This text provides comprehensive, research-oriented background to the developmental impact of the varied interactions children and adolescents have with the modern media.  The approach is grounded in the media-effects tradition.  The authors target areas most controversial and at the heart of debates about mass media and public health, thus equipping students to approach the media as critical consumers.  Each chapter provides the latest research and seminal studies on such issues as advertising, violence, video games, sexuality, drugs, body image and eating disorders, music, and the Internet.  Because research alone can be dry and difficult to follow, each chapter is liberally sprinkled with illustrations, examples from the media, cartoons and other illustrations, policy debates, and real-life instances of media impact.  Also found throughout are sections on media literacy and recommendations for how students can help in the search for solutions to current media-related problems.  The Second Edition includes new chapters illustrating beneficial aspects of the media, including possibilities for encouraging prosocial development and educational media. The Second Edition of this bestseller now includes:- Two new chapters on Prosocial Aspects of the Media and Educational Media- A new chapter on Media and Family to show how families use media, how families are portrayed in media and how parents use mediation strategies (or don't), and how siblings impact media use and effects.- Expansion of the 'Questionable Language and Taste' section in the Sex chapter to reflect a major current concern.- Examples from new studies in all chapters- Practical exercises and activities at the end of each chapter with updated and expanded examples and scenarios- Suggested readings and at the end of each chapter.