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This chapter explains how anti-Muslim organizations leveraged their newfound media influence to cast mainstream Muslim organizations as terrorist sympathizers before U.S. policy makers. Though mainstream Muslim organizations once enjoyed private audiences with the Bush administration, the chapter explains how anti-Muslim organizations succeeded in excluding them from much of the construction of U.S. counterterrorism policy. It also explains how anti-Muslim organizations contributed to the abrupt increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric within the Republican Party during the 2008 presidential election, and provoked legislators in thirty-two states to introduce bills that would prevent the use of Islamic law within U.S. courts several years later. Finally, the chapter describes the influence of anti-Muslim organizations upon the training of federal and local counterterrorism terrorism agents and police forces.

This chapter first examines the media's smoking images and their potential effects. It then moves to understand how the media affects adolescents' smoking, place smoking in the context of adolescent development, and then examines efforts to limit adolescents' smoking strategies and the media's potential role. Overall, the analysis points to the need to consider the peculiarities of adolescents' development and their social environment to understand the media's influence and to harness media effects in intended ways.

News media play a central part in contemporary Australian politics. A great deal of political reporting and analysis canvasses policy issues. But the role that the media play in policy-making is less well understood.State and national level Australian politics routinely produce issues and events that seem to suggest that governments do directly respond to media coverage of issues.Yet much of what governments do is uncontroversial. A great many policy decisions and outcomes go unreported.Against this backdrop Australian public policy scholars have been reluctant to assign prominence to the media. As in other countries, they have not displayed any deep understanding of the effects of the media on the shaping and execution of public policy, which is the concern of this chapter.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of studies ask whether and how media affect children and teens. These studies show that media use can have a positive or negative influence on how children and teens think and behave. But media use does not occur in a vacuum. Many forces can influence media effects on children and teens, including their developmental level, dispositions, and environment. This chapter homes in on the environment by focusing on the power of the parent. It discusses how parenting styles differ and what many consider as the most effective form of parenting. With this in mind, it discusses media-specific parenting for different age groups, highlighting specific media-related issues that parents are faced with as children get older. For example, should parents allow their youngest children to use media? How can parents prevent or mitigate the negative influences of violence in the media during childhood? Why is it so difficult to get teens to put down their cell phones? And what can be done about it?

Not all youth are equally susceptible to the influence of media. Yet despite this truth, the idea that media and technology have large effects on all children and teens often prevails in contemporary discourse. This chapter reviews media effects theories from the early twentieth century onward. It clarifies what we do and do not know about the influence of media on youth. When are media effects large, and when are they small? And what do “small” and “large” effects mean, exactly? And which children and teens are especially susceptible to media effects, and why?

This chapter discusses the research into the effects of sex and porn on adolescents' sexual beliefs, sexual attitudes, and sexual behavior. More than any other media format, the Internet has brought sexual media content to the masses in an affordable, accessible, and anonymous manner. It is no wonder that many teens, who are in the middle of developing their sexual identities, look for sex online. And it is no wonder that there is concern about the potential consequences for these teens. Are these concerns justified? What is the influence of this vast quantity of easily accessible sex and porn on adolescents? What are the characteristics of online sex and porn, and how do these influence adolescents' ideas about sexuality and gender roles?

Media violence and its effects on aggression is one of the most heavily investigated topics in the field of communication. Every time a child or teenager committed an act of violence in recent years, the debate about the effects of media violence on aggression flared up again. Can children and teens indeed become aggressive, or even criminal, from seeing violence on television, in movies, or in games? And if so, are some children and teens particularly vulnerable to media violence effects? This chapter reviews the latest findings on the effects of media violence on aggression and criminal behavior. It first discusses key studies that investigated the effects of media violence on aggression. It then discusses the most important theories of why and how media violence may stimulate aggression. Finally, it reflects on how and why some children may be more—and others less—susceptible to media violence effects.

This chapter presents the latest scientific research on the role of social media in teens' lives. Never before have the youth had so many opportunities to bring their self-presentation to perfection. They can, for example, endlessly edit their digital profiles and selfies before they post them on the Web or send them to friends. Does this ability make them more self-aware? Or does it turn them into narcissists? Does the use of social media lead to superficial relationships and loneliness—or does it boost self-esteem and social skills? What effects does extensive media multitasking have on youth? Does it make them lose their ability to concentrate and contemplate?

This chapter discusses how media preferences evolve from birth through early childhood. The focus is on two age groups, infants and young toddlers (up to 2 years old) and older toddlers and preschoolers (2–5 years). For both age groups, it describes a number of specific developmental characteristics and predicts how they influence these young children's media preferences. At what age do infants begin to take an interest in media, and why at that age? Why are toddlers so fascinated by smartphones and tablets? Should very young children even be using media? What is the “pink frilly dress” phenomenon and how does it influence media preferences? And finally, why exactly is development such a strong predictor of media preference?

This chapter takes a look at how entertainment media can evoke powerful emotions in youth (as well as adults). How is it that entertainment media can make children and teens fearful, agitated, and even sad—all while they know they are seeing fictional content? And does the experience of emotion differ across childhood, or is it, perhaps, more universal? To answer these and other questions, the chapter reviews key theories on emotion and discusses the role of child development in the experience of media-induced emotions, using fear as a case study. Finally, it reviews the tragedy paradox: why do we often enjoy watching horror movies and tearjerkers even though they make us feel afraid or sad?

Efforts to integrate digital media and information literacy into education are expanding, and some schools have already adopted a whole-school integration approach. There are many pedagogical practices for using audiovisual media in ways that support learning. Media-based activities support literacy development when they strengthen the oral language, inference-making, and reasoning skills that are required for reading comprehension. To learn for a lifetime, the most practical competence is the ability to ask good questions and get answers in order to make wise decisions. The active process of learning to formulate good questions is an essential life skill that school, public, and academic librarians can help to develop in learners and patrons alike. Librarians in school and public libraries have done amazing work in paying attention to stereotypes that exist in children’s literature and books. They can also help students and parents unpack and reflect upon the stereotypes offered in children’s television shows, movies, and games. Close reading of media—the core pedagogy of media literacy—builds a habit of mind that promotes deep awareness of and sensitivity toward the rhetorical purposes of informing, entertaining, and persuading, whether it is print, video, or web-based content. There are challenges to using media effectively in some settings, including restrictive school policies for video use, how to assess credible sources, and choosing the most effective pedagogy for an audience.

Children’s play is adaptive and the electronic age offers an exciting range of new possibilities. Along with radio television, and IPods, children now play on YouTube, Facebook, Smartphones, Xboxes, Video games, and much more. Children blog, create their own videos, and send instant photos of each other to friends. This chapter covers electronic play, computer play, YouTube and video creation play, interest in Anime, and “flash mobs.” Electronic media are now, for many young people, the closest thing to a mentor. Television viewing and YouTube dictate modes of dress, attitude, morals, and behavior. The electronic world has enfolded the young of South Louisiana, like the young worldwide, into its eerie, flickering light.