Conference proceedingsYouth and digital media: a policy research agenda
Section snippets
The policy-research connection
Several recent legislative and regulatory decisions provide examples of how research can contribute to the adoption of media policies for children and youth. The 1996 legislation requiring V-chips in all new television sets relied heavily on the decades of scientific research on the effects of media violence on youth, and the Congressional testimony of hundreds of experts over the years (11). Research conducted by the National Television Violence Study outlining the contextual elements of media
Policy research for the digital age
Although research might not always have an immediate effect in Washington, it is clear that non–market-based studies have an important role to play, especially with the new media. A comprehensive policy agenda is needed, moreover, to promote the positive potential and minimize the harms of new digital media in the lives of youth. It is important to build in research from the beginning and adopt a long-term public-policy strategy. If scholars are to have an effect, they will need to keep abreast
Equitable access to technology
Ensuring that all youth have equitable access to the new digital technologies is a goal that should remain at the forefront of public discussion and debate. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 created a policy for lowering the costs of linking schools and libraries to the Internet (11). However, this is only a first step and a small part of a much broader issue. For example, are there different levels and kinds of access that need to be considered (e.g., home vs. school)? As technology becomes
Imagining the digital future
So much of the policy debate over youth and the Internet has revolved around issues of pornography and predatation, that public attention has been diverted away from other important areas 38, 39. Here I have identified only a handful of the many policy issues that should be included in a research agenda for youth. In addition to those, a wide range of other important topics need to be explored, including the role of new media in education, health care, and job preparation for youth. New issues,
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