Suchergebnisse

Children's prosocial television shows include moral lessons in their narratives, but research suggests that children struggle to comprehend and transfer these lessons to other situations. The social intuitionist model of moral judgment, however, argues that dimensions of morality can be made more salient through environmental exposure. Using data collected from 101 parent-child dyads (children ages 4.5-6.5), we explore if children's existing moral intuitions about fairness and care may be made salient following exposure to moral lessons in a children's television show, and if parent presence and mediation aid this process. Results demonstrate that, compared with children in the control group, children who viewed the moral message either alone or with a parent experienced improvements in perspective-taking, which in turn influenced their moral judgments and moral reasoning. Thus, children's morality can be positively influenced by prosocial television exposure via promoting perspective-taking, fairness, and care.

The perpetual use of mobile devices by adolescents has fueled a culture of text messaging, with abbreviations and grammatical shortcuts, thus raising the following question in the minds of parents and teachers: Does increased use of text messaging engender greater reliance on such 'textual adaptations' to the point of altering one's sense of written grammar? A survey ( N = 228) was conducted to test the association between text message usage of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students and their scores on an offline, age-appropriate grammar assessment test. Results show broad support for a general negative relationship between the use of techspeak in text messages and scores on a grammar assessment, with implications for Social Cognitive Theory and Low-Road/High-Road Theory of Transfer of Learning. These results indicate that adolescents may learn through observation in communication technologies, and that these learned adaptations may be transferred to standard English through Low-Road transfer of learning. Further mediation analyses suggest that not all forms of textual adaptation are related to grammar assessment score in the same way. 'Word adaptations' were found to be negatively related to grammar scores, while 'structural adaptations' were found to be non-significant.

Using survey data collected from 260 children, adolescents, and young adults between the ages of 9 and 26, this paper offers evidence for a relationship between social networking site use and Imaginary Audience, a developmental variable in which adolescents believe others are thinking about them at all times. Specifically, after controlling for a number of variables, results indicate a significant, positive relationship between social networking site use and Imaginary Audience ideation. Additionally, results indicate a positive relationship between Imaginary Audience ideation and Facebook customization practices. Together, these findings provide evidence, based on Vygotskian developmental theory, for a general consideration of the role that currently available tools, in this case social networking sites, can have on development. Thus, findings implicate both the role of development on social networking site use, as well as the role of social networking site use on development. Overall, these findings have important implications for the study of media and human development, which are discussed in detail.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a detrimental impact on adolescent mental health, but few studies have explicitly compared adolescents' mental health across countries, nor have they explored how different uses of media by adolescents in different countries may serve as protective or detrimental factors. To explore these associations, we use data collected from 958 South Korean adolescents and 1,253 United States (U.S.) adolescents in spring 2022 (ages 14–18). U.S. adolescents scored higher on anxiety and loneliness, relative to South Korean adolescents, and U.S. adolescents' social media use frequency related positively to these variables. Conversely, South Korean adolescents' social media use frequency was not related to anxiety or depression, and was negatively related to loneliness. Thus, social media use appears to relate detrimentally to U.S. adolescents' mental health but relates in a more protective way to South Korean adolescents' mental health. We discuss differential social media use and country differences to contextualize these findings.

Given adolescents' heavy social media use, this study examined a number of predictors of adolescent social media use, as well as predictors of online communication practices. Using data collected from a national sample of 467 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17, results indicate that demographics, technology access, and technology ownership are related to social media use and communication practices. Specifically, females log onto and use more constructive communication practices on Facebook compared to males. Additionally, adolescents who own smartphones engage in more constructive online communication practices than those who share regular cell phones or those who do not have access to a cell phone. Overall, results imply that ownership of mobile technologies, such as smartphones and iPads, may be more predictive of social networking site use and online communication practices than general ownership of technology.

Given adolescents' heavy social media use, this study examined a number of predictors of adolescent social media use, as well as predictors of online communication practices. Using data collected from a national sample of 467 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17, results indicate that demographics, technology access, and technology ownership are related to social media use and communication practices. Specifically, females log onto and use more constructive communication practices on Facebook compared to males. Additionally, adolescents who own smartphones engage in more constructive online communication practices than those who share regular cell phones or those who do not have access to a cell phone. Overall, results imply that ownership of mobile technologies, such as smartphones and iPads, may be more predictive of social networking site use and online communication practices than general ownership of technology.

Media programing addressing controversial topics among youth has grown; however, research has yet to consider the correlates of viewing on a global scale. Using the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB), this study examined perceived norms about mental illness among a sample of 3,520 adolescent and young adult viewers and nonviewers of 13 Reasons Why in Australia/New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Brazil. We assessed the influence of viewer age and culture on the association between descriptive and injunctive mental illness norms and reports of prosocial mental health-related behaviors (e.g., talking about suicide with others). Results indicated a positive association between the number of episodes viewed and perceived norms, and among viewers, descriptive and injunctive norms related to reports of mental health-related behavior change in all regions, although the process differed based on age and culture. We conclude with implications for the predictions of the TNSB.

With increasing media choice, particularly through the rise of streaming services, it has become more important for empirical research to examine how youth decide which programs to view, particularly when the content focuses on difficult health topics such as suicide. The present study investigated why adolescents and young adults chose to view or not view season 1 of 13 Reasons Why and how individual-level variables related to adolescents' and young adults' viewing. Using survey data gathered from a sample of 1,100 adolescents and young adult viewers and non-viewers of the series in the United States, we examined how participants' resilience, loneliness, and social anxiety related to whether participants viewed the first season or not. Our descriptive results indicate that adolescents who watched the show reported that it accurately depicted the social realities of their age group, they watched it because friends recommended it, and they found the subject matter to be interesting. Non-viewers reported that they chose not to view the show because the nature of the content was upsetting to them. In addition, results demonstrated that participants' social anxiety and resilience related to participants' viewing decisions, such that those with higher social anxiety and higher resilience were more likely to report watching season 1. Together, these data suggest that youth make intentional decisions about mental health-related media use in an attempt to choose content that is a good fit for based on individual characteristics.