| In a recent, nationally representative survey of more than 1,000 2- to 7-year-olds, researchers found that young children are exposed to some form of media for an average of 4 hours and 17 minutes per day (Roberts, Foehr, Rideout, & Brodie, 1999). Most studies of the effects of media on children have focused on the effects of television. This is due in part to the relative newness of other types of media (e.g., video games, computers, and the Internet). Overall, television studies have found that (1) content is more important than the medium itself; (2) children are active, not passive, viewers; (3) the amount of television that children watch increases rapidly over the first few years of life; and (4) individual differences in children’s viewing preferences develop early and remain relatively stable over time (Huston & Wright, 1998).
Interventions related to television usage focus mainly on parent behavior. Parents and other adults can monitor the type and amount of television that young children use and, by doing so, help shape children’s viewing habits and preferences (Hughes & Hasbrouck, 1996; Truglio, Murphy, Oppenheimer, Huston, & Wright, 1996). Adults can mediate the effects of television on children’s prosocial, creative and aggressive behaviors by discussing and interpreting the behavior of characters on the shows children do view (Huesmann, Eron, Klein, Brice, & Fischer, 1983). However, effective parental behaviors depend on having accurate information about television programming and its effects on children. Thus, another intervention strategy includes educating parents and the general public on the effects of television programming on children’s development. Research indicates that educational programs such as Sesame Street increase young children’s letter and number knowledge, vocabulary, and positive attitudes towards school, while cartoons and adult programming do not (Huston & Wright, 1996; Rice, Huston, Truglio, & Wright, 1990; Wright & Huston, 1995). Prosocial programs such as Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, when combined with related, reinforcing activities, increase preschoolers’ prosocial behavior (Huston & Wright, 1998). Research also finds that watching violent programming is associated with a decrease in fantasy play among preschoolers and contributes to children’s aggressiveness (Hughes & Hasbrouck, 1996; Huston-Stein, Fox, Greer, Watkins, & Whitaker, 1981; Noble, 1970). Although it is difficult to regulate the amount of violence on television, an alternative strategy would be increasing the amount of educational and prosocial television programming available for young children (Kunkel, 1998). This final intervention strategy would involve legislation on the national level, but would first require an increase in public awareness and demand for more educational and prosocial programming for children.
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