small screen News Digest of Australian Council on Children and the Media (incorporating Young Media Australia) ISSN: 0817-8224 No. 257 September 2009 A Brain for life - the 21st century mind friendship, the perpetrators that posted In Sydney and Adelaide in September and Asked if she thought that children were the tampered picture on the web self early October, eminent UK neuroscien- disadvantaged if they are exposed to less confess with no prompting and every- tist Baroness Susan Greenfield presented stimulation from screens, - she said that thing is all OK in less than one day challenging addresses for those concerned technology should not dictate what society The following issues need to be consid- about the developing brain, and especially and parents want for their children They ered; in childhood. need real relationships with real people. • The program only gives one very mild Says Greenfield, “The human brain is What we really need for our children is to example of cyber bullying , continuously adapting and responding to deliver a sense of identity, of fulfilment, • It does not show children the extent the environment, - neuroplasticity- . It is and of being useful to society. And so we of the effects cyber bullying can have the personalisation of the physical brain should encourage children to be creative- on an individual (the animation only that we can now regard as the individual to have their own ideas, find what they shows a mild upset of the victim and “mind”. Given the exquisite sensitivity of are good at, enjoy, and can use. Children the problem appears to go away in a the individual brain/ mind to individual should be proud to be different. very short time) experiences, we need to explore the impact • It has an unrealistic view of problem of the new environment of the 21st century Cybersafety for the very young - Is solving in the real world – self-confes- on the kinds of people we may become”. ‘Hector’s World’ the answer? sion of perpetrators, time factor of 1 In our technological society, it is becom- day and a quick and happy ending ing essential for children to interact with • It doesn’t actually explore options computers and the internet to meet the of how to deal with cyber bullying. demands of school and communication. It only suggests that you speak to a Consequently children are interacting trusted adult. with the internet at a younger age. With • It doesn’t provide information of how internet access being widely available through to report or the rights of the victim. computer and mobile technologies, it is becom- • It does not address consequences for ing more difficult for parents and carers to the victim or the perpetrator monitor children’s internet use. Therefore, it In relation to the whole site, my view is that is critical that we educate children about cyber it is not developmentally appropriate for safety. However, to effectively educate children, the suggested age range. Two to six we need to create programs that are age appro- year old children would not under- priate, stimulating and capture their interest. stand the concepts presented in these We asked Lesley-Anne Willoughby to review animations without adult interven- hectors World. Lesley has B.Early Childhood tion, some of the characters such as Education (Hons) (earned for a study of cyber- the angler fish may be frightening for safety in children of junior primary age), and is continued on P2 a lecturer in early childhood development. In regard to the young mind and screen Adelaide seminar culture, Greenfield suggested 7 impacts The ACMA cyber safety program that we need to address. These are : ‘Hectors World’ (designed for 2-10 year Bratz, Britney & Bralettes: olds) addresses issues such as ‘keeping • short attention span personal information safe’ and ‘cyber bul- The sexualisation of childhood • a strongly sensory environment lying’, and these programs do provide • a loss of metaphor and meaning (from some important safety information and in- Steve Biddulph, author & psychologist being constantly in a literal and visual struction for young children to help them Julie Gale, convenor Kids Free 2B Kids world) keep safe. However there are some areas of Elizabeth Handsley, Vice President ACCM • process vs content (if you rescue the concern in relation to age appropriateness, princess do you care about her?) the messages it portrays and the structure Chair: Matthew Abraham ABC Radio • reduced empathy (from loss of face to of being a series. face interaction and reaction) 7 for 7.30pm Monday 23 November 2009 • a loss of personal identity (with con- Using the ‘Cyber bullying’ series as an Immanuel College stant need for reassurance that you are exemplar, the story is as follows 32 Morphett Road, Novar Gardens SA important) • increased risk-taking A picture of ‘Ming’ is tampered with and Tickets $27.50 posted on the internet, Ming gets upset [email protected] Greenfield added, “we need to discuss and withdraws from her group, Ming Ph 08 8376 2111 whether we want this sort of world, and if, then speaks to her mother who takes her Book early - seating limited not’ what we are going to do about it”. to her friends and her friends show her

A Brain for life - 21st century mind Editorial: TV for under 2s Ad-free school buses in the USA

‘Hector’s World’ Video games and teenage health Mobile phone genie small screen September 2009 p2

EDITORIAL TV for under 2s (http://www.rch.org.au/ emplibrary/ccch/PB_16_template_ final_web.pdf) no. 257 September 2009 Back in 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommended that parents avoid TV for their This recommendation has now been under two year old children. small screen included in the soon to be released Editor: Barbara Biggins OAM “Get up and grow”guidelines Barbara Biggins At that time some thought that advice draconian; Compiler: Caroline Donald which are part of the Federal OAM others thought it sensible to avoid passive Hon CEO Editorial Board: Barbara Biggins, government’s anti-obesity drive. Jane Roberts, Judy Bundy, interaction at a time when the brain is developing Elizabeth Handsley. rapidly. And in recent weeks we have had neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield warning of the likely small screen is published at the Ten years on, the debate has been revived. beginning of each month and negative impacts on the development of early reports on the events of the Two months ago a policy paper jointly issued by brain connections, of time with screens for the previous month 11 issues per the Centre for Community Child Health at the very young. year (Dec/Jan double issue) Royal Melbourne Children’s Hospital and the Published by Again- some say “How dare you tell parents what Murdoch Children’s Research Institute said that Australian Council on to do? We need TV to keep us sane. “ TV needs to be regarded “unequivocally as a Children and the Media health and wellbeing issue for young children”. (ACCM) Surely the issue is that this is important The paper said that media was an important issue PO Box 447 information for parents to have- along with advice Glenelg 5045 as it affected child development (including brain about getting babies immunised, not putting South Australia development) and the ways in which children them on their stomachs to sleep, the importance [email protected] see and understand the world (including social of good nutrition. Most parents want the best www.youngmedia.org.au norms and values) and their place in it.”The for their children, and value useful and reliable Tel: +61 8 8376 2111 centres recommended serious consideration of information. Why should this new information be Fax: +61 8 8376 2122 the AAP’s recommendation re TV for under 2s. seen and treated any differently? Helpline: 1800 700 357 ACCM is a national, non-profit continued from P1 community organisation. Its mission is to promote a younger children and in particular the healthier on average, while using the telephone quality media environment for ‘keeping personal information safe’ story and watching television did not appear to corre- Australian children. requires a child to sit and watch a series of five late to worsened or improved health scores. No part of this publication animations that follow on from one another to may be reproduced without view all concepts of how to keep personal infor- The leader of the research team, Melissa Wake permission of the Editor. mation safe. from Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital and Contributions are welcome. the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, said This program is clearly more suitable for chil- the results indicated that “unsupervised, violent dren aged 7 years + when children are better video games cannot be seen as a good thing”. cognitively developed to think critically and ACCM’s services are Professor Wake said TV watching tended to be supported by grants participate in perspective taking. However the lack of stimulating interaction (watching more social than playing video games. “A lot of from the animations only) may diminish the interest for the content can also be educational or entertain- South Australian children. The program will gain greater inter- ing, making people laugh - there’s a lot of good Government est from children if it offers interactivity such things about TV,” she said. In contrast, video as games or monitored experiences similar to game use is a more solitary activity and, for teen- ‘Cyberquoll’ and needs to consider how to bet- agers, a more violent activity. ter accommodate children aged under 6 years. Australian national guidelines recommend that ACCM’s Web Page and Lesley Willoughby young people spend no more than two hours a Broadband access day using electronic media for entertainment, are supported by its http://www.hectorsworld.com/island/index. including not just TV but also computers and html#HOMEPAGE video games. Internet Service Provider Video games and teenage health However, Professor Wake’s team found that most Internode According to research just published in the US of the 14-18-year-olds in the study went well be- journal Academic Pediatrics and reported by yond this, using electronic media for more than Adam Cresswell in The Australian, video games three hours a day. Watching TV was the most may do more harm to teenagers’ health than common activity, accounting for just over two watching too much television. hours a day on average, with about 35 minutes Publication and daily spent playing video games, 19 minutes on printing of small screen Australian researchers set out to discover how the computer and 13 minutes on the phone. is supported by different types of electronic media affect teenag- ers’ health, and found that adolescents who used http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/ video games the most had the worst self-report- story/0,25197,26073967-5013404,00.html Nickelodeon ed health, including problems with depression and anxiety. Mathers, M et al (2009) Electronic Me- dia Use and Adolescent Health and Well- The study of nearly 1000 Victorian teenag- Being: Cross-Sectional Community Study ers found that those using computers for other Academic Pediatrics, v9, 5, Pp 307-314 reasons described themselves as being slightly Clips ‘n’ Cuts small screen no. 257 September 2009 small screen September 2009 p4 small screen September 2009 p5 small screen September 2009 p6

.....cont small screen September 2009 p7 NEW PUBLICATIONS

ADVERTISING Ophir, E; et al (2009) Want, SC; et al (2009) Cognitive control in media multitaskers. The influence of television programs Adams, J; et al (2009) PNAS, Published online before print August on appearance satisfaction: Making Food advertising during children’s 24, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0903620106 and mitigating social comparisons to television in Canada and the UK. “Friends”. Archives of Disease in Childhood, Vol. 94, MEDIA EFFECTS - HEALTH Sex Roles, Vol. 60, No. 9-10, Pp642-655 No. 9, Pp658-662 Strasbuger, VCl (2009) Notley, T (2009) Anschutz, DJ; et al (2009) Children, adolescents and the media: Young people, online networks, and Side effects of television food what we know, what we don’t know social inclusion. commercials on current nonadvertised and what we need to find out (quickly!) Journal of Computer-Mediated sweet snack food intakes in young Archives of Disease in Childhood, Vol. 94, Communication, Vol. 14, No. 4, Pp1208- children. No. 9, Pp655-657 1227 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. Hofferth, SL (2009) 89, No. 5, Pp1328-1333 Paez, S; et al (2009) Parental and environmental factors Media use vs. work and play in middle childhood. D’Alessio, M; et al (2009) associated with physical activity among Social Indicators Research, Vol. 93, No. 1, Attitudes toward TV advertising: A children participating in an active video Pp127-129 measure for children. game. Journal of Applied Developmental Pediatric Physical Therapy, Vol. 21, No. 3, Livingstone, S; (2009) Psychology, Vol. 30, No. 4, Pp409-418 Pp245-253 Half a century of television in the lives of our children. Hillier, A; et al (2009) Dal Sin, S; et al (2009) Annals of the American Academy of Political Clustering of unhealthy outdoor Watching and drinking: Expectancies, & Social Science, Vol. 625, Pp151-163 advertisements around child-serving prototypes, and friends’ alcohol use institutions: a comparison of three mediate the effect of exposure to alcohol Schooler, D; et al (2009) cities. use in movies on adolescent drinking. Beyond exposure: A person-oriented Health Place, Vol. 15, No. 4, Pp935-945 Health Psychology, Vol. 28, No. 4, Pp473-483 approach to adolescent media diets. Journal of Research on Adolescence, Vol. 19, Henry, AE & Story, M (2009) Steffen, LM; et al (2009) No. 3, Pp484-508 Food and beverage brands that market Overweight in children and adolescents associated with TV viewing and to children and adolescents on the TECHNOLOGY Internet: a content analysis of branded parental weight: Project Heartbeat! Web sites. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Lenhart, A; (2009) Journal of Nutrition & Educational Behavior, Vol. 37, No. 1, Suppl. 1, PpS50-S55 Teens and mobile phones over the past Vol. 41, No. 5, Pp353-359 five years: Pew Internet looks back. Brockman, R; et al (2009) www.pewinternet.org Montgomery, KC & Chester, J (2009) “Get off the sofa and go and play”: Interactive food and beverage Family and socioeconomic influences Ofcom (2009) marketing: targeting adolescents in the on the physical activity of 10-11 year old Children’s and young people’s access digital age. children. to online content on mobile devices, Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 45, No. 3 BMC Public Health, Vol. 9, Pp253 games consoles and portable media Suppl, PpS18-S29 players. Forman, J; et al (2009) www.ofcom.org.uk COMPUTERS & INTERNET Food branding influences ad libitum Burns, JM; et al (2009) intake differently in children depending VIOLENCE on weight status. Results of a pilot Mental health of young people in study. Johnson, M (2009) the United States: What role can the Appetite, Vol. 53, No. 1, Pp76-83 Electronic aggression as new form of Internet play in reducing stigma and violence in the home: radio rap sessions promoting help seeking? Chang, H & Nayga, RM Jnr (2009) Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 45, No. 1, to raise awareness in parent and in Pp95-97 Television viewing, fast-food youth. consumption, and children’s obesity. Ethnicity & Disease, Vol. 19, No. 2, Suppl. 3, Contemporary Economic Policy, Vol. 27, No. PpS3 11-12 (2009) 3, Pp293-307 Online Safety 3.0: Empowering and protecting youth. www.connectsafetly.org MEDIA EFFECTS - SOCIAL CONFERENCES Kuntsche, E; et al (2009) MEDIA EFFECTS - PSYCHOLOGICAL Electronic media communication with Child Abuse and Neglect: Stevens, T; et al (2009) friends from 2002 to 2006 and links to Looking Through the face-to-face contacts in adolescence: an Television viewing and symptoms of HBSC study in 31 European and North inattention and hyperactivity across Lens of Prevention American countries and regions. time. The importance of research International Journal of Public Health, Vol. questions 15-18 November 2009 54, Suppl. 2, Pp243-250 Journal of Early Intervention, Vol. 31, No. 3, Perth, West Australia Pp215-226 http://www.apccan2009.org.au/ Membership rates $Aus (inc GST) AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL ON CHILDREN AND THE MEDIA Organisational Membership/Subscription Application National $210.00 Tax Invoice State $75.00 Individual $55.00 small screen subscription (for non-members) Name: ______In Australia $66.00 Organisation: ______Outside Australia $66.00 Address: ______New membership Renewal ______small screen subscription ______Donation (tax deductible $2 & over) ______Postcode:______Total

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WORLD NEWS Ad-free school buses in the USA muk?’, the other ‘What the f*#k is muk?’ elpinkie.tv - featuring games, activities and downloads. After a three year campaign, the US The Board noted the complainants’ con- organisation Campaign for a Commer- cerns that the image of the man was Pixel Pinkie is currently being broadcast cial Free Childhood has thanked evryone inappropriately sexual for viewing by in a number of countries around the world who helped to prevent radio advertising children and that the language accompa- and is distributed worldwide by Daro Film to children on school buses. Children will nying the image is also inappropriate. Distribution. This series was produced now not be subjected to specially designed with assistance from Screen Australia and student-targeted ads for products such as The advertiser’s response was Screen Tasmania. Barbie or entreaties to spend their after- school hours watching TV and playing We accept the board’s decision and as http://www.screenhub.com.au videogames. discussed with ASB have contacted all outlets displaying the poster and BusRadio - the company that planned to instructed them that the poster must be re- KIDS’ TV “take targeted student marketing to the moved from their windows immediately. We next level” - ceased operations yesterday. have advised our stockists that the poster A selection of children’s programs BusRadio hoped to play its commercial- may be displayed inside the actual salon/ screened on TV during the period ized broadcasts for students on buses store, however not in a window where vis- around the US, but CCFC and a network of ible to the passing public. ABC 1 parent activists opposed the company at Lucy; Secret Show; Carl; Pat & Stan; every turn. http://www.adstandards.com.au/pages/ A Kind of Magic; Flamingo; Roary; page64.asp Silversun; The Latest Buzz; In the Night As the CCFC media release says Garden; Behind the News. Ending BusRadio is a tremendous vic- Mobile phone genie ABC 2 tory for families and the growing move- The Mole Sisters; Sesame Street; ment to protect children from exploitative Tasmanian animation company Blue Rock- WotWots; Chuggington; 64 Zoo Lane; marketing. No child should be forced to et Productions’ new animation series, Pixel Olivia; Flatmania; Creature Features. listen to ads on their way to and from school. Pinkie, is showing nationally on the Nine and in Tasmania on WIN Televi- Kid Detectives; Zeke’s Pad; Staines http://commercialfreechildhood.org/ sion. Down Drains; Flipper and Lopaka; pressreleases/busradiosongisover.html . Pixel Pinkie, a children’s cartoon NINE Complaints upheld series, is the 21st century interpreta- Hi-5; The Shak; Kids’ WB; Dora; Ben 10; tion of the traditional genie tale. The Dogstar; Pixel Pinkie. The Advertising Standards Bureau has story follows Nina, a tween-age girl and TEN upheld complaints about shopping her adventures with an impetuous dig- Toasted TV; H2O; Totally Wild; I Got a centre advertising for hair products. ital genie who lives in her mobile phone. Rocket!; Puzzle Play. NICKELODEON The advertisements were large posters Screen Tasmania has invested $650 000 The Troop; True Jackson VP; Fantastic of a young man, apparently naked, lying into two series of Pixel Pinkie, result- Four; Mighty B; Brain Surge; Penguins of down with one hand behind his head in a ing in around $5 million of production Madagascar; Avatar; Hollywood Hang. seductive pose with a towel covering his expenditure in the Tasmanian economy. DISNEY CHANNEL genitalia with the caption “wanna muk?”. Wizards of Waverly Place; The Suite Life This poster was accompanied by two oth- The 26-part television series is accompa- on Deck; As the Bell Rings; Phineas and er posters - one which states ‘What the nied by an interactive website - www.pix- Ferb; Yin Yang Yo!; That’s so Raven.