Virtual Sexual Harrassment

Most women report experiencing sexual harassment at one time or another. Now it appears that increasingly popular virtual reality games are providing another context for women and girls to be treated poorly.

Here's a link to an article:

Does your preschooler think about body image?

Mama am I fat?

Many people are aware that children are more and more concerned about their body image, but I think most people assume it's a problem largely affecting older children. Recent research, however, suggests even preschoolers may be preoccupied with their bodies AND parents don't seem aware. 

In this study, Liechty and her co authors interviewed parents of children between the ages of 2 and 4. The researchers found that many of these parents are sending messages to their children about body image that they aren't even aware of. Further, 40% of these parents reported that their children were engaging in some body awareness related behavior. 

Click on this link for more on this study. 

More Sexism..Ghostbusters then and now.....

Here is a picture of The Ghostbusters of my childhood.

Now here's a picture of The Ghostbusters of 2016:

Notice any differences?

Wait? They're ALL women? How can we possibly have a blockbuster movie without a single lead, male character??  And none of them are even hypersexualized? What will the men in the audience do?

Kidding aside, reactions to the  movie and it's all female cast were mixed and, often, predictably sexist.

The old thinking goes that girls will watch shows with male lead characters but that boys will not watch female lead characters. One possible reason for the predominance of male lead characters.

Here's an interesting, and important twitter debate about the casting of this new movie.

Gender Stereotyped Media

What does the media they consume tell girls about what it means to be a girl? What does it tell a boy about what should be important to them?

Unsurprisingly, young men and women get vastly different information about what should be important to them.  For girls, it's most important to be attractive and focused on your appearance...even first thing when you are getting out of bed!  For boys, it's important to focus on your career options which are numerous: engineer, fire fighter, military service, scientist etc....

Here's an image of an issue of "Girls Life" magazine right next to an issue of "Boy's Life" Magazing.

How do you think these kinds of messages impact boys and girls??

Someone, noting the gendered nature of these magazine covers, very  helpfully "edited" the Girls' Life cover to be more parallel to that of the Boys' Life cover.

Better??  What do you think?

Child Porn proliferates on the Internet and includes self created content...

Pornography is no longer confined to back rooms in video stores or magazines under your older sibling's bed.  With the advent of the Internet it is readily accessible from the palm of your hand. Obviously, this raises some concerns for underage viewing, especially given the prevalence of more hardcore and violent types of pornography easy to find online.

This article details the efforts of local police to shut down child pornography distribution and consumption.  Importantly, it also mentions self created child pornography. If a child creates an explicit video or shares an explicit photo and shares online, it is virtually impossible to undo.  Children themselves can face pornography charges which can have lasting impacts on their future.

Read the article here:

Netflix reduces children's exposure to advertising...

Given the research evidence for harmful effects of advertising on children, many parents understandably would like to insulate their children from constant ad bombardment.

Previously that meant recording all programs and fast forwarding through ads, or even editing them out. Time consuming and not all that effective necessarily.

Recently, however, kids have shifted much of their screen time to subscription streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime.

My kids can find many of their favorite shows on Netflix as well as a large amount of original, child oriented programming. The lack of advertising was not lost on me!

 Here's an article.

YouTube tops kids' list of favorite brands!

Most parents will tell you that kids LOVE YouTube. In a historic first, YouTube has been out such iconic and beloved kids brands as Disney and Oreo for the top spot in a recent study looking at kids' favorite brands.

YouTube is no longer considered the "wild wild west" by many parents.  However, what concerns should we have about kids' exposure??  You can find just about anything on youtube. For example, my then 7 year old daughter discovered that people post entire hours long videos of themselves giving birth!

Here's the article with the rest of the list:

The dangers of look-alike "Smart Snacks."

The nutritional value of school lunches has been a hot topic for a number of years. Schools have been under increasing pressure to provide healthy and nourishing lunch options, as they should. Kids learn better when they are getting the nutrition they need.

Unfortunately, some of the offerings are still "light" on nutrition. For example, some brands such as Cheetos and Doritos have reformulated their products to meet requirements for "smart snacks" put forth by the USDA. This allows them to market these products to kids in schools.

Setting aside the questionable nutritional value of Doritos (which I love, don't get me wrong), another problem is that the original package and the "smart snacks" package looks very similar.

This could lead to confusion among parents and children when they are inevitably pestered to "please can we buy some cheetos" at the grocery store.

Here's a recent article out of UConn (Huskies!) on this topic:

If your teen rejects social media, are they missing out?

Statistics suggest that most kids between 13 and 19 spend time online and many of them use social networking sites such as Snapchat and Instagram.

But, what if you have a child that doesn't want any part of social media? Or what if you forbid it? Are they missing out? Will they miss important social opportunities, leading to weakened social relationships?

Here's an article addressing that question. What do you think?

Digital Heroin?

Is digital media the same as heroin?

A recent article in the New York Post claims that digital media are like heroin for our children's brains. While I would certainly argue for reasonable time limits and age appropriate content, this bit of hyperbole is not moving us forward in our understanding of children and media in today's constant screen world. 

Here's a link to the article: 

Stereotypical Coverage of Female Athletes

Olympic Media and Gendered Coverage of Athletes

 The way that the media talk about female athletes has been the subject of controversy for some time. This issue was really propelled into the spotlight this year during the 2016 summer Olympic games in Rio.  

Here are some examples:

Here's a headline for you: 

Corey Cogdell, wife of Bears lineman Mitch Unrein, wins bronze in Rio

This is just a small sample of gendered coverage. Here are some articles:

Dear Olympic Media: Do Better by Female Athletes:

Sexist Media Coverage Focuses on Women's Husbands, instead of their Accomplishments

The Most Sexist Moments at The Olympics in Ten Tweets

Screen-time rule conflicts. "But my friend's mom lets us......."

When my husband was quite young he'd spend the night at a friend's house. This friend's mom would wake them in the middle of the night to watch horror movies that would come on HBO. These are likely shows that my mother and father  in law would not have been okay with their young son watching.

This begs an interesting question: what happens when your family rules about media conflict with the rules in other places where your children spend time? Do you expect your children to follow your media rules even when out of the house? If so, how to you enforce that? What happens as your children get older and spend more and more time with their peers?  It's also worth noting that today's infinitely portable media make this even more challenging.

Here's an interesting article on this:

Virtual Torture: Fun and Games?

Video games are capable of eliciting a wide range of emotional reactions from players. We can experience sadness, fear and yes, even guilt. This article reflects on some of the more extreme examples of violent behavior to be found in video games: torture.  The picture above is from the well known torture scene in "Grand Theft Auto V."  One argument could be that this type of violence desensitizes viewers to extreme violence or that it encourages players to morally disengage. Another argument, made in this article, is that it may actually have pro social value to players.

Read the article and let me know what you think!

Home

By Makhala Huggins, Meghan Price & Molly O' Reilly

“Home” illustrates what happens when the worlds of two misfits collide. Young viewers can learn a lot from watching Oh, a vibrant “Boov” from planet Smek, and Tip, an extremely strong-willed and courageous girl from Earth. The unlikely pair meet when the Boov take to Earth for safety from their enemy, the Gorg. Unfortunately, Oh accidentally discloses their new location to the Gorg, putting the Boov in jeopardy. This amplifies the Boov’s dislike for Oh and prompts them to go after him. While on the run from his own kind, Oh bumps into Tip, who was separated from her mother during the abduction. Oh promises to help Tip on her quest to reunite with her mom, and their journey together produces moments that are sure to stimulate the minds of young viewers.

Parents can take solace in knowing that “Home” delivers impactful lessons and demonstrations that can benefit their children. Perhaps the biggest lesson that can be taken from this film is the fact that it’s okay to be yourself despite what others might think. Both Oh and Tip are portrayed as characters that struggle with fitting in within their communities, but through their new found friendship, they learn that being unique is okay, and although it may not seem like it at first, there are other people in this world that will appreciate your uniqueness. Another important lesson

revealed toward the end of Oh and Tip’s journey is that everyone makes mistakes, and they should be taken as an opportunity to learn and grow as a person. These lessons are important for growing children to embrace because as we get older, we all inevitably face moments of feeling like we don’t fit in or fearing that we’ll be looked down upon based on the mistakes we make. Exposing and explaining these concepts to your child early can better prepare them for similar situations in the future.
Besides the overall lessons showcased in this film, there are also scenes that can promote learning moments for children. Children can strengthen their sense of emotional understanding by watching “Home”. Within this film, there are several scenes that showcase the use of emotion. One of

the first examples introduced was the fact that Boov change color when they feel a specific emotion. In one scene, Captain Smek was explaining to the rest of the Boov that they were going to be moving to Earth. This excited Oh in particular, and as he jumped with joy, his skin turned orange. However, while he was celebrating, the Boov standing next to him became annoyed by his happiness, and as Oh accidentally bumped into her, she turned red. This aspect of the movie can help younger children in particular identify specific emotions, and can help them understand the context or the reason why those particular emotions are being displayed, which can then be translated  and used in their own lives.
Parents should be aware that despite many positive learning opportunities, “Home” includes scenes that can elicit negative emotions and fear reactions from children as well. For example, further into the movie, Tip flashes back to the moment when she is separated from her mom. This scene could be more detrimental toward older children age seven and up, since this age range tends to process media more conceptually, meaning that they are more concerned with realistic harm and threats that can actually happen in real life. If a child who processed conceptually sees this scene, they will probably begin to think about the chance of being separated from their parent, which will induce negative emotions and fear.

There are also various scenes that display violence that can negatively impact a young viewer. One scene that can induce significant fear in young viewers is the scene where Oh is perceived to be crushed by the Gorg’s ship when it couldn’t slow down in time. In addition to this, there were several moments where characters were in situations where they could’ve been harmed or killed, but they all turned out to be alright. The unrealistic outcomes of characters put in harm’s way can be misleading. Children younger than seven have difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy, so scenes like these can cause them to become desensitized and to believe that if the characters they’re watching are indestructible, they can be too.

Processing media can be very complicated for children, especially in more complex forms like children’s movies like “Home”, so it is critical for adults utilize the concept of parental mediation. While “Home” can teach young children important lessons about how to think about and cope with their emotions, it is important to recognize that the film aims to appeal to children and young people of other ages as well, and it can always be beneficial for parental mediators to co-view and clarify important issues regarding plot sequencing, violence, and fear in children’s films.

 

 

 

Tangled

The movie Tangled is about a teenaged girl’s journey to freedom. The audience follows Rapunzel on her adventure to breaking free from being locked away her whole life in a tower by Mother Gothel, who kidnapped her at a young age, to preserve her magical powers from her long hair. The film does a good job at exemplifying several developmental differences in children, such as perceptual to conceptual processing. The film demonstrates this concept at several points throughout the movie, specifically through the scene where Rapunzel is cleaning, reading, painting

and singing to occupy her time. Preschool-aged children watching the film may have trouble getting past visual and audible features that stand out to them during this scene, because they have not yet developed the cognitive level that is needed to enjoy these perceptual features and follow the plot of the film simultaneously. This is referred to as perceptual boundedness, where young children use an overreliance of perceptual information at the expense of less obvious cues and information, in this case that may be crucial to following the plot (Strasburger). Older children watching this movie will be able to multitask and appreciate all of the animation and visuals that this scene has to offer, but will also be able to follow the storyline and pick up on messages in the scene.

Another concept that emerges in this scene is centration to decentration. Young children might focus on one object or feature from the scene that initially grabbed their attention, such as the broom Rapunzel is sweeping with or the book she picks up. The point of the scene is to demonstrate the various activities that Rapunzel’s day consists of, not to demonstrate one isolated object encompassed in the scene. Older children watching Tangled would have the cognitive ability to recognize this and consider the objects and activities she’s using as the overarching business of her day she uses to pass the time.

An example from another scene that does a great job illustrating the concept perceived appearance is when Rapunzel and Flynn stop by a pub and are greeted by frightening looking ruffians. It is understandable that the ruffians would frighten younger children because of their physical appearance. Older children would be able to break through their unpleasant exterior and get to know them as people with dreams much like Rapunzel. Younger children lack the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality, (Strasburger). Their  understanding is based around the concept that, if it looks real and acts real, then it must have some basis within their reality. This understanding correlates with the concept magic window, reflecting the idea that young children naively assume that television provides a view of the real world, (Strasburger). It isn’t until children are of the age of five that they can start to differentiate between what is real and what is not.  

An example of empirical to hypothetical reasoning in the movie Tangled is when Rapunzel asks Mother Gothel if she could take her to see the floating lanterns for her eighteenth birthday. Mother Gothel sings, “mother knows best” as a way to explain to Rapunzel that there are bad people out in the world who will want to hurt her in order to obtain some of her magic hair. Even though she still wants to see the lanterns, she knows that she cannot make it alone if what her mother tells her is true. Younger children will only understand what Mother Gothel is saying at face value - they understand that she is concerned for Rapunzel’s safety. Because their cognitive abilities have not yet fully evolved, they are unable to see the truth behind what Mother Gothel is really saying. Older children would be able to take what she says to Rapunzel about keeping her safe from other people, and infer what she really means. “Adolescents become increasingly able to understand abstract concepts, use formal logic, and think hypothetically. Along with this abstract thinking comes an ability to engage in inductive and deductive reasoning, as well as conditional reasoning” (Strasburger, 28). As a result, they are able to deduce that there is an underlying truth to what Mother Gothel is telling Rapunzel.

Group 1 Frozen Movie

Post by: Maggie Wiatr, Hanna Salmonsen, Katelyn Nichisti

In the Disney movie Frozen, Queen Elsa accidentally uses her powers to freeze her kingdom. In doing so with the help of a few friends, her sister, Anna, finds a way to unfreeze it. Although this may seem like a typical child-friendly Disney movie, children’s developmental perspectives produce different reactions to the film. There are many scenes, as well as characters, than can affect the way children behave and act after viewing the movie. One example is when Anna and Prince Hans decide that they are going to get married after only one day of knowing each other. Once children watch this, they may think it is acceptable to marry someone right after they meet them due to the Social Learning Theory, which states that children learn by observing others (Farrar, 2016). Children do not have the cognitive ability to distinguish what is wrong and what is right so they will learn the standards of marriage through watching this movie.

Moreover, the actual characters of Anna and Elsa have an affect on children's health behaviors. The Sociocultural Theory says that the ideal woman should be thin, which brings social, personal, and professional success (Farrar, 2016). Both female characters in this film are portrayed as beautiful and thin so most girls are going to start to want to look this way. This movie also affects children's perspectives on gender roles because between the ages of two and seven, children are most likely to make the largest developments in what they perceive gender roles (Farrar, 2016). Anna is obsessed with her new fiance Hans and he is all she talks about. Therefore, when female viewers hear this, they might think that all they should care about is finding love.

Frozen also poses issues in regards to limitations in processing media content because there are major shifts and differences in cognitive processing from younger to older children (Farrar, 2016). When we first meet Elsa, she shows her ability to produce snow in a magic way from her hands. This schema is difficult to interpret for a younger child because they haven’t increased their domain-specific knowledge (Farrar, 2016). In other words, a young child’s perceived appearance to reality is lacking, which therefore creates a fuzzy separation between what is real and what is not (Farrar, 2016).

When Anna and Elsa sing the infamous song “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”, a young child’s lack of temporal sequencing inhibits their overall understanding. The child can hear the song and know that it’s occurring but isn’t cognitively developed enough to understand that Anna has been asking Elsa to build a snowman for many years during their childhood.

Because information processing is a very demanding task for a child, they must increase their amount of mental effort (AIME), which in turn, can lead to less understanding and more confusion (Farrar, 2016).  During the song “Let It Go,” Elsa manages to build an entire ice castle that seems larger than life.  Because this animation is so unrealistic, kids on the younger side are unable to fully process what is happening because their world is very perceptual and physical (Farrar, 2016).

As children get older, the things that they find fearful change and adapt to their maturity level (Farrar, 2016). The guardian snow monster of Elsa’s ice castle can pose fear reactions in young children because he looks scary to the eye.  For a child anywhere from 2-7 years old, visual images, whether realistic or fantastic are the most troublesome content (Farrar, 2016).  

There are various examples of violence in the movie that provoke reactions for a child audience. There are other effects of media violence such as levels of aggression that can have a heightened impact on the viewer. The priming effect suggests that mere images of something violent can prime aggressive thoughts (Farrar, 2016).  Research also suggests that violence on television plays an important role in the aggression of children. In the movie, we begin to see a large portrayal of violence when Hanz and his men go to kill Elsa so he can rule Arandale. The men fire countless arrows at her and she fights back by creating ice shields. This violent behavior might be fearful for younger children, but might prime aggressive thoughts for older children watching. According to the cognitive neoassociationist theory, viewing aggression disinhibits the viewer’s controls on aggressive behavior. By viewing Hans and his men fire arrows and act aggressively, it could potentially disinhibit the viewer’s controls on aggressive behavior in their own lives. In addition to effects of media violence, fear is certainly a common emotional reaction that children and young viewers experience. Research shows that up to a third of kids between 7-12 report being frightened by media in the past year (Farrar, 2016). With that being said, most adults can readily recall something that frightened them as a kid, so these fearful events might leave a lasting impact. Although there are developmental differences associated with fear reactions in the media, children from the ages of 7-12 years old are the most scared of realistic threats that can happen, especially to the child (Farrar, 2016). In the beginning of the movie, Ana and Elsa hug their parents goodbye before they go away on a trip, expecting to see them again in just two weeks. However, a great and powerful storm hits and they are both killed. This would be extremely nerve wracking to watch as a child between the ages of 7-12 because it is fairly realistic and most people can not even imagine the pain and suffering associated with losing a parent at such a young age.

            There are several instances of emotional events displayed in the movie Frozen. For example, Elsa and Anna are sad because they haven’t seen each other in so many years. Little kids might not understand that the reason why they are sad is because so much time has passed. On the other hand, an older child can comprehend that the sisters are separated because Elsa is afraid that she might hurt Anna from her magic. Young kids might not understand that Elsa actually wants to see and play with Anna. They only see that Anna is upset and don’t understand that Elsa would play with her if she could – they might only think that Else is choosing not to play with her sister.

Hercules- Group 8

Released in the summer of 1997, Hercules was the 35th animated feature film in Walt Disney’s Animated Classics series. And like many of the Disney animated films that came before and after it, this film presents a lot of content that may be troublesome and quite consequential for child viewers.

First, there are a lot of scenes and characters from Hercules that may induce fear reactions in child viewers, however different aged children may experience different reactions. The most troublesome content for two to seven-year-olds are visual images that are naturally scary in physical depiction. For example, Hydra, a gigantic snake-like monster, who who keeps growing heads, might scare this age group because it is vicious and grotesque. The most troublesome content for older children, aged 7- to 12-years, are more realistic threats and dangers than can happen to them. The film’s depiction of the Underworld, where the souls of the characters in the film go when they die, might be particularly scary to older children who are aware of death and have questions about this topic. There are quite a few scary scenes and characters that may be troublesome to children where parental intervention is crucial.

In addition to this, “Hercules” contains violent content that may have lasting effects on children. Hercules saves a damsel in distress, Meg, by having a violent fight with Nessus, where he punches him multiple times and uses his superhuman strength to violently hurt him. Phil is another violent character who uses physical aggression when a townsperson doubts Hercules. Content in the film is consistent with findings that perpetrators, such as Hercules, are more likely to be depicted as attractive and punished less often. Also according to the social cognitive theory, children will likely model his behavior because of this. Violent media exposure is an indicator of aggression in young children, so it is important to consider this when allowing children to view the film.

Aside from the obvious implications this film can have on a child’s fear reactions and violent behavior, another possible consequence of viewing Hercules is the reinforcement of gender stereotypes. When we watched this film, the first negative aspect that we recognized was the stereotypical depictions of many of the male and female characters, but specifically, Hercules and Meg. Hercules is depicted as an extremely muscular, handsome and heroic figure who seemingly doesn’t have any flaws, while Meg is depicted as an impossibly thin, broken-hearted damsel in distress whom Hercules must sweep off her feet. Both of these depictions play into the stereotype that all men must be physically strong and be leaders, while all women must be physically delicate, but beautiful. According to the text, most children become conscious of their own gender by age two and begin to form media-specific scripts regarding what a “male” and “female” are supposed to look like. If a young child were to view this film it is likely that their perceptual boundedness, or their over reliance on perceptual information such as auditory and visual features, would cause them to believe the inaccurate depictions on-screen.

A young child’s developing cognitive-processing skills not only affects their construction of “male” and “female” appearance, but also has potential to affect their self-perception. Illustrated characters, like Hercules and Meg, can raise awareness in a child’s mind that they look different themselves, which can be problematic. A young child, unable to understand Hercules’ and Meg's’ physical appearances are realistically impossible,while simultaneously absorbing the great value external appearance is given on screen, could end up viewing themselves negatively. Any internalization of an “ideal” representation, especially one that can never really be obtained, has massive potential to lower self-worth and stimulate frustration, as well as other negative emotions, towards one’s personal appearance. If a child does walk away from a viewing of Hercules with such instilled notions, it can lead to serious health-related attitude and possibly harmful behavioral changes, such as diet and fitness related changes.

Aladdin

Many Disney films, such as the 1992 animated film Aladdin, are usually assumed unambiguously beneficial and appropriate for children of all ages. This is simply because of the recognition and trust that Disney has built for their brand. The movie follows the orphaned thief Aladdin on a series of adventures to fulfill his heart’s desire- marriage to Princess Jasmine. His journey of self-discovery and adventure happens simultaneously with an intertwined plotline for the ambitions of power-hungry Jafar, the advisor to the Sultan, Jasmine’s father. While Aladdin is considered an acceptable movie for all ages, its exposure to children under the age of seven should be actively mediated by parents or adult figures due to the perpetration of inaccurate gender stereotypes, a distorted moral system, and frightening images.

One of the most frightening sequences for kids is the initial appearance of the Genie. Genie is a large blue magical creature that is capable of granting wishes and taking on any appearance. Voiced by Robin Williams, he has an unorthodox appearance. He takes on a shape that is significantly larger than the main characters, and is accompanied by loud music and flashy visuals. Scenes such as this scare young children, and parents should treat their kid’s exposure to it with caution. Young kids will focus on the scary aspects, ignoring Genie’s helpful and funny demeanor.

Aladdin, the main character, is a thief who is ultimately rewarded for stealing bread and lying about who he is to everyone in the palace.  Jafar is an ‘evil’ character who tries to kill Aladdin after catching him in his lie, and is punished. Children are prone to copycat behavior- imitating actions or behaviors that they see in movies. As children under the approximate of seven are so young, they fail to realize any underlying moral reasons. They simply see the ‘good’ character being rewarded for misbehavior, and the ‘evil’ character punished. Active mediation by the parent, or viewing the film and talking about it with their child, can help explain this difference to the child. For example, Aladdin steals bread in the beginning of the film because he is hungry but that does not make it acceptable. While older children will recognize this, parents will have to explain why to a young child.

Imitation of what they see on a screen is an issue for gender stereotype portrayals as well. By making Jasmine a damsel in distress, always needing to be rescued by Aladdin, women are shown as weak and helpless. This is especially evident when Jafar traps helpless Jasmine in an hourglass, requiring Aladdin to save her. Gender role expectations are formed when children are very young. Unless corrected by parents, or adults, during the viewing of the film, the portrayals will lower a girl’s self-esteem and self-worth. Despite these issues for a young child’s understanding, Aladdin is a highly recommended animated film for children, as long as young children’s exposure and understanding is supplemented by parents.