Families and children are in the midst of a media revolution. Television, Internet access, instant messaging, cell phones, and interactive video games are delivering more information for more hours than ever in history. Exposure is occurring at younger and younger ages, often without parental oversight or interpretation. The impact on children is just beginning to be studied. Does media exposure prepare children for the world in which they live or deprive them of critical developmental opportunities? Does the steady display of violence contribute to violent behavior? This article presents a developmental context, discusses the research conducted to date, reviews the recommendations of major organizations, and tries to take a balanced perspective in the midst of a rising tide of media, technology; commercialism, and controversy. Read more...

Concern about the impact of media violence on children and adolescents is shared by the six signatories to the Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children: the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Psychiatric Association . Although a less well-researched medium at this point, violent video and computer games (referred to simply as video games) may have particular impact because of their actively engaging, content-generating nature . Recent content analyses suggested that up to 90% of all video games contain some sort of violent content, with at least half of these games including the potential for serious harm toward game characters . Such violent video games have become especially popular, even with relatively young children. In a recent survey of first through third graders, 53% of the children's favorite games had violent content, as rated by the children themselves (Jeanne Funk, PhD, Margaret Chan, unpublished data, 2004). In another recent survey of middle school volunteers, students listed and rated up to three favorite games using a list of six categories and descriptors developed with the help of children and adolescents and used in several previous studies. In that study, 99% of boys and 84% of girls categorized at least one of their current preferred video games as having violent content . The inescapable conclusion is that across childhood and adolescence and across gender, violent video games enjoy considerable popularity. Read more...