Media Psychology Spotlight

Spotlights on Internet safety and media literacy.

On March, 2017, APA Div. 46 (Media Psychology and Technology) formally approved a statement, "Societal Violence and Video Games: Public Statements of a Link Are Problematic," responding to the News, Media, Public Education and Public Policy Committee's report, which examined mass shootings and violent media.

In collaboration with partners, the VA National Center for PTSD is developing apps to address common mental and behavioral health issues facing veterans and civilians.

Augmented reality — which displays real-time information over live camera images through the use of a smart phone, tablet, computer or television, and in the near future, through eyeglasses and contact lenses — also shows great promise for use in therapeutic settings.

Interview with Sonia Livingstone, PhD, on Internet safety by Div. 46 President Mary Karapetian Alvord, PhD, and Fran C. Blumberg, PhD, associate professor, Division of Psychological & Educational Services at Fordham University

Livingstone is professor of social psychology, Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and a leading scholar and researcher in the area of media literacy. She has authored or edited 17 books and numerous academic articles and book chapters.

Interview with Stephen Balkam, founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), on Internet safety by Mary Karapetian Alvord, PhD, 2013 president of Div. 46 (Society for Media Psychology and Technology). FOSI is an international organization with the mission "to make the online world safer for kids and their families". Balkam and Alvord discuss media literacy, Internet safety and generational understandings of technology.

Interview with Renee Hobbs, EdD, professor and founding director, Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island and director, Media Education Lab, on media literacy for the 21st century by Fran C. Blumberg, PhD, associate professor, Division of Psychological & Educational Services, Fordham University.

Interview with H. Chad Lane, PhD, USC Institute for Creative Technologies, on research on virtual humans by Fran C. Blumberg, PhD, associate professor, Division of Psychological & Educational Services, Fordham University. Lane's research involves applications of artificial intelligence to educational problems, and his work has focused on issues related to learning in game-based and informal learning environments.