Social Scientists Question Corporate Influences on Our Children

In a recent  challenging New York Times Op-Ed article, Joel Bakan, a Canadian Professor of Law, has identified a serious issue,  corporate uses of the electronic media to influence children’s  buying choices; thus threatening their psychological, social, and even their physical development.

Children between the ages of  2 and 7 see an average of  13,904 television commercials  per year, compared to 30,155 for 8 to 12 year-olds.   A significant number of these advertisements are for food and may be linked to the increase of obesity.

An article in Social Science Space, by Jerome L. Singer and Dorothy G. Singer of Yale University points to research about the negative effects violent videogames and media use by children. The Singers ask “Isn’t it time for our legal  and legislative policy-makers to pay attention to social science research in the area of children and the media?”

Read the entire article: Raising Our Children in an Electronic Media World