New Study Labels Media Violence a Public Health Threat

 November 27, 2007

 SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer today released the following statement on the article “The Impact of Electronic Media Violence: Scientific Theory and Research,” published today in the Journal of Adolescent Health:

“Today’s kids spend nearly 45 hours per week using the media. And as any parent who has seen a PG-13 rated movie, a T- or M-rated video game, or a prime time television show lately can attest, media violence is everywhere.

“The time to debate whether media violence has an effect on kids has passed – this paper and the hundreds of other studies before it should have put that debate to rest. More than 50 years’ worth of research clearly shows that media violence does impact children, and that the consequences are serious.

“The bottom line is this: The media our kids are marinating in does matter. Parents, media producers, and even legislators need to realize that media violence isn’t passive entertainment, but something sculpting the future of our nation’s children. At the very least we have to give kids’ media consumption the same attention we give to their physical health.”

View the University of Michigan’s press release on the study

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