It's Not the Media: The Truth About Pop Culture's Influence on Children

By Karen Sternheimer

Are school shootings the result of violent video games? Do sex-laden movies lead to promiscuity? Can Goth music create alienation? Repeatedly we are told the answer to these and similar questions is a resounding yes. But is this the right answer? It's Not the Media considers why media culture is a perennial target of both fascination and concern, and why we are so often encouraged to believe it is the root of many social problems. A look beyond the attention-grabbing headlines and political stumping reveals that fearing media feels right because media represents what we fear. And changes in media culture are easier to see than the complex economic, social, and political changes we have experienced over the past few decades. Digging deeper into the historical and societal trends of the past century and drawing from the most current social science research on the effects of media on children, Sternheimer presents a compelling argument that fear of social change, and what it means to be a kid in a today's media-saturated climate, lies at the heart of our media-bashing culture.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813341388
• ISBN13: 9780813341385
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Take the conversation outside of the psych lab

Insightful and well written. The author puts media into a social and historical context. This topic is typically discussed in sound bites on the evening news and in blaring headlines looking to exploit concerned parents. The concern is exploited by pscyhologists using sloppy experimental design in order to win favor of granting agencies. This book encourages parents to stop being afraid of kids, think critically about what their children are watching and doing, and have a reality check: childhood is not the sanitized version of innocence we think it is, but it is a fantastic time to learn and grow. Parents need to be willing to learn and grow as well. It is a great read and a refreshing perspective.

Part Social Criticism, Part Pop Culture Memoir

A really fun read - this book is part social criticism, part pop culture memoir. The author writes about what's wrong with some of the media effects research in a way that is actually entertaining. I wish I could have read a book like this when I was in college. It really gets you thinking.