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25 - Prosocial Media

from Part III - Development of Prosociality in Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2023

By
Laura M. Padilla-Walker ,
Hailey G. Holmgren  and
Ryan D. McLean
Edited by
Tina Malti  and
Maayan Davidov
Tina Malti
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Maayan Davidov
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Summary

Children and adolescents spend a great deal of time with a variety of media, raising the important question of whether media might influence the socialization of children. Although copious research has found consistent links between violent media content and children’s aggression, research has also found that prosocial media influences the development of prosocial behavior for both children and adolescents. Thus, in this chapter we review theoretical justifications for why and how prosocial media content impacts young people, and then synthesize existing research on the effects of different mediums of prosocial media on child outcomes. This review includes traditional media (e.g., TV, movies, video games, music, books) and new media (e.g., cell phones, tablets, social media). We then discuss the policy implications of links between prosocial media and prosocial behavior, and provide important avenues for future research.

Keywords

prosocial mediaprosocial behaviormediasocial mediaprosocial content
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Prosociality
Development, Mechanisms, Promotion
 , pp. 501 - 514
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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