Politics of Hope

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Politics of Hope
Stephen Kline, Kym Stewart Shane Halasz Simon
Fraser University

• Community Mobilization Against the Risks of
  Violent Entertainment?

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Goal of this project

• We want to see if we can help make our childrens
  lives safer and healthier by reducing the risks
  associated with TV watching, Internet use and
  playing with video games

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Media Risk Reduction Website

• Show lessons for each week to be completed in the
  classroom.
• Show results of surveys and projects completed by
  students.
• Provide resources for parents, students and
  teachers.
• Including reviews of current TV programs, books
  and toys.
• Educational videos produced by SFU students

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Risky World

• High tech society increased environmental risks
• Not a matter of personal choice
• The more we know the better we can control them

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Risks to health and well-being
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Lifestyle risks

• Voluntary
• Therefore governments are reluctant to regulate
• Therefore it falls upon parental consumer

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Risk associated with new media

• Began with the diffusion of TV after WWII
• Window onto the world of knowledge
• Vast wasteland

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Health and safety risks associated with media

• Sitting in front of a computer leads to a
  increased Risk of heart attack
• Pokemon cartoon leading to Epileptic seizures

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Costs and benefits

• Homework
• Surfing pornography
• Cyber-stalking
• Email bullying

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3 lifestyle risks

• Risk to Education
• Poor grades
• Risk to Health
• Lack of fitness
• Risk of aggression and anti-social behaviour
• Bullying, being bullied, fighting, lack of social
  skills

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Risks to education

• Poor reading
• Lower grades
• Complex factors
• Childs intelligence
• Family support
• Home environment

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YRSB Reading Statistics

• A Students
• 31.3 were light viewers
• 17.1 were heavy viewers
• C Students
• 28.9 were light viewers
• 42.3 were heavy viewers

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Risk to health

• Obesity is higher among heavy TV viewers
• Especially girls

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YSRB obesity statistics

• Overweight children
• 15.2 were light viewers
• 24.5 were heavy viewers

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Correlation between media and obesity

• exposed to more snack food and fast food
  commercials
• tend to give up active leisure activities

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Perpetual Media Panic Kids Killing Kids
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missing the mark!

• School shootings are 1 of all child killings
• 17,000 dying in car accidents
• 30 obesity rate

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Surgeon General

• Americans cannot afford to become complacent.
  Even though youth violence is less lethal today
  than it was in 1993, the percentage of
  adolescents involved in violent behavior remains
  alarmingly high

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Not just an American problem

• 2001 OSDUS Mental Health Report
• 12 of students reported assaulting someone
  during last year
• 10 reported carrying a weapon to school
• 25 of students were bullied at school
• 32 reported bullying others

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Provincial Satisfaction Surveys Grade 4 Students

• At school, are you bullied, teased or picked
  on?
• 16 sometimes
• 13 many time to all the time
• Do you feel safe at school?
• 10 sometimes
• 4 few time to at no time

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7 solution why focus on the relationship
between media and violence

• Light viewers
• 30.5 aggressive
• Heavy viewers
• 37.7 aggressive
• Accounts for 1,700,000 fights

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Debate

• 50 year debate
• Media industries No causal relationship
• Kids know between fiction and reality
• Still children are exposed to 8,000 deaths and
  100,000 violent acts by the time they reach 12
  years of age.

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Canadian studies

• Media Quotient
• 57 of parents see their kids are being affected
• Media Watch
• 70 of parents said media violence was their
  highest priority

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Regulations
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Adapting Tom Robinsons Media Risk Reduction
Strategy

• Logic If the more they watch the more they are
  at riskThen reducing the amount kids watch
  should reduce aggression on the playground.

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Design of Intervention

• Eighteen 30-50 minute lessons
• media time budgets kept
• TV turn off week
• Peer advocacy of alternatives
• Parental newsletter- parental support

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Results of Robinsons approach

• 25 reduction of aggression on the playground
• Decrease in fear and anxiety
• Decreases in peer ratings of aggression
• Slower weight gain
• More active leisure

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Think globally act locally

• Increasing deregulation
• Community based program
• Help to reduce risks associated with media
• Well designed social communication campaign
• Help kids to cut down their media use for one week

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Media as part of Childrens Lives

• Media is embedded in childrens routines
• Part of their social and family life

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Media Environment

• Media is not their preferred activities
• Rather be with friends or family
• Rely on media because of boredom

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Part of Peer Culture

• Media has become a shared experience
• Discussion of shows or games among peers
• Need to make non-media activities just as COOL as
  media activities

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Home environment

• Habits are developed within a family dynamic
• Media in the bedroom
• Laissez faire attitude

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Key points for success

• Parental involvement
• know the risks
• support with negotiation and modelling
• create alternatives
• Media Education
• Create realistic goals and expectations
• Peer discussion and decision making
• Provides feedback and structures rewards
• Working with other community resources to provide
  alternatives
• Health
• RCMP
• Recreation centers
• library

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Lesson 1 Reflexivity

• Media audit
• Time spent with the media
• media audit for students and teachers
• Optional media audit for parents
• Inclass activities like media math to help
  reflect on time spent with the media

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Lesson 2 Moral Education

• To help the students understand and discuss the
  rules and limitations they deal with when playing
  rough and tumble games.
• Using video clips of scenarios (playing versus
  bullying)
• Talk to the students about negotiating play rules
  and what happens when a play activity get too
  rough

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Lesson 3 Scripting and Re-scripting

• To help the students understand the terms
  characters and roles in the media and in real
  life.
• Using video clips or story discuss the options a
  character may have in dealing with a problem
• Simpsons cartoon-Barts bullying incidences

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Lesson 4 Heroes/Heroines and Villains

• To make the students aware of the roles
  characters play on TV, in movies and on
  computer/video games
• Activities may include art projects, story
  writing, surveys and parent-child interviews

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Media Tune Out week

• Challenge the students to Tune Out media for one
  week
• Prior to this week discuss other activities they
  can do
• Parental workshops will help to provide
  alternative activities and support for the
  families during this time

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Final interviews

• Children, teachers and parents will be
  interviewed on the media risk strategies
• Data will be collected and analyzed
• Changes will be made
• Further funding will be sought to continue the
  program