Recent estimates show television viewing to be over seven hours a day.
They're bombarded with thousands of messages daily. According to Trampiets, a national leader in media literacy and assistant director of the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives at the University of Dayton, becoming media literate gives teens the tools to understand the media in its business context. For example, she asks teens to think about how their favorite music makes them feel. Teaching teens to analyze media messages and recognize misleading images gives them tools that makes them less vulnerable to exploitation, Trampiets says. Looking at the range of teen-age issues most often portrayed in movies, television programs and music also invites teens to consider whether the media is addressing the real concerns of their lives, she says.