Research links TV time to children's self esteem

The popular Disney Channel show “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” features white twin boys living extravagant lives in a luxurious hotel. The program is meant to entertain, but researchers found that when kids compare their own lives to the “suite life” on screen the effect can be negative.

A study by Nicole Martins, an assistant professor at the IU Department of Telecommunications, and Kristen Harrison, professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, found a correlation between television consumption and self-esteem among children.

The study, published in the journal Communication Research, surveyed 396 white and black pre-adolescent boys and girls in Midwestern communities during a year-long period.

Researchers found that girls of both races and black boys were more likely to have low self-esteem due to media consumption.

White boys, on the other hand, felt better about themselves.

“The main finding here is that TV can hurt black children and white girls, but help white boys,” Martins said in an email. “I wasn’t surprised that we found a significant relationship between TV and self-esteem. What did surprise me, however, were the racial differences.”

Martins and Harrison attribute media racial and gender stereotypes as the cause of lower self-worth among black children and white girls while white boys experience a boosted sense of self.

“(These racial differences are) because of the depictions that exist across the television world,” said Andrew Weaver, an assistant professor in the IU Department of
Telecommunications, in an email. “White males are much more likely to be protagonists, to be successful, to have the story told from their point of view. Repeated exposure to this sort of environment can influence perceptions of one’s in-group, which in turn could influence self-esteem.”

Researchers distributed questionnaires that measured the amount of television the children consumed, their overall feelings of self-worth and their gender and racial identifications. The study did not focus on the type of programs the children watched.

Martins said children spend about seven hours per day with media. Black children in the study, however, consumed an average of 10 extra hours of television per week compared to non-black participants.

Martins said that when she conducted research for her Ph.D. at University of Illinois, existing studies focused on media impact on body image and eating disorders. She said research seemed to ignore how media affects children’s overall self-esteem and
self-evaluation.

“The study definitely has some important points to reveal to the community and to open people’s eyes about kids’ self-image,” Macon said. “Problems like depression could be addressed earlier.”

Martins advises limiting children’s media consumption.

“I’ve got two kids myself and know how difficult this can be,” Martins said. “However, as we argue in the paper, too much time in front of the screen may displace real-life experiences (e.g. playing a musical instrument, playing ball in the backyard) that could build a child’s feeling of self-worth. Another option would be to actively mediate your child’s media use so that they can more easily understand fantasy from reality.”