for healthy development. The book is intended to be a resource for students and scholars working within education, developmental psychology, public health, and communication. Additionally, it speaks to media professionals who seek to create content that enriches the lives of children and adolescents.

Amy B. Jordan is Associate Director of Policy Implementation at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, where she directs the research on youth and media. She is co-editor (with Dafna Lemish) of the Journal of Children and Media, and co-author/co-editor of four books, including the internationally published Children, Adolescents, and the Media (with versions available in English, Chinese, and Portugese). Her work appears in a wide range of peer-reviewed journals, including Pediatrics, Communication Research, Journal of Family Communication, and Media Psychology and has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Child Health and Development, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She is the recipient of the National Communication Association's Stanley L. Saxton Applied Research Award and the International Communication Association's Most Important Applied/Public Policy Research Award. Daniel Romer is the Director of the Adolescent Communication and Health Institutes of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. He directs research on the social and cognitive development of adolescents with particular focus on the promotion of mental and behavioral health. His research is currently funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He regularly serves on review panels for NIH and NSF and consults on federal panels regarding media guidelines for coverage of adolescent mental health problems, such as suicide and bullying. He is on the editorial boards of Youth and Society, Journal of Community Psychology, and Media and Communication.