Adolescents, Crime, and the Media A Critical Analysis

Christopher Ferguson’s book Children, Crime, and the Media: A Critical Analysis describes how the news media often speculates about a relationship between juvenile violence and violent video games, movies, and other forms of media. Ferguson suggests that speculation is sometimes without merit and then seeks to determine what link, if any, there is between youth crime and various forms of media. Children, Crime, and the Media: a Critical Analysis is highly critical of studies researching a causal connection between media and youth violence, and there may be good reasons for those criticisms given the politicization of the issue. Perhaps surprisingly to those who are unfamiliar with this area of research, there is little evidence that exposure to violent or sexual media increases the prevalence of youth crime. Ferguson’s book suggests that concerns regarding perceived harmful effects of media seem generally unwarranted; therefore, media censorship, as related to minors, and the subsequent impediment to minors’ First Amendment rights are similarly unwarranted.Natalie N. Short Indiana University Maurer School of Law “Christopher J. Ferguson: Adolescents, Crime, and the Media: A Critical Analysis” in Journal of Youth and Adolescence