Every parent knows the importance of making sure children watch television that is appropriate for their age. Now, researchers say they want to find out what’s going on in your head.
“Kids are going to see things in the media no matter how good of parents we are. We need to figure out what else can parents do knowing that kids are going to be exposed to media content,” said Eric Rasmussen with Texas Tech’s College of Media and Communication.
It’s called the co-viewing effect, and researchers did a study specifically on kids back in 2015. They found what parents are watching could positively or negatively impact their kids. But they want to know now: If you’re sitting next to your kids and watching a TV show, what’s going on in your head?
“What are the actual things overtime, while we’re sitting there together, watching something. What’s actually going on inside of my brain? What’s actually going on inside of my child’s brain?” said Justin Keene, Assistant Professor of Creative Media Industries.
Keene said they’re trying to sit you and your kids down in these rooms to find out how co-viewing could affect adults. So while you and your kids watch children shows, they’ll use sensors to record heart rate and other things to determine how participants bodies are responding to the show.
“Daniel Tiger is not scripted for a 33-year-old male, right, but if they’re watching with their child, do they also pay more attention like the child is paying more attention?” said Keene.
“What happens to parents when the TV is on because if we can understand that, we can better understand what happens to kids,” said Rasmussen.
They’re looking for families who want to take part in this study and they’ll pay $15 per family to go through this study.
If you’re interested in applying or learning more, you can email ccr.comc@ttu.edu.
