“I am often approached by parents and professionals who work with children, who have heard conflicting reports about the effects of violent or sexualised media on children. Usually, they simply want to know what the scientific research has found. This book summarises the research findings in plain language. World leading scholars in disciplines such as psychology, psychiatry, neuropsychology, law and ethics discuss what we currently know about the effects of television, movies, video games, music and advertising, as well as the ethical, legal and policy implications. This book is anchored in up-to-date scientific evidence, offers plenty of helpful, practical advice, and will assist everyone with an interest in the effects of media on children to be well informed.”
Wayne Warburton
The breadth of content and diversity of contributors come together to discuss important issues raised in the book:
- John Murray on behavioural and neurological effects of viewing violence on children.
- Craig Anderson and Wayne Warburton on the effects of violent video games.
- Wayne Warburton on the effects of music and music lyrics.
- Ed Donnerstein on the impact of the internet on youth and children.
- Louise Newman on the sexualisation of youth, on the role of the media in such sexualisation, and on the potential effects of restricting the distribution of sexual themes in the mass media.
- Cordelia Fine on the roles that advertisements in the mass media – and particularly highly sexualised advertisements – play in altering children’s self images and behaviour.
- Emma Rush, philosophical ethicist, asks in the context of media effects and media regulation: Are principles or consequences more important? Is it more ethical to empower children or to protect them? What is the most ethical balance between allowing freedom of expression and protecting children from harm?
- Elizabeth Handsley exposes the difficulties of formal government regulation of violent and sexual media in societies that value free expression.
- Danya Braunstein and her colleagues make a strong plea to base regulation on empirical evidence rather than on political or even ethical positions. The evidence is in, they correctly point out, so let’s base regulation on the evidence that is in, and let’s do it now!
- Alan Hayes points out the multiply-determined nature of aggressive and violent behaviour that needs to be addressed if real reductions in violence are to be obtained.
Growing up fast and furious in a media saturated worldWayne WarburtonChildren and media violence: Behavioural and neurological effects of viewing violenceJohn P MurrayThe impact of violent video games: An overviewCraig A Anderson and Wayne A WarburtonHow does listening to Eminem do me any harm? What the research says about music and anti-social behaviourWayne WarburtonThe Internet as “Fast and Furious” ContentEd DonnersteinMessages, minds and mental contaminationCordelia FineThe Impact of Sexualisation – Knowing and Seeing Too MuchLouise NewmanChildren, Media and EthicsEmma RushThere Oughta Be A Law: The (potential) role of law and regulation in slowing down and calming downElizabeth HandsleyMedia and Social Policy: Towards an Evidence-Based Approach to Content RegulationDanya Braunstein, Julia Plumb and Wayne WarburtonA two-edged sword? The place of the media in a child friendly societyAlan Hayes and Carole JeanIndex
Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, the Governor of New South Wales, who was to launch this book but was was called to represent Australia at a state funeral in Saudi Arabia, sent a letter to the launch endorsing that the book was “timely and important” and that “I believe this book will assist parents and professionals who work with children to better navigate the opportunities and pitfalls associated with mass media use.”
Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, The Governor of NSW
This book is a must-read for all parents
Greg Smith, NSW Attorney-General
The definitive book to review the impacts of violent and sexualised media on children…
Steve Biddulph
Violent media an open book
‘There are a lot of books in the world,’ said author and father Steve Biddulph yesterday in state Parliament, motioning to all the bound copies of Hansard. ‘And this is the most boring collection in the world.’ Biddulph was speaking at the launch of Growing Up Fast and Furious, a collection of essays about the damaging effects of films, video games and other media on children.
Edited by academic Wayne Warburton and media expert Danya Braunstein, it’s a serious book, but that didn’t stop the gags. ‘Instead of TV, kids are better off climbing over the fence and playing in the bush,’ said the Attorney-General, Greg Smith. ‘If there’s any bush left. But hopefully not to shoot sparrows with slug guns, as we used to. Luckily we were bad shots.” Smith said he was glad his children, now aged 25 to 37, don’t have to grow up in today’s world, with its hyper-violent and ultra-sexual entertainment. ‘There are girls of eight and nine dressed up like tarts, I’m sorry to use that word, and they’re encouraged by rubbishy magazines,’ he said. ‘This book is a must-read for all parents.’
Biddulph gave an equally impassioned endorsement. ‘The main message of this book is that there is no debate,’ he said. ‘Violent media creates high levels of aggression.’
The Brisbane Times, 21 June 2012
The new book, Growing Up Fast and Furious, just published by The Federation Press, is an engaging, witty and thoughtful investigation of the impact media violence and hyper-sexualized advertising and role portrayals in programmes designed for children and youth.
As a Professor of Literature and Hygiene, I highly recommend this outstanding tome. In a mere 250 pages, Warburton and Braunstein have brought together an impressive collection of authors who have carefully researched every aspect of violence and sex”, said Dr. Lantern. “There should be a copy in every hygienist’s office”.
Congratulations to the Editors, Authors and Publishers for bringing this fine discussion of these issues to the attention of The Public.
Professor J.A.C. Lantern, M.D., Ph.D., FACCS, Shore Institute For Introspection
The essays in this book are the kinds of essays that are needed to move the public toward a better understanding of the effects that media can have and the kinds of policies that might ameliorate those effects. They represent an important contribution to the field.
From the Foreword by Professor L Rowell Huesmann
