“I’ve seen lots of news stories linking adolescent social media use to bad mental health outcomes. What’s the connection between these things?”
Technology & Entertainment Q&A
Should I be concerned that my young son has been spending a lot of time watching violent cartoons and playing with the “spin-off” action figures marketed by the shows’ producers? How do you think these programs and products affect the attitudes and behavior of children?
What can we do to encourage our school-age son to get away from the television and computer screen and spend more time playing outdoors? We’re getting worried about his health and fitness, and we’d like to know how we can motivate him to become more active. So far all of our “nagging” hasn’t helped a …
What’s the best way to stop a teenager from using her cell phone to send and receive sexually explicit messages and photos? We recently discovered that our daughter has become involved in “sexting.” When confronted about this, she claimed that this kind of activity is harmless since it doesn’t involve any physical sexual contact. How …
Should I allow my teenage son to continue his involvement with the role-playing game “Dungeons and Dragons?” I don’t know a great deal about it, but I do know that it’s beginning to eat up more and more of his time, and that concerns me. Am I worrying too much?
How can I know for sure whether my child has become a target of intimidating text messages or cruel rumors on social media? Are there any tell-tale signs? If it turns out my child is being cyber-bullied, what can I do to help?
Am I right to be concerned about my 16-year-old daughter’s obsession with texting? In the past two weeks she has sent or received over 3,000 text messages. So far it hasn’t affected her school grades, but I worry that this much texting is excessive and unhealthy. What should we do?
How can we steer our adolescent son away from media that portray gruesome violence and help him make better entertainment choices? He’s fascinated with horror stories – both books and films. We’re concerned that he’s filling his mind with disturbing ideas and images, but he says it’s all just harmless fun. What do you think?
As parents of a 2- to 3-year-old, how do we begin placing healthy limits on our child’s exposure to television, video games, and the Internet? We’ve heard a lot about the negative impact of electronic media on adolescents and pre-teens, and we want to start encouraging good habits in this area as early as we …
What’s your opinion on teens getting involved in social networking and online chat rooms? I’ve read some of the teen conversations on the sites my daughter wants to visit, and they seem relatively harmless. But I’m still afraid of losing control over my child’s interactions with her peers. Should I be concerned?
As a parent of a teenager, is “sexting” something that I need to be concerned about? I’ve heard a few stories about this on the news, but I’ve never felt that my daughter would be susceptible to temptations of this kind. We haven’t talked about it because I’m really not up to speed on the …
Can a one-time viewing of a violent or sexually explicit film or TV show have negative long-term effects on children? I just learned my grade-schooler saw an inappropriate cable movie while spending the day at a friend’s house. What should I do and how can I prevent this happening in the future?
How should I respond to my child’s fascination with evil characters? He’s only three years old, but whenever he plays make-believe, he always takes on the role of the villain, and the only action-figures toys he wants are those representing “bad guys.” In response, we’ve completely phased movies and television out of his life, but …
Can the nightly news reports about war, murder, rape, and urban gang activity have a negative effect on kids? I try not to let my children watch too much of this, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. Am I right to be concerned?
Is there anything my husband and I can do to undo or minimize the devastation our teenage daughter has experienced because of her involvement with “sexting”? Her life – and our entire family’s – was turned upside-down when nude images of her were electronically circulated around her school. As you can imagine, the resulting emotional trauma has …
What are some things I can do to discourage my teen from engaging in “sexting”? I’ve become increasingly worried as I’ve read about the rise in this kind of activity among kids. I’m also aware that the consequences can be extremely serious. At the same time, I’m not sure that there’s anything I can do …
What’s your perspective on boys playing with plastic rifles and pistols and other make-believe firearms? I’ve always been against toy guns because I think they encourage a tendency toward violent behavior later in life. Some of my friends don’t agree. What do you think?
How can our family establish some workable media standards? I understand the need for thoughtful discernment in this area as opposed to mindless rules, but sometimes I feel the need for more solid guidelines in order to gauge the merits of movies and music and to weigh specific decisions about appropriate family entertainment. Can you …