Poster Session

Frances Fleming-Milici

Adolescents’ Engagement with Unhealthy Food and Beverage Brands on Social Media

In a cross-sectional, self-reported online survey, 1564 adolescents (ages 13-17) described their social media engagement with fast food, sugary drink, snack, and candy brands. This study examined associations between brand engagement, sociodemographic variables (race/ethnicity, acculturation, age, gender, and parent education), and screen time (daily TV viewing time and time spent on other screens, including smartphones, tablets, and computers).
Seventy percent of adolescents reported engaging with food and beverage brands on social media, more than one-third engaged with ≥5 brands, and Black and less acculturated Hispanic adolescents were more likely than non-Hispanic White adolescents to engage with brands. Models including sociodemographic variables and screen use as predictors of brand engagement showed that: watching TV ≥2 hours daily was associated with following ≥1 brands; and using other screens ≥4 hours daily was associated with following ≥5 brands. Younger teens are engaging with brands to the same degree as older ones, even though they spend 30 minutes less per day on screens. Disproportionate engagement among Black and less acculturated Hispanic youth is of special concern. Findings suggest policies to reduce adolescents’ TV food and beverage ad exposure may reduce youth engagement with brands on social media.

Frances M. Fleming-Milici and Jennifer L. Harris
(Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, University of Connecticut)

Kristen Harrison

Child Media Use for Somatosensory Regulation and Implications for Family Media Conflict: Findings from Two Parent Surveys

This work is based on sensory curation theory, which conceptualizes media devices as tools that both children and adults use to maintain sensory regulation by simultaneously capturing and curbing different visual, auditory, and movement/activity/tactile input in environments that may otherwise feel intolerable. This team describes a new theory, based on the concept that sensory curation functions alongside informational, emotional, and relational gratifications to influence child media habits, with the goal of better understanding why media attachments can develop early in life, and why distress and conflict may arise for some children when adults come between them and their devices. The team also describes measures pertinent to sensory curation. Two surveys validated such measures, and identified links with problematic child media use and family media conflict. In the first survey, child media sensory curation strongly predicted problematic child media use and moderately predicted adult-child media conflict. The second survey replicated those findings. Children with disorders associated with sensory imbalances had higher scores on device usage, sensory curation, problematic media use, and adult-child media conflict. These findings point to the need to adjust children’s non-media environments to meet the sensory needs for which they might otherwise depend on media devices, in order to minimize their distress when those devices are removed.

Kristen Harrison, Amelia Couture Bue, Halie Wenhold, Jessica D. Moorman
(Communication Studies, University of Michigan)

Jiutong Luo

Defining and Measuring Media Multitasking With a New Scale for Chinese Adolescents

Media multitasking behavior is extremely popular among Chinese adolescents. Such behavior has been found to be related to low cognitive control, low wellbeing, and poor academic performance. In a study of subjects engaged in two simultaneous media activities, particular effects associated with heavy multitasking included worse performance on attention, working memory, and switching tasks (indicating poor cognitive control). However, without a comprehensive and widely accepted definition of media multitasking, it is hard to make comparisons among different studies or run longitudinal investigations. This study defined media multitasking along three dimensions: (i) multitasking between media and media activities; (ii) multitasking between media and non-media activities; (iii) concertation without multitasking. That definition was used to develop and validate a new media multitasking scale for Chinese adolescents, using data gathered from a sample of 1140 such subjects.

Jiutong Luo (Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong)
Hui Li (Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong;
Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University)

Cindy Russell

Defining and Measuring Media Multitasking With a New Scale for Chinese Adolescents

Jiutong Luo (Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong)
Hui Li (Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong;
Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University)

Jungyun Hwang

Differences in Cognitive Function at Baseline and in Response to Short Bouts of Exergaming Play Between Lean and Overweight-Obese Children

This study examined (i) the relationship between Body Mass Index (“BMI”) and cognitive performance (inhibitory control) at baseline, and (ii) cognitive changes experienced by lean and overweight-obese children following short bouts of exergaming play. Study participants included 44 children ages 8-12. Each child took cognitive tests before and after playing games in Shape Up (via the Kinect sensor on an Xbox One console), and wore two ActiGraph activity monitors and a Polar heart rate monitor. At baseline, higher BMI percentile was significantly correlated with slower reaction time in total conditions, Word condition, and Interference condition, but was not correlated with response accuracy. Lean and overweight-obese children played a similar amount of games with similar intensity and duration. Post-play, obese-overweight children showed much bigger improvements than their lean counterparts. This was probably due to the fact that they had more room for improvement. Since regular and intense physical activities have a positive impact on cognitive improvement, long-term exergaming interventions are needed to maximize the physical activity effect on children’s obesity and their cognitive development.

Jungyun Hwang, Samantha Gutiérrez-Arango, Austin Fernandez, Amy Shirong Lu
(Health Technology Lab, College of Arts, Media and Design and Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University)

Jungyun Hwang

Disparities in Physical Activity Behavior Through a Short-Term Active Video Game Intervention in Health-Weight vs. Overweight-Obese Children

This study evaluated measure the step count, heart rate, number of active game mini-games played, and total duration of active video game play for age- and gender-matched overweight-obese children and normal weight children. The experimental period consisted of three visits to a facility equipped with the Shape Up active video game on an Xbox One console equipped with the Kinect sensor (on the use of which study participants were trained in a preliminary session). Each child in the study wore two ActiGraph activity monitors and a Polar heart rate monitor. Compared to their normal weight peers, the overweight-obese children produced fewer steps, played fewer mini-games and played for a shorter time, but there was no significant difference in the two groups’ average heart rates. Behavioral disparities indicated that the overweight-obese children were less engaged in their active video gaming and got less physical activity (probably due to their poorer motor competence, and possibly due to their greater susceptibility to fatigue). This indicates that childhood obesity may impair or delay children’s development of healthy physical activity behavior. Interventions for childhood obesity prevention should include strategies tailored to the different needs of different weight groups.

Jungyun Hwang, Austin Fernandez, Samantha Gutiérrez, Amy Shirong Lu
(Health Technology Lab, College of Arts, Media and Design and Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University)

Karen Dill-Shackleford

Evidence from a Sample of Youth of Color That the Film ‘Black Panther’ Can Effect Youth Well-Being and Empowerment Via Increased Ethnic Identity

In a sample of academically successful, racially diverse youths, the investigators measured ethnic identity, empowerment, and well-being before and after the study subjects saw the film “Black Panther”. Participants’ level of pre-film ethnic identity predicted their post-viewing well-being and empowerment. Although viewers’ identification with the film’s hero was uniformly high, and the effect of film exposure on well-being and empowerment was positive for non-white participants, it was statistically significant only for the Black/African American participants. Well-being decreased among White viewers but the changes were not significant.

Carlos Allende-González, Karen E. Dill-Shackleford, Cynthia J. Vinney, Lauren Keller (Media Psychology, Fielding Graduate University) and Lawrence M. Drake (LEADership, Education and Development, Leadprogram.org)

Adriana Bus

From Picture Storybooks to E-books: A New Opportunity Rather Than a Threat?

The effects of picture storybooks, which combine illustrations and oral narration, may be explained as an example of multimedia learning. E-books include additional features (such as animation) that enhance multimedia learning. Camera movements and motion guide children’s visual attention through the illustrations to emphasize the sequence of events and the relationship between words and images. Education apps (including e-books) also commonly incorporate auditory components. Music and background sounds define characters’ moods, make the mental model of story events more coherent, and reinforce it. The reader hears characters doing what the narration describes. Building upon Paivio’s dual channel model, we may hypothesize that digital enhancements facilitate understanding of narration. Schotz’s integrated model suggests that sound, music, and visual information have similar effects, because they all help to organize and structure a mental model of what the narration describes (and thus, facilitate comprehension). On the other hand, music and background sounds may be using the same auditory channel as oral narration, which may cause auditory masking. This may adversely affect a young listener’s ability to isolate unknown words from the speech stream and learn them from book reading. A meta-analysis of six small studies from five countries tested the effects of animated illustrations, sound, and music. This research extends knowledge of multimedia learning principles that increase the efficacy of digital storybooks for young children.

Adriana G. Bus (VU University, Taal Literatuur Communicatie)
Kathleen Roskos (John Carroll University)

Daniel Hipp

Mind-Craft: How Digital Media Experience Changes the Visual Mind

Visual perception fundamentally depends on statistical regularities in the environment to make sense of the world. For example, most natural scenes contain slightly more horizontal and vertical information than oblique information. This orientation anisotropy is likely a primary reason for the “oblique effect” (that fact that people perceive canonical visual information than they perceive the oblique kind). Recent changes in the visual environment, including the “carpentered” content in urban scenes and the framed, caricatured content in digital screen media, may have changed the level of orientation anisotropy in natural scenes. Two experiments evaluated whether digital visual experiences, or visual experiences with framed digital content, altered the magnitude of the oblique effect. In the first study, a novel eye tracking method indexed the visual oblique effect, In the second, the distribution of orientation information in natural, urban, and digital scenes was compared, confirming that the orientation statistics in the digital scenes were highly caricatured. Finally, subjects were tested to determine whether exposure to video games changed their visual orientation perception in the short term. Those who played video games for 4 straight hours experienced a significant change in their canonical contour detection speed, and the nature of that change could be directly predicted by the orientation statistics of their screen experiences. This showed that exposure to realistic, but caricatured, scene statistics in digital screen media can alter visual contour perception. In more technical terms, mass exposure to orientation anisotropy stimuli changes visual responsivity to orientation information in a manner reflecting statistics of experience. Low orientation anisotropy experience improves fluency with oblique contours. More broadly, visual perception is deeply impacted by exposure to digital media.

Daniel Hipp (Infant and Child Studies Lab, Psychology Dept., Binghamton University; Laboratory for Clinical and Translational Research in Psychiatry, Denver VAMC)
Sarah Olsen, Alecia Moser, Peter Gerhardstein
(Infant and Child Studies Lab, Psychology Dept., Binghamton University)

Nicholas Santer

Norms for Masspersonal Communications on Social Media Among U.S. Emerging Adults

Masspersonal communication on social media is disrupting the boundary between interpersonal and mass communication. The purposes of this study were to examine emerging adults’ norms for masspersonal communication on social media, and to test whether privacy concerns, narcissism, and self-monitoring drive perceptions of those norms. Vignettes were presented to 663 U.S. college students to measure the perceived appropriateness of seven kinds of masspersonal self-expression (emotions, political views, social events, romantic affection, professional achievements, location, and sexy photos). Participants also were assessed for privacy concerns, narcissistic personality, and self-monitoring. Professional achievement was considered the most appropriate topic for masspersonal communication on social media. Political views, romantic affection, and social events also were considered appropriate. Emotions, location, and sexy photos were not. Narcissism and privacy concerns predicted endorsement of self-expression in the directions hypothesized. Self-monitoring was associated with endorsement of self-expression only regarding the topics found appropriate by the overall sample, and endorsement of self-censorship in the inappropriate ones. These findings indicate that shared norms exist regarding masspersonal communication, that they inform emerging adults’ behavior, and that individual motivations (related to narcissism, privacy concerns, and self-monitoring), influence how those norms are understood.

Nicholas D. Santer (Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz)
Adriana Manago (Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz)
Christina Shane-Simpson (Psychology, University of Wisconsin – Stout)
Kristen Gillespie-Lynch (College of State Island; Psychology, Graduate Center, CUNY)

Kara Bagot

Qualitative Study: Social Media Use & Perceptions Among 10-13 Year Olds

As part of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study, two semi-structured focus groups (each consisting of 25 10-13 year olds) were convened. Their facilitated discussions covered the following topics: social media terminology and identification; functions and perspectives on media platforms; followers, friends, and connections; security and passwords; and overall perceptions about social media. Participants identified YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat as their most frequently used social media platforms. Music sharing, messaging, and video chatting platforms also were popular. Motivations for social media use included entertainment, connective with friends, and posting content. YouTube activity was incorporated into uses of other platforms. Study subjects indicated the acceptability of smaller online audiences for the sake of greater online privacy. They also were concerned about cyberstalking, and expressed self-consciousness about their social media posts and likes. Adopting language and referencing platforms that are salient to youth during assessments may make those assessments more accurate, and may allow for the identification of constructs of interest that may facilitate more effective interventions.

S. Dowling (UCSD, Psychiatry), K. Howlett (NIH), V. Diaz (NIH),
M Hernandez (NIH), E. Giron (UCSD, Psychiatry),
S. Archibald (USCD, Psychiatry), S. Tapert (NIH), K. Bagot (NIH)

Nayra Vacaflor

Questyourdigital: Understanding Family and Youth Learning Dynamics Through Escape Games

This study aims to use the model of escape games to examine how digital media are used by individuals in group settings (with particular attention on families, youth, and the interaction between literature and illiterate digital audiences). In the process, it addressed three social change issues: (i) the shift of attention to the user as creator of his own education; (ii) the move to collaborative education; and (iii) integration of different types of people to create a result. Preliminary survey work shows that children are highly, and almost equally, enthusiastic about both individual and collective games. Mothers and fathers both strongly favor collective games. With respect to digital media, parents and children weighed various concerns differently. Next steps in this research will involve more data gathering regarding escape games in particular, socio-economic categorization of players, definition of digital media fears that will engage families, and further cooperation with psychologists and physicians. Eventual goals include designing an actual escape game, observing families playing it, and using data about their experiences to build new digital literacy toolkits.

Nayra Vacaflor (Department of Communication, Organization, and Society, University of Bordeaux Montaigne)

Jennifer Zosh

Screens and Beyond: An Analysis of (Tech) Toys Marketed for Infants

This study investigated how digital technology is infiltrating the toy market. Few toys are designed with input from developmental scientists. The changing nature of toys is an important contextual factor of development, especially in light of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation that parents limit screen time for their young children. In this study, 444 toys advertised primarily as appropriate for infants (ages 0-24 months) were considered, from two retailers. One of those retailers served customers with a higher base income (“HBI”), while the others served those with a lower based income (“LBI”) The variables examined were: price; gender-based marketing; electronic toy features; educational marketing; and the primary developmental domain addressed (physical, cognitive, or social). Preliminary analyses showed that (i) the LBI retailer had only a slightly lower average price than its more upmarket competitor; (ii) a larger percentage of the LBI retailers’ toys were electronic, and (iii) a largely percentage of the LBI retailer’s toys were marketed as “Educational”. At both stores, a majority of the toys for the infant market targeted the physical domain, with cognitive the next most common target.

Jennifer Zosh (Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University, Brandywine)
Jillian Clement (Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University, Brandywine)
Alexis Ferguson (Psychology, Pace University)
Zomely Grullon (Psychology, Pace University)
Michaela Lowery (Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University, Brandywine)
Iris Nguyen (Psychology, Pace University)
Sophia Nouri (Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University, Brandywines)
Mikayla Papp (Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University, Brandywine)
Ashley Quinones (Psychology, Pace University)
Brenna Hassinger-Das (Psychology, Pace University)

Emory Woodard

Sexism Redux? Exploring the Relationship Between Early Exposure to Sexism and Current Sexist Attitudes and Behaviors

Seger and Potts validated use of adults’ self-reported memories of their childhood television viewing to product their current aggression. This study builds upon that prior work. A sample of 18-24 year-olds was surveyed about their television viewing habits when they were ages 8-10 and 13-16. This information was compared to sexism scores for give programs that were popular during those periods. Results indicated that there is a strong relationship between early television consumption and both gender attitudes and acceptance of the #MeToo movement. Current media habits were significantly less predictive.

“Promoting Healthy Behaviors Across the Digital Divide”
Using a representative national sample of over two thousand 18-19-year-old college students in the United States, this study explored the role of digital media in informing the health knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of older adolescents. Vaccination for bacterial meningitis (to which entering college students are particularly vulnerable) was the test case. Researchers ascertained what sources participants used for vaccine information, and gathered additional information about each student’s beliefs, concerns, and behaviors relating to vaccines generally and bacterial meningitis in particular. The data indicated that older adolescents who relied on digital media for vaccination information were more likely to be up-to-date on their vaccinations, had greater concerns about bacterial meningitis, and possessed more favorable attitudes towards meningitis vaccination than those who did not. Digital media reliance for vaccine information was not significantly related to general health status, race/ethnicity, or financial standing. These findings suggest that digital media may empower healthy attitudes and behaviors across the digital divide.

“U Up? Social Media and the Promulgation of Hook-Up Culture Among Late Adolescents”
This study examined the relationship between exposure to sexual content and both online and offline sexual behaviors and attitudes of late adolescents. An online survey of 150 late teens found a positive relationship between sexual media use and the endorsement of hookup cultural values and the likelihood of engaging sexual content on social media through posting, liking or sharing such content.

Emory Woodard (Communication Department, Villanova University)

Jessica Hamilton

Social Media and Sleep Dysfunction Among Youth at Risk for Depression

Although social media use (“SMU”) has been linked to later sleep timing and disturbance, most research has relied on one-time questionnaires and cross-sectional designs. Given that depressed youth endorse more SMU, it is unclear whether these patterns, and SMU’s effect on sleep, emerge during or prior to depression onset. This study used ecological momentary assessment (“EMA”) to assess (i) SMU among youth at high and low familiar risk for depression, and (ii) its relationship to sleep timing, variability, and disturbance. The 83 participating youth (ages 9-14) and their parents completed questionnaires about sleep disturbance at baseline and one year later. The children also completed ecological momentary assessments for nine days. Gender, pubertal status, and depressive symptoms were covaried. This revealed (i) no significant interactions between SMU and risk status with either sleep timing or variability; (ii) no significant interactions between SMU and average bedtime; (iii) significant interactions between SMU and sleep variability; and (iv) significant interactions between risk status and SMU predicting sleep disturbance one year later (based on parent and child reports, controlling for baseline sleep disturbances). High-risk youth were more likely to have prospective increases in sleep disturbance when SMU was higher, but not when SMU was lower. These findings suggest that youth at familiar risk for depression do not exhibit different patterns of SMU relative to their lower-risk peers. SMU was associated with more variability in sleep timing for all youth; however, high-risk may be more likely to develop sleep disturbance when have more SMU. This may indicate a potential pathway through which SMU ay contribute to depression for vulnerable youth.

Jessica L. Hamilton (Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh)
Cecile D. Ladouceur (Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh)
Jennifer S. Silk (Psychology, University of Pittsburgh)
Lauren M. Bylsma (Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh)

Jacqueline Nesi

Social Media Experience of Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents

This study examined social media use within a large clinical sample of adolescents, and explored associations among social media use and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (“STBs”). Study participants with a history of suicide attempts were more likely to endorse both positive and negative experiences on social media. One example of their positive social media experiences was receiving support or encouragement from friends on social media. Among the negative experiences that those with prior suicide attempts were more likely to have were being bullied or harassed on social media, seeing photos or posts that made them feel left out or excluded, engaging in negative online social comparisons, and looking at pro-suicide content online. These findings are consistent with emerging research suggesting that depressed youth may have heightened emotional responses to social media.

Jacqueline Nesi, Jennifer Wolf (Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University)

Susan Neuman

The Effects of Joint Media Engagement on Preschoolers’ Vocabulary Development and Comprehension

Adult-child co-viewing is thought to affect children’s learning and development positively, by providing resources for making meaning. Adult responses to the content being viewed may encouraged sustained attention and develop vocabulary and content knowledge. This study (of 146 preschoolers from three Head Start programs) examined how joint media engagement might influence low-income children’s vocabulary and story comprehension. Each child view 4 educational program videos – two alone, and two with an adult co-viewer who laughed playfully at lines in the shows pointed out interesting moments, said vocabulary words, and engaged with the child. Eye-tracking technology was used to measure the children’s attention. Co-viewing was not found to have a main effect on vocabulary learning, but did interact significantly with percent fixation duration. Greater attention in co-viewing was positively associated with higher vocabulary scores and comprehension.

Susan B. Neuman (Teaching and Learning, New York University)
Preeti Samudra (Teaching and Learning, New York University)
Tanya Kaefer (Education and Psychology, Lakehead University)

Lauren Hartstein

The Impacts of Light Correlated Color Temperature on Preschoolers’ Task Switching Performance

Research has shown that increased blue light exposure from higher correlated color temperature (“CCT”) light sources can lead to improvement in adults’ cognitive performance. No such data has been available for preschoolers, when attention and executive function skills are developing. This study of 38 children (ages 4.5 – 5.5) addressed that knowledge gap. Compared to children in the control group, children who were exposed to higher-CCT light showed similarly minor improvement in sustained attention, but more than twice the increase in their accuracy (15.2% vs. 6.5%) when switching between tasks (cognitive flexibility). This demonstrates that the relationship between the lighting environment and cognitive performance emerges early in development. It also highlights the need for further research on how blue light exposure impacts children’s cognitive development, sleep, circadian timing, and melatonin production.

Lauren E. Hartstein (Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder; Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst)
Monique K. LeBourgeois (Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder)
Neil E. Berthier (Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Drew P. Cingel

Understanding Adolescent, Young Adult, and Parent Responses to ‘Tough Topic’ Media

This project used survey data from four global regions to understand adolescent, young adult, and parent attitudes and behaviors after viewing media that portrayed four “tough topics” (depression, sexual assault, bullying, and suicide). Specifically, it sought to determine whether (i) watching the television program “13 Reasons Why” related to changes in viewers’ empathetic behaviors, (ii) supported adolescents’ conversations with peers, parents, teachers or counselors about the tough topics included in that program, and (iii) whether such associations (between watching a show about “tough topics” and the other behaviors mentioned) differed based on such individual difference variables as social anxiety and age. Globally, results suggested that adolescents tried to act more empathetically after exposure to this content (including reaching out to classmates they thought might be suffering from mental health issues). Adolescents, their parents, and young adults all reported that they felt that this exposure enhanced their understanding of “tough topics”. These relationships were stronger for younger adolescents (ages 13-15) and for those with higher social anxiety. Regional differences in these findings suggest that “tough topic” media can play a particularly important role in adolescents’, young adults’, and parents’ lives in countries with less access to mental health information and care.

Drew P. Cingel (Communication, University of California Davis)
Alexis R. Laricella (Technology in Early Childhood Center, Erikson Institute)
Ellen Wartella (Communication Studies, Northwestern University)

Johanna Kolak

Understanding the Educational Potential of Touchscreen Apps Targeting 2-5 Year Old Children

This study evaluated the teaching potential of free and paid apps for children ages 2-5, and the role of app design in children’s learning, and employed a new quantitative and qualitative coding scheme for that purpose. This process began with the top ten free and paid apps for this age group from each of the Apple, Google, and Amazon app stores (47 apps, excluding duplicates). Thirty of these have been coded to date, based on screen recordings of app use. They were characterized initially as having either an educational or game focus, and then evaluated qualitatively in 11 domains of teaching potential, and for such other attributes as cognitive and stimulus-reaction interactivity, frequency of static and animated object properties, and mean number of screen elements on a page. Educational apps had a higher proportion of cognitive (as opposed to stimulus-reaction), interactions, and fewer available distracting interactions on a page, than games did. These preliminary findings show that educational apps differed from games in their teaching potential, provided more opportunities for active cognition, and had fewer available distracting interactions. The next step in this research is to study the role that age-related changes in learning play in determining educational potential of various app features.

Joanna Kolak (Department of Psychology and Public Health, University of Salford)
Padraic Monaghan (Department of Psychology, Lancaster University)
Sarah Norgate (Department of Psychology and Public Health, University of Salford)
Gemma Taylor (Department of Psychology and Public Health, University of Salford)

Pages: 12

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