Monday, November 24, 2008

Holliday Media

With the holidays approaching, i'd like you to share with the group any media related traditions you have. Does your family all get together to watch something on TV. Is there any particular show you love to watch every Christmas/Thanksgiving? Why is that show/s so important to you. I know i have some favorites dating back to when i was a kid but i wonder if there are any new shows that have come on recently that will one day be a favorite for my children?

Thanks for all your responses this semester.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Video Games and Violence

So last week the topic was sex and tv. This week it's video games and violence. This is my particular research area. In addition to teaching, i conduct experiments at the university looking at what elements in a game contribute to hostile feelings. I will leave my personal feelings and findings out of this post because i don't want to persuade the group. I noticed CNN posted this article last week. So what do you think about violent video games. Are they becoming too prevalent in society? Do they contribute to violence? Can we blame them for school shootings (as the media has done several times, especially at Columbine)? If they are a negative force for children, how do we combat that? Your thoughts please.

Monday, November 3, 2008

TV and SEX

CNN published a piece today on a RAND study linking teen pregnancy to watching sex on television. First, read the piece here. After reading i want you to address a few questions.
1. Do you think the results are correct? Does watching more sex on tv lead to teen pregnancy?
2. What other factors are also leading to teen pregnancy? In the piece one person says that too many things other than parenting are always blamed for teen pregnancy. Do you agree? Could good parenting counter the effects of watching too much sex on TV.
3. Could there be a third variable going on here? Teen pregnancy is on the rise. Sex on TV is on the rise. The number of hours of TV watched is on the rise? What's going on?
4. The term Media Literacy is used. This means teaching children about the lies and manipulations that can be made in the media. (Basically you're taking a class in media literacy right now). Is there a place for this in the classroom? And how can we teach media literacy in the classroom when we are barely getting basic skills like reading and writing taught in the classroom?