Although research has found that body ideals presented by the media influence women's body dissatisfaction, less is known about media's influence on men's body satisfaction. An online survey examining media use, the drive for muscularity, and internalization of appearance and body shape ideals was given to a sample of 311 participants comprised of both men and women. Results indicated (a) the m...

We describe the association between postpartum depression and the quantity and content of infant media use. Households with depressed mothers viewed twice as much television as households with non-depressed mothers did, and depressed mothers appeared to derive comparatively greater pleasure from television viewing. Maternal depression was associated with an increased exposure to child-directed ...

OBJECTIVE Television and computer game consumption are a powerful influence in the lives of most children. Previous evidence has supported the notion that media exposure could impair a variety of behavioral characteristics. Excessive television viewing and computer game playing have been associated with many psychiatric symptoms, especially emotional and behavioral symptoms, somatic complaints,...

BACKGROUND Media can influence aspects of a child's physical, social, and cognitive development; however, the associations between a child's household media environment, media use, and academic achievement have yet to be determined. OBJECTIVE To examine relationships among a child's household media environment, media use, and academic achievement. METHODS During a single academic year, data...

BACKGROUND Studies have persistently shown deficiencies in medical reporting by the mainstream media. We have been monitoring the accuracy and comprehensiveness of medical news reporting in Australia since mid 2004. This analysis of more than 1200 stories in the Australian media compares different types of media outlets and examines reporting trends over time. METHODS AND FINDINGS Between Mar...

This study examined children's media use (i.e., amount of television and Internet usage) and relationships to children's perceptions of societal threat and personal vulnerability. The sample consisted of 90 community youth aged 7 to 13 years (M = 10.8; 52.2% male) from diverse economic backgrounds. Analyses found children's television use to be associated with elevated perceptions of personal v...

What has gone wrong with America is not a random visitation of fate. It is the result of forces that have assumed control of the American system... These forces are: militarism, monopoly, and the mass media... Mass media monopolies control people by their control of information... And who can deny that we are a nation addicted to television and the constant flow of media? And not a few of us ar...

We use the structure of media markets within states and across state boundaries to study the relationship between television and electoral competition. Specifically, we compare incumbent vote margins in media markets where the content originates in the same state as the media consumers versus those where the content originates out-of-state. This contrast provides a clear test of whether televis...

BACKGROUND Both media use and cancer knowledge have been identified as important predictors of a healthy lifestyle. However, little is known about the interplay between these two variables, and about differences between cancer diagnosed and non-diagnosed consumers of media and knowledge. This study investigated the relationship between media use (television and internet exposure) and lifestyle ...

OBJECTIVE: US parents were surveyed to determine the amount of background television that their children are exposed to as well as to isolate demographic factors associated with increased exposure to background television. After this, we ask how certain home media practices are linked to children’s background television exposure. METHODS: US parents/caregivers (N = 1454) with 1 child between th...