Media: The Third Parent? Dr. David Walsh

"One of the most powerful forces impacting families today is the media. But I don't expect you to believe that now. My primary task in the next hour is to convince you of this." So began Dr. David Walsh's keynote address at the annual conference of the National Council on Family Relations.

Most of us in the room are aware of the impact of media, and many are concerned. Dr. Walsh's presentation, though, showed us that our knowledge was too limited and our concern too small. He caught our attention and held it.

Programming the brain. Blossoming and pruning - what happens to the human brain during childhood. During frequent growth spurts, dendrites on the end of brain cells blossom or prepare to form quadrillions of new connections. When neurons connect regularly, they form pathways - shaped by the experiences that caused them to connect in the first place. When connections are not used, they dry up and die - pruning - making the other pathways work more effectively. In short: the brains of kids program themselves over time. Things that kids do often become easier and easier, while things they do rarely or not at all actually become more difficult.

The teen brain. Dr. Walsh delivered breaking news from the world of neuroscience: the blossoming and pruning continues much longer than previously believed: well into the teens and even the early 20s. The areas most affected are the prefrontal cortex - in charge of impulse control - and the amygdala - anger and emotion center. "Those of you with teenagers - does that explain anything?" (He has devoted an entire book - Why Do They Act That Way? - to the topic.) The hormonal changes of puberty are an accelerator - producing impatience and anger in young men and wide mood swings in young women. In the midst of this turmoil, their brains are blossoming - and pruning away the connections that are not used while strengthening those that are.

Media Revolution. Dr. Walsh gave us the numbers. First: technology. Video game images have improved dramatically; the new devices about to be released produce 3000 times as many polygons per second - the unit of measure for fast and realistic video games - as the ones in 1999. (No one is mentioning Pacman here.) Second: screen time. Most homes with children have 4 TVs, and 68% of school-age children have televisions in their rooms; 93% play video games on a regular basis. On a visit to South Korea, where wireless broadband is available everywhere, kids walk down the street playing video games or using YouTube or MySpace on their cell phones. It won't be long before the U.S. has mobile technology at the same level.

Results. Humans have always been shaped by stories. The stories that kids are hearing are not those of the elders, the clergy, or the sages - but of corporations whose goal is delivering eyeballs to advertisers. Using sophisticated imagery, the stories often revolve around sex, violence, and material goods. If patriotic songs make us feel patriotic, why are we surprised if the lyrics of teen music seem to correlate with increased sexual ideation and activity?

The bottom line. "Whoever tells the story, defines the culture. Media has been defining a culture for all of us, and especially for children and teens. This culture is based on four values:
More
Easy
Fast
Fun
These cultural values are eroding one of the key success traits of children: self-discipline. Self-discipline is TWICE as strong a predictor of school success as intelligence. We want children to be competent, caring, resilient, and resourceful. This takes the ability to manage my own drives, generosity - ability to put other peoples needs ahead of their own. This takes self-discipline. Our media society is eroding it in our children.

Media tips. Dr. Walsh directs the National Institute on Media and the Family, which sponsors the MediaWise web site. Brochures, parenting tips, information on media - its a resource for parents, teachers, and policy makers. One revealing tool is the Family Media Inventory that helps parents spot - and respond to - risky or unhealthy situations with their kids.

I have rarely seen so much information packaged so well in such a short period of time. If you ever have a chance to see Dr. Walsh speak - he travels a lot - I encourage you to go.