Medias Impact on Health and Wellbeing

Karen Johnston Healthy Communities Partnership

Weight of a Nation

My Goals
Provide a view of what the influences are out there that impact our health and wellness (especially as it applies to our youth) Focus on advertising and how it affects choices (especially with regard to food/drink) Understand media literacy for ourselves and for our youth

A couple of things to think about

What forms of media are in your day to day life?

Lets list them

How much are you influenced by these things?

On a scale of 1-10 how much attention do you pay?

How much to you deny their influence?

Do you know more than you think you do?

Lets look at a couple of tag lines and symbols

Mmm-mmm good! Good to the Last Drop Hey,Mikey likes it!

My bologna has a first name

No one can eat just one

Ads have power because they:

Normalize-make

activity look routine, natural Glamorize-make product have desirable qualities: popularity, success, independence, maturity, celebrations, relaxation, and escape from reality.

Ad Crazy
Superbowl Ads: In 2012 40% of the top 10 ads were related to food or drink. Each 30 second slot costs 3.5-4.0 million dollars Of the Top 25 Superbowl Ads of all time: 65% are related to food or drink (at least one of these also promotes violence)

Lets look:

Advertising $
1.4 Billion McDonalds 1.0 Billion Pepsi 200 Million Hershey Foods 2 Million 5 a Day Campaign at its peak in advertising

(All figures from 2001)

AD Crazy

Media and youth

Two most common ways to market food (school and advertising) Food is the most common product advertised on childrens television (50%) of all ads Children view as many as 40,000 commercials each year. Majority of foods advertised to children are high in calories, fat and salt

Kids and TV
Children watch an average of 10,000 hours of TV a year. Correlation between the number of hours of TV watched and children who are overweight. Children and youth are the adult consumers of the future, making them a valuable target group.

Children and Advertising

Fast food restaurants TV ads target kids YouTube

Researchers have found

modest

evidence that media consumption contributes to the problems of obesity Modest to strong evidence that it contributes to drinking and smoking Strong evidence that it contributes to violence

Youth Culture
Flashes and movement, constant motionImages appear and disappear Music loudness, Chaos Information coming from: facebook, my space, advertising, tv, movies, videos, magazines, cell phones, text messages, friends, parents, school, pop-up ads, online ads, you-tube, peer pressure, keeping up with the Joneses

Youth Culture
Multi tasking with an ADD or ADHD generation Age of technology ever changing Teens throughout time have focused on

Friends over Family Popularity Social Trends Peer Pressure Body image

Using Youth Culture

Advertisers are using teen culture to advertise and target consumers in new and creative ways.

Youth are the ads themselves.

The new S/S 2009 ad campaign for Calvin Klein jeans featuring a bunch of hot and sweaty denim clad models getting steamy with each other has apparently been banned by US TV for being too sexy

Not Affected

Teens (and adults) believe they are not influenced by the media. Teens are not affected yet Popular snacks for teens (risky/cool commercials) Ipods and technology (popular trend) Youtube (re-make of commercials, music videos etc.) Clothes (sex is selling clothes/lack of clothes in ads)

Advertising & FoodSupersize me

TV ads TV shows (American Idol) Movies (Juno) Magazines Clothing Toys Prizes Others Ads use: humor, violence, various age groups, superstars, sex

Lets break down what we see

Media

producers want you to feel when you view their product. Sexy Relaxed Self-confident entertained

Techniques used to sell/entertain

Sexy Macho-ism Humor Glamour and wealth Shock

Messages can be overt or subtle

Through Sex, Music

Through superstars

Through Humor?

Yeah I know all that.

Now What???

MEDIA LITERACY
Allows you to question what you see and hear. It is the process of analyzing, evaluating and creating messages in a variety of media modes, genres and forms. Teens, like adults, do not feel they are influenced by the media around them but

Breaking it down
STAGE 1(Media Literacy)
Becoming aware of why it is important to limit the amount of time spent with TV, videos, electronic games, the Internet, films and various print media. Sowhy is it important? Kids age 8 to 18 spend an average of 6 to 8.5 hours, daily using various forms of media, including: TV, videos, movies, radio, print media, cell phones, computers, video game and the internet.

Stage 2
Learning

specific skills of critical viewing, such as analyzing, and questioning whats in the frame (the perspective brought to the subject) how its constructed and what may have been left out

Exploring Stage 2: SKILL BUILDING

All media is constructed, conveys value messages and has a financial interest At a Glancetesting your knowledge Take 10-15 seconds to look at the following advertisements. Based on your impression at that point, write down on your worksheet, what product you believe is being marketed

Key Questions
1.

2.

3.

4.

Who created the message? What creative techniques are used to attract my attention? How might different people understand this message differently? What values, lifestyles and points of view are

The

rd 3

stage

Exploring

deeper issues of who produces the media we experience and why. Questions to explore include:
Who

profits? Who loses? Who decides?

What is this ad for?

What does it say to you? Is there a hidden message; what is it?

What we can do
Be a good role model: Fill the fridge and cupboards with healthy choices Eat breakfast every morning Pack healthy lunches for school and work Make time to eat as a family Plan activities and time away from TV, computers and other media

Supportive Environments

In schools: Lobby decision makers to make changes in cafeterias, fund raising, special food days. Eliminate vending machines and food advertising in schools In Communities: Encourage the use of fresh foods; start or support a local farmers market. Start a fresh food co-op. Other programs: build raised beds; teach families how to cook fresh foods

Supportive Environments
At home: Watch TV as a family; use mute during commercials (use this time to talk about your/their day) Talk to your kids/others about media influence. Pay attention to the magazines and books they read; music they listen to.

Buy ME That Helping Kids Understand TV Advertising

After today:

The

th 4

stage

Creating

and producing ones own media message to counter the intended message For example: a cigarette ad could be recast to focus on tobaccos effects on health At this point the participant becomes an advocate

Other Resources
Supersize Me Weight of a Nation Buy Me That Killing Us Softly (#4) Electronic Media and Youth ViolenceA CDC Brief How Media Affects Childrens Eating Medialit.org

Weight of a Nation

THANK YOU FOR COMING!!

We hope that we were able to enlighten you That you are able to critically analyze the media you are exposed to and

That you will be able to talk with those around you about the impact that media doesnt have in their lives!

Feel free to contact us for additional information

Karen

Johnston (Healthy Communities Partnership) kpjohn.hcp@gmail.com

(717)

264-1470

Things to think about

Whats good, whats not? How would you sell? What do you change?

What can you say about the product?

How do you sell the product while removing the negative messaging?

Remember the Questions

What techniques get your attention?

What are the values, lifestyles, points of view?

Things to think about

Whats good, whats not? How would you sell? What do you change?

What can you say about the product?

How do you sell the product while removing the negative messaging?

Remember the Questions

What techniques get your attention?

What are the values, lifestyles, points of view?

Things to think about

Whats good, whats not? How would you sell? What do you change?

What can you say about the product?

How do you sell the product while removing the negative messaging?

Remember the Questions

What techniques get your attention?

What are the values, lifestyles, points of view?

Things to think about

Whats good, whats not? How would you sell? What do you change?

What can you say about the product?

How do you sell the product while removing the negative messaging?

Remember the Questions

What techniques get your attention?

What are the values, lifestyles, points of view?

Remember the Questions

What techniques get your attention? What are the values, lifestyles, points of view?

Things to think about

Whats good, whats not?; How would you sell? What do you change?; What can you say about the product? How do you sell the product while removing the negative messaging?

Body Image and Men

Do men and boys experience body image issues? Robin circa 1960

and again in the Lets look at Batman and 1990s

Media is impacting teens through

Music

Margaritaville

Remember the Questions

Who created it?; What techniques get your attention?; How will understanding vary?; What are the values, lifestyles, points of view?; Why this message?

Body Image

PRACTICE

Things to think about

Whats good, whats not? How would you sell? What do you change?

What can you say about the product?

How do you sell the product while removing the negative messaging?

Remember the Questions

What techniques get your attention?

What are the values, lifestyles, points of view?