Victor C. Strasburger

Children, Adolescents, and the Media, Third Edition provides a comprehensive, research-oriented overview of how the media impact the lives of children and adolescents in modern society. The approach is grounded in a developmental perspective, focusing on how young people of different ages and levels of cognitive, emotional, and social development interact with the media. Incorporating the most up-to-date research available, Authors Victor C. Strasburger, Barbara J. Wilson, and Amy B. Jordan target areas most controversial and at the heart of debates about the media and public health—equipping students to approach the media as critical consumers.

Dr. Strasburger addresses a popular topic in mainstream media: What are the effects of the multitude of media that are available to our children and adolescents? His well-published authors try to answser this question with articles devoted to thefollowng topics: Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents; What Every Pediatrician Needs to Know About Social Networking Sites; Should Babies Be Watching TV and Videos?; Internet Bullying; Creative and Prosocial Uses of Media; Videogames: Good or Bad?; The New Threat of Digital Advertising; Does Media Use Cause Obesity?; Media in the Classroom; Eating Disorders and the Media; and Setting Up an Adolescent Health Website.

Victor C. Strasburger has given us a clear, concise summary of a massive amount of information on a very important subject. This slim volume should be read by every professional who cares for and about adolescents. --Michael B. Rothenberg, M. D., Professor Emeritus, University of Washington School of Medicine "There is much of value here. An opening chapter provides an excellent overview of how mass communication research is conducted, and subsequent chapters focus on current findings regarding the effects of televised portrayals of violence, sex, and the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and food on adolescents. . . . Comprehensive and well-referenced bibliography. . . . Adolescents and the Media is recommended for a general readership and for undergraduate collections in media studies, health care, and education." --Choice Violent television programs, gory video games, print tobacco advertising, TV beer commercials, and sexually suggestive music videos. How do these and other forms of popular media affect the thinking, behavior, and health of America's teenagers? Adolescents and the Media provides a state-of-the-art review of research findings on the influence of such media as television, movies, video games, print advertising, rock music, and music videos on adolescents. Beginning from a theoretical and conceptual background of adolescent development, the book covers findings on violence, sexual activity, substance abuse, and eating disorders and makes a clear case that media play a role in diverse facets of at-risk behavior and adjustment. It concludes with recommended strategies for preventing adverse media effects on youths. Mental health professionals and policy makers, primary care physicians and nurses, educators, and almost anyone who works with and cares about adolescents, will find this an eye-opening work.