Study Reinforces Link Between Media Violence and Aggressive Behavior

TiVo Supports Focus on the Family’s Family Safety Initiative
to Help Parents Protect Children from Destructive and Violent Content

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—According to research from the University of Michigan, children’s repeated exposure to violent television and video games is the strongest predictor of violence in adulthood. The study supports what has been long suspected: viewing violent “entertainment” and participating in “virtual violence” have profoundly serious implications for society.

Specific findings in the study (source: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research) include:

• The amount of violence children watch on television when they are young predicts how violently they will behave in adulthood, showing an even stronger influence on aggressive behavior than living in poverty, engaging in substance abuse, or having an abusive parent.
• Men in their early 20s who were heavy viewers of violent TV shows between the ages of six to nine were twice as likely as other men to push, grab or shove their spouses. They were also three times as likely to be convicted of criminal behavior.
• Women who were high-volume users of violent shows as young children were more than twice as likely as other women to have thrown something at their spouses and more than four times as likely as other young women to have punched, beaten or choked another adult.
• Playing violent video games changes brain function, desensitizing chronic players to actual violence.

Unlikely Trio Teams Up to Equip Parents & Protect Kids

The study’s findings, though alarming, are no surprise to three leading organizations that have formed an unlikely trio to put parents in the driver’s seat of their kids’ entertainment and Internet exposure. For-profit companies TiVo and InternetSafety.com are working with Focus on the Family, the world’s largest Christian non-profit organization dedicated to serving and strengthening families, on the Family Safety Initiative. This effort gives families the tools they need to effectively manage their kids’ online and entertainment activities.

“Technology itself is neither good nor bad. It’s how we use technology—and manage our kids interaction with it—that determines its impact,” said Rich Bennett, director of Focus of Family’s Family Safety Initiative. “Parents—who make up the majority of the 240,000 people who contact Focus on the Family each month—tell us they are desperate to find ways to combat the daily assault of inappropriate media content on their kids. The Family Safety Initiative equips parents with the information and tools they need to protect their children.”

The new Family Safety Initiative directs parents to top resources:

• Plugged In, a resource from Focus on the Family that reviews films, video games, television and music in order to help parents make wise choices about their children’s entertainment.
  
  “In this media-saturated culture, parents are increasingly frustrated over striking the proper balance between allowing their children access to entertainment and safeguarding their children from harmful forms,” said Focus on the Family Media Specialist Bob Waliszewski, “We’re privileged at pluggedinonline.com to be part of the solution, along with TiVo, Safe Eyes and others who realize how difficult this job can be."
  
  
• TiVo KidZone, a first-of-its-kind and only full-featured tool that answers parents’ growing concern about the quality of children’s television programming by providing a personalized TV area where children can view only what their parents deem appropriate.
  
  “We’re pleased that Focus on the Family recognizes TiVo as a company that is dedicated to providing parents the tools they need to identify great TV content for their kids,” said TiVo Senior Vice President Joe Miller. “We know that parents are in the best position to judge what is and is not appropriate for their own children. TiVo KidZone gives parents the ability to ensure their values are reflected in their kids’ TV viewing.”
  
  
• Safe Eyes is the No. 1 Internet safety solution for homes as rated by PC Magazine and America’s leading consumer advocacy magazine. Developed by InternetSafety.com, Safe Eyes helps even technology-challenged parents quickly improve the safety of their kids online experience.
  
  “Our ongoing mission is to help parents and their children enjoy all the benefits of the Internet with none of the worry,” said Forest Collier, CEO of InternetSafety.com, makers of Safe Eyes. “Through Focus on the Family’s Family Safety Initiative, InternetSafety.com will reach an even larger audience with the good news that Safe Eyes really can limit kids’ online exposure to violence and other inappropriate content.”
  
  
• Focus on the Family’s daily radio broadcast and Web site, featuring an array of parenting tools and resources

For a complete list of resources and guidance available through Focus on the Family’s Family Safety Initiative visit www.family.org/safety.

About Focus on the Family

Reaching more than 220 million people in some 150 nations, Focus on the Family is the world’s largest Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to serving, strengthening and defending families worldwide. Founded in 1977, Focus on the Family provides practical tools, spiritual resources and emotional support to families at every stage of life. Focus on the Family is online at www.family.org.

CONTACT:
Michelle Farmer or Christy Lynn Wilson
(770) 813-0000 / (770) 757-4900
www.family.org/safety