Media Use and Dreaming: The Relationship Among Television Viewing, Computer Game Play, and Nightmares or Pleasant Dreams.

Abstract

Children (N = 2,546) in a random sample of 15 secondary schools in Flanders, Belgium, completed a questionnaire about volume of television viewing, computer game playing, and nightmares and pleasant dreams related to these activities. TV content showed up frequently in nightmares for 33% of the children, and computer games were associated with nightmares in about 10% of boys and 5% of girls. About 60% of 13-year-olds and 50% of 16-year-olds reported having pleasant dreams related to TV. Computer games also appeared in pleasant dreams for a majority of 13-year-olds and a minority of 16-year-olds. Media influence on dream content was not limited to excessive media users. Concerns about the implications for the impact of media on dreams and general psychological well-being are discussed. Copyright 2004 by the Educational Publishing Foundation.