THEME III MEDIA AND HEALTH Docent Helena Sandberg, Institution for communication and media, Lund University, has had the main responsibility for designing the theme in cooperation with Professor Karin C Ringsberg, Nordic School of Public Health NHV.

Purpose The purpose of Theme III is to enable participants, through reflection and discussion, to understand the influence exerted by the media. It also aims to enable participants to develop their powers of critical assessment, in both a positive and negative sense, of what is portrayed and reported in the media. H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

Theme III is divided into four areas of discussion 1.Health literacy: Discussion and reflexion on why health is a current issue in the media and trends in reporting. 1.Map and Compass. The media control a large part of everyday life. Discussion on how the media determine the agenda in society at various levels. 1.What is our daily life like in terms of the media? Digital media and the Internet have changed the media habits of adults, adolescents and children alike. Discussion based on the participants’ own experiences. 1.Why are children of such interest to marketing people? Discussion of how advertisements can influence children and the approach taken to advertising by the various media, as well as how participants themselves behave. H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

Why is health a current issue in the media? Always current High attention value Important Often disputed H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

Discussion issues Which media channels target the parents of small children? If any do, what topics do they address? If you are looking for knowledge about children’s health and health-promoting activities, where do you turn to then? How well do you understand information about children’s health? H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

Table 1. The five most common sources used by parents in the Nordic countries when searching for information about children’s health (2011). H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg Source: NordChild 2011

Table 2. The understanding by parents in the Nordic countries of information about children’s health in the age group 2–6 years. (2011) H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg Source: NordChild 2011

The media act as a map and compass H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

The media act as a map and compass. Discussion issues. Which topic(s) or health problems do you find are being given a lot of media space right now? Are there any topics missing? Why do you think this is the case? H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

The media are powerful as a result of their: Power of adaptation (the logic of the media makes its mark on society and its players). Power of inspection (the media scrutinise and monitor the institutions of society and political processes). Power of publicity (the media decide society’s agenda). H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

The media act as a map and compass. Discussion issues. What types of images have you seen in the various reports or articles about health? What characterises the images? Who or what is portrayed? How does the choice of images influence us? What are the benefits and drawbacks of the large choice of information offered by today’s media? H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

The benefits of choice 1.Health care is demystified. 2.The distance between provider and consumer is smaller. 3.Easier to take part in decisions affecting your own health. H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

The drawbacks of choice 1.Difficult to sift through. 2.Quality reduced. 3.Poor guidance. 4.Unnecessary anxiety. 5.Status quo. H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

What is our daily life like in terms of the media? Discussion issues What type of media does your child use? For how many hours a day does your child watch TV? Do you tend to watch TV with your child? Which programmes does your child watch? Make a note of any advertisements, how long they last, and what products they are for. H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

Table 3. Use of the media by children (2–6 years) in the Nordic countries. Average number of hours1996 and H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg Source: NordChild 2011

Table 4. Restrictions by parents in the Nordic countries on the child’s use of the media. Children in the age group 2–6 years H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg Source: NordChild 2011

Daily life for children and adolescents in terms of the media H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

Trends Increased reporting on health in the media. Increased commercialisation. Children: an ever more important target group. H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

Why are children of interest to marketing people? Increase prosperity; more money to spend. Changes in values, greater status, high level of influence on consumption and purchase by the household. The consumers of the future. H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

Food and marketing Food preferences and choices are influenced by advertising. Marketing is technically sophisticated and diffuse/engrained. Investment in advertising is moving from traditional media to the “new” media. H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

The Internet and advertising Voluntary interaction. Disguised marketing. Trademark ambassadors. Children unaware of exposure to advertising. Naive about the commercial influence until reaching quite an age. Stricter regulation does not automatically lead to a fall in childhood obesity/ill-health. The market is not the only teacher in children’s consumer socialisation and health development. H Sandberg and KC Ringsberg

More detailed reading/resources Institutet för reklam och mediestatistik von Haartman, F. (2009) Stakeholder views on policy options for marketing food and beverages to children; Findings from the PolMark Project inSweden. Karolinska Institutets folkhälsoakademi 2009:9, ISBN Hastings, G., McDermott, L., Angus, K., Stead M. & Thomson, S. (2006) The extent, nature and effects of food promotion to children: A review of the evidence. Nordicom-Sverige (2011) Mediebarometern Ekström, L. & Sandberg, H. (2010). ”Reklam funkar inte på mig…” Unga, marknadsföring och internet. Nord 2010:502. Köpenhamn: Nordiska ministerrådet. Sandberg, H. (2010) Godis och medier: en söt sur eller besk upplevelse? I K.M. Ekström (red). Unga konsumenter – utsatta och kapabla (s. 78–89). Karlstad: Konsumentverket Rapport_Unga_Konsumenter_utsatta_och_kapabla.pdf Sandberg, H. (2005) ”Medier som arena för hälsokommunikation”. Nordicom Information, 27(2): 27–36. Småungar och medier 2010 (Medieanvändningen hos barn 2–9år) Unga och medier 2010 (Barn och ungas (9–16 år) medievardag)