television is indeed a major socializer of children (comstock & scharrer, 2007). however, it is dificult to pinpoint the exact efects of television on behavior because of other mediating or intervening influences, such as the viewer’s cognitive developmental level, psychological needs, attitudes, motives, habits, interests, values, morals, beliefs, and experiences (huston & Wright, 1998; singer & singer, 2012) (see Figure 9.2).
children are not just recipients of media messages; they choose the content to which they are exposed, and they interpret the content within their own frames of reference. They receive media messages in contexts of family, peers, and social institutions, all of which may modify or determine how children integrate messages into their existing store of information and beliefs.