Kids and Media in a Digital Age

Children & the Media Program Working to create a media environment that supports the healthy educational, social, emotional and physical development of all children. Conduct groundbreaking research on the messages children receive from the media Educate media industry leaders and provide resources to help them initiate change Work with Congress and the FCC to create media policies that serve children

Research Reflections of Girls in the Media A Different World: Children’s Perceptions of Race and Class in the Media Boys to Men: Media Messages about Masculinity Local Television News Media’s Picture of Children Fall Colors: Prime Time Diversity Report Fair Play? Violence, Gender and Race in Video Games Big Media, Little Kids

Outreach to Industry Media Now newsletters Industry Conferences Network Seminars Individualized Research

Policy Lead the Children’s Media Policy Coalition Media Ownership V-Chip Television Ratings Media Violence COPPA Digital Television Rules

Children’s Media Consumption Children & teens (8-18) spend six and-a-half hours per day with media. Two-thirds have a TV (68%) and half (49%) have a video game player in their bedroom. Children six and under spend an average of two hours a day using screen media (1:58), about the same time they spend playing outside. From Kaiser Family Foundation, “Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds,” March 2005 and “Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers,” October 2003.

Media Multi-tasking 26% of media time is spent using more than one medium Total = 8.5 hours per day 28% watch TV and go online to a site related to the show From Generation M, Media in the Lives of 8-18 year-olds, Kaiser Family Foundation, March 2005.

Understanding the Implications Most research focuses on traditional media Very little research on new technologies CAMRA Act

DTV Rules: Media Policy for Kids Recommendations of CMPC 1. Proportional Educational Programming 2. Improved Ratings Information 3. Interactive Advertising Ban

DTV Rules: Media Policy for Kids FCC Ruling Proportional Rule Preemptions limited to 10% Repeats limited to 50% per week “E/I” symbol must appear throughout show Web site displays count toward ad limits Promos of non-E/I shows count toward ad limits Revisit issue of interactive advertising

Applying What We Know to What Might Be: Advertising and Kids Children are exposed to 40,000 advertisements each year on TV alone. American companies spend $15 billion a year on marketing and advertising to children under 12. Children collectively influence $500 billion worth of purchases each year.

Kids: The Easy Targets Children are inherently vulnerable to commercial persuasion. Children under the age of 8 don’t recognize the persuasive intent of ads and tend to accept them as accurate and unbiased. Young children cannot distinguish between programming and advertising. 30 second commercials influence brand preferences in children as young as two years old.

The Cost of Advertising to Children 1. Nag Factor 2. Children’s positive attitudes towards and consumption of unhealthy products (tobacco, alcohol, violent media) 3. Children’s poor nutritional choices and growing rate of obesity

Kids, TV and Obesity 72% of all ads during children’s television shows are for candy (32%), sugar cereal (31%) and fast food (9%). There are about 11 food commercials per hour during children’s Saturday morning TV; the average child may be exposed to one food commercial every 5 minutes. One study found that among children as young as 3, the amount of weekly TV viewing was significantly related to caloric intake as well as their requests for and parent purchases of specific foods they saw advertised on TV. Youth who watched more than 5 hours of television per day were 4.6 times more likely to become overweight compared with those who watched 0-1 hours. Studies suggest that children who watch more television eat more fast food and tend to consume more soft drinks than other children, possibly related to food advertising.

Welcome to the World of Interactive Advertising

Interactive Advertising Techniques Kids are already being targeted with interactive marketing strategies on the Internet 1. Branded Environments 2. One-to-One 3. T-Commerce

Branded Environments

Children Now’s Action Plan The Goal: To Secure A Ban on Interactive Advertising 1. Outreach to FCC Commissioners; 2. Generating op/eds in major newspapers; 3. Writing a policy brief that will be distributed to policymakers, media industry leaders and the public; 4. Engaging our constituents to send letters to the FCC through Children Now’s Online Action Center and; 5. Hosting a policy convening in Washington D.C. to discuss the media environment and its implications for children’s health.

What’s a Parent to Do? Know your child Read the ratings Read more than the ratings Go online Take it for a test drive Talk with other parents

What’s a Parent to Do? Play/watch with your child Talk about what you see Set limits Put the television, computer or game system in a public space Let your voice be heard