Results tagged “media” from 60 Second Science

Lucky for us, Discover Magazine and be-dreadlocked VR-guru Jaron Lanier are happy to answer with a "probably not."

The column itself is actually a thoughtful dive into the parameters of virtual-reality research and the limits of human perception. The Matrix inevitably gets name-dropped, and there's some heady exploration into who might be at the hands of our impossibly complex simulation, if, in fact, life IS a complete VR-simulation.

Continue reading 'Today's dumbest headline: 'Are We Trapped in God's Video Game?'' >

"Exposure to violent electronic media has a larger effect than all but one other well-known threat to public health. The only effect slightly larger than the effect of media violence on aggression is that of cigarette smoking on lung cancer," said L. Rowell Huesmann, author of a new study in a special edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health looking at over 50 years of research.

While smokers can remain excited that they're still living on the edge as by far the most badass people in the world, people have been ragging on violent media for, obviously, over 50 years (actual date closer to 2000 years.) But it looks like this study was promoted by the government. At the very bottom of the press release is this tidbit: "The supplement was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Continue reading 'The CDC wants you to know that video games are almost as bad as smoking' >

The AP today looks at a new campaign by the Advertising Council aimed at fighting obesity. It cites critics who complain that the ads are "namby pamby" and "wimpy." But is "soft" always bad?

What the story fails to mention is that while the shocking and attention-getting advertisements it cites with approval
have a long history in anti-drug campaigns, they also have a long history of not only failure, but backfiring.

The Ad Council knows this well-- years ago, it found that while shocking pictures of car crashes and interviews with people who lost loved ones to drunk drivers won advertising awards, they didn't deter drunk drivers. What worked? Ads that gave partners humorous ways of getting the car keys away from drunks.

The Council is probably basing its new campaign on these findings-- while toughness may sound better, "wimpy" ads may work better at changing behavior. And isn't that what we want them to do?