Research shows
that just about everyone over the age of five years old
can tell the difference between real life experience and
something that an actor or a cartoon character does on TV.
Even so, our conscious knowledge that something we see in
a video game or movie is mere pretending does not discount
its importance as a stimulus for our brains.
Generally speaking, for the brain, a stimulus is a stimulus.
Recent research shows that media depictions of scenes trigger
the same hormone and brain activation responses in the brain
as the real thing. Whether it comes from a real life or
it is simply something we see on an electronic screen, our
brains are wired and shaped by everything we experience.
In other words, how we choose to spend our time really does
influence who we become.
Actually, this is truer for some people than it is for others.
The media have the greatest impact on brains during their
growth spurts. As I revealed last month, contrary to what
we previously thought, we now know that those growth spurts
continue through the teenage years. As I explain in my new
book, Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival Guide to the
Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen, the teen brain
is not the same as an adult brain. For example, nicotine,
alcohol and drugs affect the teen brain differently because
it's under construction. Even an exasperated look from a
parent is processed differently by the teen brain than it
is by an adult brain. The same is true for media.
If teenagers spend their waking hours immersed in violent,
crude, and lewd images their brains will be influenced by
these experiences. Instead of shaping their brains with
positive attitudes and values they'll wire their brains
with disrespect and degradation. So what's a parent to do?
Here's a survival guide on media for you and your teen:
Make sure you have sensible rules limiting the amount
of time your kids spend with media.
Keep the video games, TVs, and computers out of kids'
bedrooms.
Understand and use the media rating systems.
Talk with your kids about music lyrics or video images
you find objectionable.
Make clear rules concerning Internet use and monitor
your child's use.
The entertainment media probably already play a big role in
the life of your kid. Even if your kid drenches his brain
in violence and sexually explicit images every day, it's not
too late. The time is always right to help your teen develop
good media habits, even if his brain is in the midst of a
major growth spurt. Making good media choices when the brain
is still growing can go a long way to making a healthy life
later on.
David Walsh, Ph.D. is the founder of the
MediaWise Movement, a program of the National Institute
on Media and the Family (www.mediafamily.org).
His latest book, Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival
Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen
is available at all major booksellers.
