The Web is a wonderful
resource, and an amazing amount of information can be found on it. On
this page we offer links to sites that address an aspect of the issue
of television use. These sites supply resources and the best academic
research that support our concern about how television viewing affects
children, parenting, and families.
TV-B-Gone
The
folks at Cornfield
Electronics, Inc. sell a universal remote control that switches
off virtually any television set on three continents.
Media Literacy
The
Center for Media Literacy
Web site is an essential resource for media literacy. It includes a
links page that lists other organizations that are involved in promoting
media literacy.
Advertising and
Children
The
Center for a New American Dream site has a Kids
and Commercialism campaign Web site that deals with the effects
on children of commercial advertising. The article has action tips for
parents, from parents.
The
Television Project is a member of the Stop Commercial Exploitation
of Children coalition. Their Web
site is a treasure trove of information on advertising, and the
articles on the "What
We Say" page are worth reading.
TV Turnoff Week
The
TV-Turnoff Network
helps children and adults watch less TV. Every year, near the end of
April, they celebrate a week of no TV watching. They publish a newsletter
and sponsor a reading program that has already helped thousands of kids
watch less and read more.
Video Games
The
Children Now site offers an article titled "Fair
Play? Violence, Gender, and Race in Video Games."
The
American Psychological Society site has
an article "Violent
Video Games Can Increase Aggression."
The
article "Video
Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory
and in Life," by Brad J. Bushman and Karen Dill, can be downloaded
as an Adobe PDF file.
Resources
The
Great Tapes for Kids site has
an article "Great
Tapes for Kids: A Catalog of the Best Children's Video and Audio Tapes."
The
Whole Human
Beans Company is an organization dedicated to parent-friendly books
and products that support dedicated but sometimes stressed parents raising
whole human "beans"! Currently, Alternatives to TV Handbook
is available as well as a parent-friendly research book, Where are
the Children? In a TV World or in a Tree House? Other book topics
parents can soon find at this site: 1) packing lunches for picky eaters
or those with food sensitivities; 2) creating connections with your
children when the dinner bell rings; and 3) making time for your marriage
or adult friends.
The
Bruderhof
Saving Childhood Forum is for
anyone who believes that children need and deserve time and space
simply to be children. It features discussions on relevant topics
and trends such as the damaging effects of TV, ideas to
help make childhood memorable, and a weekly e-mail that offers constructive
games, arts, and craft activities to do with children.
Scholarly Work
The
article "Television
Addiction is No Mere Metaphor," by Robert Kubey and Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi, is an excellent discussion of how television use has
many of the same behavioral characteristics as addiction. Be sure to
read the sidebar "Kicking the Habit." Published in Scientific
American, February, 2002.
The
article "Media
Violence and the American Public: Scientific Facts Versus Media Misinformation,"
by Brad J. Bushman and Craig A. Anderson, can be downloaded as an Adobe
PDF file.
____________________________________________
