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Can’t Get No (Body) Satisfaction: Media Effects on Body Image
A version of this article will appear in the next Psychology in Action Newsletter. Turn on the TV or open a magazine these days, and chances are your eyes will be filled with images of “beauty”: ultra-thin models, men with bulging biceps and washboard abs, celebrities with perfect complexions and flawless figures. In some cases, even…
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How Food Companies Market to Children Online
Keeping children eating healthy foods is one of the most important things one can do as a parent. And one of the most difficult. It’s probably no surprise that most food companies market directly to children, spending $1.6 billion a year to do so. In fact, in 2006 the Institute of Medicine concluded that food…
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I WANT MY FAME TV: VALUES ON TV FOR CHILDREN 1967-2007
It’s an age-old refrain — adults claim that kids today are completely different from when they were growing up, usually for the worse. And that claim often extends to the TV shows that kids are exposed to – more sex, less depth, endless shows about celebrities and reality TV show stars. But hasn’t Hollywood always…
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Sexting: Should adolescents be expelled?
This post was first published on parenting in the digital age. Phones are being used by teens for sexual exploration via the exchange of sexually suggestive content (sexting). Sexting includes explicit text, and nude or semi-nude personal pictures or videos captured on a cell phone or digital camera and sent via personal texts, emails, and…
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The Psychology of Radiation Panic
A recent McClatchy-Marist poll found that nearly 6 in 10 Americans think a nuclear disaster similar to what happened in March of this year in Japan could happen here. Why do so many people suddenly think that nuclear disaster is likely? Recent research in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General might shed some light on the…
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Society For Research in Child Development – Day 2
Up to the minute reporting. This was first posted on the Society for Research in Adolescence’ website. So much interesting research to report on. Today was the day I presented at a symposium I organized that Brad Brown chaired called From Texting to Social Networking Sites to Virtual Worlds: Examining Youth Media Practices. Many of…
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Research about teen texting from Society for Research on Child Development
This was first posted on Society for Research on Adolescence’s blog… here is link if you want to read more about news from conference from other bloggers as well. SRCD in Montreal, Day 1! One of the first symposiums I attended, bright and early this morning at 8AM, was about a topic that I am…
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Parental Internet Mediation strategies. What works?
A recent study tested how different parental mediating strategies affect children’s disclosure of private information while online (Lwin, Stanaland, & Miyazaki, 2008). Privacy is a critical issue facing not just children, but also adults, but youth may not have the understanding that the Internet allows almost any digital use to leave a permanent footprint. The…
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Accurate Representations of Science: Whose Responsibility Is It?
Here’s a question that’s been on my mind lately: Whose job is it to make sure that the non-scientist consumers of science get it right? I’ve had a few discussions with various psychologists about this lately and they frequently bring up two answers to this question: (1) It’s the consumer’s job. I heard from a…
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Online Sexual Predators – Myths… and Facts
A few years ago, the popular NBC television show Dateline aired a special called To Catch a Predator, using hidden cameras to film a “parade” of men who had approached teenage girls online for a sexual liaison. The men thought they were coming to the teenager’s house when her parents were not home. After the men entered the…