Issues in the Media

Editor: Justin Healey
ISBN 978 1 921507 10 6
Year 2009

Price: $20.95

  

Issues in the Media
Volume 300, Issues in Society

The media is a constant and pervasive presence in most people’s lives. The influence of the media is difficult to overstate. As seasoned mass consumers, Australians rarely seem to question the effects of the media, in terms of its saturation and ethics. What are the social impacts of the media on Australian society? What role does the media play as purveyor and self-regulator of our news, information and entertainment? The internet and TV soak up large amounts of leisure time – as Australians become increasingly overweight, should we reduce our screen time? This book examines a broad range of media issues relating to their social impacts, including: censorship, free speech and freedom of the press; media ownership concentration; advertising and journalistic standards; privacy and celebrity worship; mass media classification and regulation, including government-regulated internet filtering; protecting children from exposure to junk food advertising, sex and violence.

Chapter 1: Media Use, Standards and Regulation
Australian families with children are 'media-rich', research finds, Media use by girls and boys, Children's use of technology, Media pressure, Traditional media and the new media audience, Journalistic practices and the quality of journalism, Media ownership, Broadcasting complaints, Online content regulation, Classification categories and markings.

Chapter 2: Media Impacts on Young People
Television and children, Raising children in a commercial culture, Fed up with junk food advertising, Junk food ads to stay: regulator, Advertising – an overview, Short-term and long-term effects of violence in the media, Adult world must let girls be girls, Sexualisation and children: it's time people acted their age, Porn everywhere, new study shows, Cybersmart tips for parents and families, What are the dangers of internet addiction?, Social networking – staying safe online, Internet use and social networking by young people.

Glossary; Fast Facts; Web Links; Index



fast facts
FAST FACTS from this volume
  • Most families with children aged 8 to 17 have three or more televisions in their home and three or more mobile phones. Almost every family home has a computer (98%) and DVD player (97%).
  • Nine-in-ten family homes with children have the internet, and 76% of these homes have broadband compared to just 7% in 1995. More than three-quarters of family homes have a games console.
  • Almost all parents with children aged 8 to 17 see the internet as beneficial for their children, mainly as providing learning or educational opportunities. Similarly, four-fifths of these parents see benefits in their child’s use of a mobile phone, particularly for safety and security.
  • Families say electronic media and communications activities take up around half of young people’s total discretionary time – a proportion that has not changed since 1995.
  • Almost all households with children aged 8-17 have a television (over 99%): these households have an average of 2.8 televisions per home.
  • About a third of households (32%) have access to subscription TV.
  • 77% of households have a games console, representing an increase from 58% in 1995. There is an average of one console per home.
  • Just under a half of households (48%) have a hand-held gaming device, an increase from 39% in 1995.
  • Almost nine-in-ten households (89%) have a VCR, showing a small decline from 93% in 1995.
  • Almost one-quarter (23%) of households have a DVD recorder.
  • Almost all households have a computer (98%) representing a substantial increase from 59% in 1995. This year, there is an average of 1.8 computers per home.
  • Almost all households with children have a mobile phone (97% compared to 22% in 1995). In 2007, there are 2.9 mobile phones per home.
  • More than half (56%) have a mobile phone with advanced features (e.g. with access to the internet, video).
  • Three-quarters (76%) have a portable MP3 or MP4 player.
  • On average, children 8-17 years spend about one and quarter hours online every day. For teenagers 15-17 years, this is just under two and a half hours a day. The internet does not take up as much time for the younger children in ACMA’s study: 8-11 year olds spend 30 minutes a day online.
  • More than four-in-ten young people (42%) say they have posted their own material online. Among 14-17 year olds, a majority of both girls (72%) and boys (52%) have their own profile on a social networking site.
  • In 2007 boys and girls both spent about half of their discretionary time on electronic media and communication activities.
  • Watching television is the most time-consuming activity for both boys (an average of one hour 58 minutes per day) and girls (one hour 50 minutes).
  • Boys watched an average 20 minutes less television per day in 2007 than they did in 1995.
  • Total screen time – i.e. time spent using a television screen or computer monitor – was higher for boys (an average four hours 15 minutes per day) than girls (three hours 51 minutes).
  • More boys (82%) played video or computer games than girls (58%), and boys spent significantly more time playing them (an average 55 minutes per day for boys, 24 minutes for girls).
  • Playing games against other players online was the only internet activity where boys had higher participation than girls (28% and 18% respectively).
  • The amount of time 3-4 year old children were reported to watch television was categorised as: low if children watched less than 280 minutes per week (this equates to approximately four and a half hours); medium if children watched between 281 and 570 minutes a week (between four and a half and nine and a half hours); and high if children watched more than 570 minutes per week (more than nine and a half hours). Approximately a third of the sample fell into each of these categories.
  • One in three children with high levels of television watching often turned the television on themselves, compared with one in five children with medium or low levels of television viewing. A higher proportion of children with low levels of television watching never turned the television on themselves (32%) compared with children with high levels of television watching (19%).
  • On TV programs can contain up to 15 minutes of ads per hour – which is about 30 ads per hour; in 2.5 hrs of watching per day (the Australian average) that’s 75 ads – which adds up to 27,000 ads per year (and that doesn’t include within-program product placement). The majority of these TV ads are likely to be for: fast foods; sugary, salty, fatty snacks; sugary soft drinks; and toys linked to TV shows or movies, with many designed for violent play.
  • Around 54% of TV food ads aired between 6am and 9pm are for unhealthy foods. The volume of unhealthy food ads increases when children are most likely to be viewing – early evening and Saturday mornings.
  • Repeated viewing and use of violent media increase the risks that children and young people will, in both the short and long term: choose to use violence to solve conflict; be desensitized to violence in real life and be less likely to help victims of violence; become anxious and fearful about the world they live in.
  • The Australian Institute of Criminology says there is a “very high” chance that Australian teenagers will be exposed to pornography before the age of 18 – the legal age to view and purchase explicit sexual material.
  • Social networking and other related online communication activities comprised 64% of young people’s total internet time (an average of 49 minutes per day on these activities).
  • Most parents (76%) had rules, understandings or agreements around their child’s internet use.