In the News
December 2008
November 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2008
Research review finds media links to poor child health outcomes
A review of 173 studies from the past 28 years about the impact of media on children found a correlation between media exposure and negative health outcomes. Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine, National Institutes of Health and California Pacific Medical Center examined the effects of media exposure on seven health issues: childhood obesity, tobacco use, drug use, alcohol use, low academic achievement, sexual behaviour and attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.
The report was published by Common Sense Media and details can be found at http://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/press-room/press-releases/study-reveals-media-damages-child-health
Child protection groups support internet filtering trial
Bernadette McMenamin from the organisation Child Wise is concerned that critics of the Federal Government's internet filtering scheme do not have the issue in perspective. In comments to the media she has said:
Child pornography is one of the fastest growing online businesses generating approximately $3(USD) billion each year. It is estimated that 100,000 commercial websites offer child pornography and more than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted on the internet every week. In 2005 the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children revealed that 40% of arrested child pornography possessors sexually abused children. The most disturbing trend is that the demand for sexual images of babies and toddlers and images of children being sexually tortured is increasing. On the 2005 Interpol child pornography data base there were 30,000 images different children. Only 2% of these children have been identified and rescued from sexual abuse.
In late 2006 Child Wise commissioned AC Neilson to conduct a survey of 1497 Australian internet users over the age of 18. The key outcomes of the survey were that: 83% believe that ISP's should block all child pornography, 76% would change to an ISP that blocked child pornography and 64% are not confident that home based internet filters are effective. Surprisingly Child Wise has also received calls from child sex offenders who support ISP filtering.
The Government's proposal to trial ISP filtering is mainly aimed to curb access to viewing child pornography and therefore in reducing access and this will reduce the demand and therefore will lead to the prevention of the rape of children around the world. This trial is not primarily aimed at stopping children viewing inappropriate material. The Government are using other strategies to help with this but this indeed will prevent children viewing the rape of other children and other illegal material.
The proposal is only to mandatory filter sites which are prohibited and therefore illegal which are contained on ACMA's blacklist. 65% of these sites have been refused classification and therefore are illegal. the rest of these sites are extreme xxx rated. The Government's main aim is to reduce the profileration of and production of child sexual abuse images online and believe me as someone who works in the area are hideous and involve (increasingly so) the rape and cruelty of very young children. In 2005 the increase in sites containing child pornography increased by approximately 75%. This is mainly due to the explosion in the demand of people around the world including many Australians to view these exploitative and illegal images.
Parents warned of risks to TV-watching children
Nearly 70 per cent of parents are happy with the amount of TV their children watch and see no need for change, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children finds.
LSAC's 2007-08 annual report, to be tabled in parliament today, reveals the amount of television young children watch ranges widely. About one-third of children watch a "low" amount of TV each week, less than 4 1/2 hours. The middle third watch between 4 1/2 and nine hours a week, with a third at the top end, more than nine hours a week. For the first two categories, about one in five three to four-year-old children "often" turn the television on themselves, but for the third category it is 34 per cent.
Another 27 per cent of those who watch a lot of TV "sometimes" turn the television on without their parents.
Diana Smart, general manager of research at the Australian Institute of Family Studies, which runs LSAC in conjunction with the federal Government, said: "We know from recent research undertaken with the Smith Family that high levels of television watching among preschool age children is one of the risk factors in children being less ready for school."
"Some of the concerns from other studies have been elevated anxiety, fear, aggression and hyperactivity. Parents are so much busier these days, but they need to try and create opportunities for their children so time in front of the television is balanced with reading to them and playing active games."
To read an article in The Australian about this go to http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24737377-5013404,00.html
To hear coverage of this on Radio National's Life Matters program go to http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2008/2434506.htm
November 2008
Nine wrongly gave PG classification to Spiderman
In March 2008, Nine Adelaide screened the movie Spiderman (classified M for movie release) at 7.30pm, classified as PG. Young Media Australia lodged a complaint, and having not received a satisfactory response, forwarded its complaint to the Australian Media and Communications Authority for
adjudication. ACMA has found that the film as screened on TV did not meet
the PG guidelines, as the violence was not infrequent, and in one instance had an impact greater than mild.
For ACMA's decision see http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311552
New study on effects of exposure to media violence
A new study of 820 youths, including 390 with history of violent and/or nonviolent antisocial behaviour suggests that childhood and adolescent violent media preferences contributed significantly to the prediction of violence and general aggression. The study is reported in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
https://commerce.metapress.com/content/4788773215243487/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.html
Baroness Susan Greenfield is YMA's new patron
We are pleased to announce that Baroness Susan Greenfield has agreed to be a patron of YMA. Susan Greenfield is a pioneering scientist, an entrepreneur, a communicator of science, a policy adviser and is considered to be one of the most influential and inspirational women in the world. In 2004 Baroness Greenfield was invited by the South Australian Government to be a “Thinker in Residence”, a programme that brings two or three world-class thinkers to Adelaide each year to live and work for periods of up to several months.
To read more about Susan Greenfield go to http://www.oxcsom.ox.ac.uk/contacts.php
An article from The Australian earlier this year quotes Susan Greenfield as saying,
"If we keep going the way we are, we will simply be letting our children sleepwalk into a new world (of technology) without even trying to understand the consequences .. I'm sure parents want to know how long in front of the screen, and at what age, does what, and I think governments owe it to their citizens to tell them these things." (Greenfield, S The Australian, 14 June 2008). To read more of this article, go to http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23858718-23289,00.html
To hear what Susan Greenfield had to say on the ABC Radio National All in the mind programme go to http://blogs.abc.net.au/allinthemind/2008/10/computers-and-y.html
To read a speech on the impacts of new developments in technology on the way young people think, made by Susan Greenfield in the House of Lords go to http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds06/text/60420-18.htm#60420-18_unstar0
Media response to Michael Rich in Australia
Michael Rich is Director of the Centre on Media and Child Health (http://www.cmch.tv/) and Assistant Professor of Paediatrics, Harvard Medical School. Michael has recently been in Melbourne to speak at the Adolescent Mental Health conference. He received significant media
attention, including an interview on the ABC radio program Life Matters which is available on the ABC website at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2008/2409909.htm
Stephen Lunn’s piece on Michael in The Australian (6/11), “No TV in first two years ” triggered many media calls. It can be read at http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0%2C25197%2C24609386-2702%2C00.html
September 2008
Four ways to have your say about food ads
In the month of October there are 4 deadlines for community input in regard to food ads and children.
ABC to screen more Life at ... episodes
The ABC is to show two new episodes and rescreen two previous programs based on Growing Up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) which is a longitudinal study of 10,000 children. This study is following two representative cohorts of children and their families, recruited when the children were aged 0-1 years or 4-5 years.
ABC will soon show the 2 episodes of Life at 1, and the first screenings of Life at 3.
Life at 1: Sept 23 and 30, at 8.30
Life at 3 : Oct 2 and 9 at 8.30
For more information, go to http://www.abc.net.au/tv/life/default.htm
August 2008
New draft Children's Television Standards released for comment
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has released its draft Children’s Television Standards 2008 for public and industry comment.
According to the ACMA website,
‘ACMA’s draft standards are informed by a significant body of commissioned research, review and analysis of available data, detailed economic modelling and its consideration of public submissions,’ said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman.
‘The draft standards are designed to ensure that Australian children continue to be catered for in free-to-air television programming and to protect children from material that may be harmful to them. This is a particularly important, high profile issue and we would expect, and welcome, robust commentary.’
For more details, including a link to the draft standards, go to http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311363
France bans TV for babies
France's television regulator, Conseil Superieur d'Audiovisuel (CSA), has prohibited the broadcasting of shows for children under three years of age. This is understood to immediately affect channels like Baby TV, and BabyFirstTV which are available on French cable systems. In a newspaper interview in June France's minister for culture and communication, Christine Albanel, warned parents about channels dedicated 24 hours a day to baby-targeted programming. She called them "a danger" and urged parents not to use them to help their children get to sleep. The CSA says the intention of the ban is to shield children from developmental risks.
To read more go to http://rapidtvnews.com/index.php/200808211939/france-bans-kiddie-channels.html
Privacy, children and the ALRC
Parents and carers of children and young people are increasingly concerned about the risks associated with use of modern technology. We are well aware of the dangers of stalking, cyber-bullying and commercial exploitation, but linking all of these is the issue of privacy. Just what kind of information should young people make available in public fora such as chat rooms and social networking sites, and what information should others be able to demand?
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has been looking at these questions as part of its study on privacy laws. These laws were drafted at a time when information sharing was much more cumbersome; now there is a need to look at just what is happening and how best to protect children’s and young people’s reputations and personal information.
It is surprising to learn just how willing children and young people are to share the intimate details of their lives with other people they might not even know, or to publish abusive or insulting comments about employers, teachers, or even clients in public fora. Surprise turns to shock when we hear of the practice of ‘sexting’ – using a mobile phone to send a sexually explicit photo of yourself to another teenager you fancy.
This is before we even reach the issue of what children and young people do with images of each other – for example the recent case where teenagers recorded footage of a physical fight between two girls and posted it on the internet. The question is how best to help children and young people avoid making mistakes that could dog them for the rest of their lives.
The obvious place to start is with young people themselves, and this is exactly what the ALRC has done with a dedicated web site to find out how children and young people think about privacy and communications technology, and why they do the things they do.
The ALRC has also been looking at how to protect children and young people from predatory practices by commercial enterprises, and in particular how to set an appropriate age of consent for sharing of personal information.
The outcome of the inquiry is Report 108: For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice and it is available at www.alrc.gov.au. Chapters 67-70 will be of especial interest to YMA members. Further information about the report will be summarised in future editions of small screen.
New book on the sexualisation of childhood and what parents can do
So sexy, so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids is a new book by American media experts Diane Levine and Jean Kilbourne.
With popular culture and technology bombarding children with an onslaught of mixed messages at earlier ages than ever before, children are becoming increasingly troubled, both emotionally and socially. Parents are left wondering how this happened and what they can do. This new book looks at the problem and is filled with suggestions, sample dialogues, and true stories from families dealing with these issues.
To read more about the book and its authors on the publisher's website, go to: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl/9780345505064.html
July 2008
ACMA find Ten breached Children's Television Standards
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found that Network 10 (Melbourne) Pty Ltd breached the Children’s Television Standards 2005 in October 2006 in an advertisement for Nestle Milo Cereal broadcast during a C period (the licensee’s designated children’s viewing time). ACMA found that in the advertisement for Milo Cereal the reference to the premium offer, a CD ROM, was more than incidental to the main product advertised, the cereal.
To read the ACMA media release about this go to http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311246
June 2008
New rules for advertising films, computer games
The Classification (Publications, Films And Computer Games) Amendment (Assessments and Advertising) Bill 2008
was passed by the Senate on 24 June 2008 with bipartisan support.
National classification rules now cover advertising of films, television programs and computer games on the internet.The current prohibition on advertising unclassified films and computer games will be replaced, but with controls to prevent violent or other mature-age content from being advertised during movies with a lower classification.
The legislation also extends the definition of advertisement to explicitly include the internet but to exclude "product merchandising" such as clothing.
The Classification (Publications, Films And Computer Games) Amendment (Assessments and Advertising) Bill 2008 also introduces an industry self-assessment scheme for films or TV programs released as boxed DVD sets.
Family First Senator Steve Fielding expressed concern about the effectiveness of the self-regulation scheme, saying there had been recent examples of TV programs being rated PG when broadcast, but then rated M when released as a boxed set. YMA shares this concern.
Why computers may not be good for us
One of Britain's leading brain scientists, Susan Greenfield, is expressing concern about the way new technology is changing our thought patterns and behaviour. Her fears are voiced in her new book, ID: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century, published by Sceptre. To read an article in The Australian about this, go to http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23858718-30417,00.html
Prince Caspian: not just a pretty story
The newly released movie Prince Caspian is distinctly child-unfriendly, says Young Media Australia. YMA’s child-friendly movie reviewers who create the popular Know Before You Go movie reviews have found that ‘The film is based on the timeless and beautifully crafted children’s story by C. S. Lewis, but has been made unsuitable for children by violence which is continuous from beginning to end.”
To read the full press release in PDF format click here
To read an article from The Independent on the success of children's films, go to:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/revealed-how-to-make-your-movie-a-box-office-smash-842662.html
May 2008
David Jones drops case
David Jones Ltd has dropped its case against The Australia Institute and its former executive director Clive Hamilton over the institute's 2006 paper Corporate paedophilia -- sexualising children by advertising and marketing.
To read more about this on the Crikey website go to http://www.crikey.com.au/Business/20080507-DJs-drops-corporate-paedophilia-case.html
April 2008
Advertising to Children Code update released
The Australian Association of National Advertisers has released the updated Advertising to Children Code. The Code has been renamed the AANA Code for Advertising and Marketing Communications to Children to more accurately reflect the scope of the Code, which will now capture new and emerging media.
To read an article in The Sydney Morning Herald about the new code go to http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/16/1208025283087.html
March 2008
Current Senate inquiries
The Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications and the Arts is currently looking at two important issues which have impact on the effects of the media on children:
http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/tip_sheets/girls_positive_image/
R-rated games available soon?
Update April 2008: The meeting of federal, state and territory ministers in the Barossa Valley in South Australia has agreed there should be a public consultation process on the classification of video games.
To read an ABC news item on this decision, go to http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/28/2202059.htm
The next Standing Committee of attorneys-general (SCAG) meeting on March 28 will discuss the possibility of updating the classification system for video games to include an R18+ rating. Unlike the situation with films, magazines and other publications, there is at present no adult classification for games in Australia. Any titles that do not meet the MA15+ standard - such as those with excessive violence or sexual content - are banned from sale by the Classification Board. The possibility that this type of material being available for purchase raises concerns about it being accessible by children and adolescents.
To read the YMA submission to the Hon. Bob Debus on the subject of R18+ classified games in PDF format, click here.
To read an article in The Sydney Morning Herald about this go to:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/violence-and-sex-may-get-thumbs-up/2008/02/22/1203467345267.html
To read the American Psychological Associations position on violent video games in PDF format click here
To read an article by Craig Anderson and Douglas Gentile, entitled Media Violence, Aggression, and
Public Policy, in PDF format, click here
To read an article by John Murray on Video Game Violence in PDF format click here.
New research - Australian online survey of video game use
A team of researchers headed by Dr Vladan Starcevic, Associate Professor at the Discipline of Psychological Medicine, University of Sydney are currently investigating patterns of video game use, both online and offline. According to team member Dr Guy Porter, they are particularly interested in the characteristics and impact of excessive video game use.
Media reports and existing research suggest that a considerable number of video game users play for such extended periods of time that they suffer various detrimental psychosocial consequences. Many of these negative effects, in some cases, are similar to the negative effects resulting from pathological gambling and substance dependence. Indeed, for some individuals the compulsive behaviours centred around playing certain video games appears to resemble a syndrome of 'addiction' or 'problem use'.
However the acceptance of 'problem video game use' as a mental disorder remains controversial with much research needed as well as ethical and medico-legal considerations.
In order to investigate the issue further the team are currently running an anonymous online survey for video game users to complete. The survey assesses basic demographics, patterns of video game use, and includes a selection of questions to assess the person's mental state over the last week. The project is not for profit and has received ethics committee approval by The University of Sydney.
The researchers would like parents to be aware of the project - the survey may provide an opportunity to discuss the issue with children who could participate if they are old enough (the minimum age is 14).
The link to the survey is:
http://www.nepean.med.usyd.edu.au/research/psych.php#res
Baby Einstein videos no longer being marketed by Disney as educational
As a result of the US based Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood's Federal Trade Commission complaint, the Baby Einstein website has been completely redesigned and is no longer making educational claims about its DVDs and videos. In 2006, CCFC filed a complaint against the Disney-owned company for making false and deceptive claims about the educational value of their products. In December, the FTC decided not to take enforceable action against Baby Einstein when the company promised to "take appropriate steps to ensure that any future advertising claims of educational and/or developmental benefit for children are adequately substantiated." Since no substantiation exists, Disney will not be able to claim that the videos have educational value.
To read more, go to the CCFC website at http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/
February 2008
SA government moves to ban junk food advertising
The South Australian Government is set to ban junk food advertising in
childrens viewing times after receiving legal advice that it is possible to
enforce the ban on a state level.
To read an ABC Radio National transcript about this go to http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2158391.htm
To read a response to this announcement from a number of experts on the Australian Science Media Centre website, go to: http://www.aussmc.org.au/JunkFoodTVBan.php
January 2008
A children's channel: not good for kids?
In the Sydney Morning Herald on 22 January 2008, two long time advocates for quality children's TV Patricia Edgar and Barbara Biggins argue that there are better ways to meet children's needs for relevant, quality and non-exploitative media for children than spending $82m on a children's digital TV channel.
To read their article go to http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/01/21/1200764168300.html
To read a fuller version of the Edgar and Biggins piece in PDF format click here.
Young Media Australia believes that there are further arguments against a children's digital channel, and urgent examination of all these issues is needed.
Some of these issues include:
- Will $82m over 4 yrs (the Howard Govt election promise) produce enough quality content to fill 12 hrs a day, without the channel having to resort to branding, and product linked programming, and providing yet another avenue for marketing to children?
- Do children need a 12 hrs a day channel, even if it were all quality content? School children will be at school for 5 days of the week. How will it benefit preschoolers to have access to preschool programs for most of the school day, most of which will be product linked?
- If the ABC has a backlog of good old programs for children why can't it show them now instead of its many product linked programs- some of which have very poor and irrelevant story lines
- Even if it's convenient for parents, is it good for children to be off in their own rooms, watching their own channel, and decreasing family interaction?
- Won't such a channel increase the pressures for commercial channels to be rid of their responsibilities to children?
- Isn't what we really need, quality programming for children (that keeps up with their expanded range of interest in multi media) which is also able to be enjoyed by their families, shown in prime time across a number of channels, and preferably without ads?
To read a response to the Edgar and Biggins article by Jenny Buckland, Chief Executive, Australian Children's Television Foundation and Kim Dalton, director of ABC Television, entitled " Lot of mileage left in children's broadcasting, whatever critics say" , in PDF format, click here.
Barbara Biggin's letter in response to this letter reads as follows:
The Editor
The Sydney Morning Herald
Dear Sir,
Neither of us (Tricia Edgar and Barbara Biggins) wants to see the ABC not get support for its children’s programs (Buckland and Dalton, Letters 25/1/08). We are both strong supporters of the need for the ABC to be well funded to supply relevant and independent information and entertainment for the whole community.
However, what we see is creeping, nay galloping, commercialization of the ABC’s children’s programs. Such commercialization seems not to be necessary for adults to get quality programs.
Barbara Biggins OAM
Former Convenor of SA and National ABC Advisory Councils
To read more about changes to personnel, channel names and the logo at the ABC, follow the links below
http://report.mediaspy.org/index.php/blog/2008/01/29/new-appointments-for-abc-childrens-tv/
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,23129700-10229,00.html
TV puts British children to sleep
In Britain, 80 per cent of children aged five to 16-years-old have a television in their bedrooms and 63% lie in bed watching the screen (rising to almost three-quarters of 13 to 16-year-olds).
Also, more than half watch television while they're eating dinner.
These figures come from an annual survey of around 1,100 children done by the ChildWise market research company in the UK. Their latest survey found evidence from Britain that children are spending more and more of their lives in front of an electronic screen and far less time outdoors.
Between television and computers, British children are, on average, in front of an electronic screen of one sort or another for more than five hours a day.
To read more about ChildWise and the survey go to http://www.childwise.co.uk/monitor.htm
To read an article in the Guardian about the survey, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jan/16/television.socialnetworking
To read a transcript of a radio interview with Rosemary Duff, the Research Director of ChildWise, go to http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s2142595.htm
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