Discusses interest in studies of media and the family; the creation of social meaning for media consumption; and in children's interpretation of television. Notes that the emergence of qualitative investigations represent a challenge to the assumption that the paradigm of media consumption is an individual viewer positioned before a screen in a…

Demonstrates through a case study and a participant observation study that siblings interact about television in such a way that the form and content of their talk creates a learning context. Concludes that, despite concerns about "zombie" viewers, children are not passive, unresponsive recipients of television. (PD)

Comparison among several measures of children's television viewing revealed few age differences in ability to produce consistent self-report viewing data, but wide discrepancies between mother and child viewing estimates. Eleven references are cited. (Author)

Discusses the increasing number of children viewing soap operas and reviews research findings of a study of third, fourth, and fifth graders' soap opera viewing habits in relation to motivation, age, gender, and what children learn about relationships from viewing. Parental mediation and further research needs are also discussed. (MBR)

This study examines the influence of duration and amount of soap opera viewing by sixth and seventh graders on their perceptions of relational fragility and importance of talk in managing relationships. Mediating variables of viewing motives, experience with peer relations, and family structure are also examined. (Author/MBR)