Lauren Taylor on “The Good Guys: How Character Strengths Drive Kids’ Entertainment Wins”

This interview with the first author of the Character Strengths Report highlights the findings of the study and further work that can stem from this research.

Every year, as our children grow and change, entertainment media takes on a larger role in their development. With children having more access than ever before to consume television, film, and other alternative media on a daily basis, it has become important to filter developmentally appropriate content from potentially harmful content. Media that teaches positive values and aids with growth and maturity not only has the power to change lives but can have remarkable effects on the entertainment industry itself. 

The CSS report “The Good Guys: How Character Strengths Drive Kids’ Entertainment Wins” (Character Strengths Report) explores these concepts through Common Sense Media’s tagging system for content, which focuses on developmental appropriateness across age groups. The report, led by CSS Fellow Lauren Taylor, highlights how the presence or lack of character strengths in media relates to how kids and their parents perceive the content, and ultimately if the film succeeds. By comparing films lacking and presenting character strengths, results show that those displaying traits like teamwork and courage are more successful as measured by box office performance metrics. 

Character Strengths Are Universal

Taylor and her team assessed the following character strengths in their research: communication, compassion, self-control, curiosity, empathy, gratitude, humility, integrity, perseverance, courage, and teamwork. The last two were most prevalent and the study reveals that the magnitude of their positive impact can be felt internationally, regardless of culture. Taylor says, “It shows the universality of emotions and that these skills are important no matter what and span across all human beings.”  

What About Teen Audiences? 

Not only does the report find that media representing character strengths and positive values correlate to higher box office success domestically and internationally, but it also highlights where change needs to happen. “We answered the goal of the project, but I’m also really excited about the fact that we identified where character strengths are lacking in film and that teens are being left behind compared to the child audience,” Taylor says. “I have a passion for teen audiences and helping them, especially with teen mental health problems, and I’m excited to continue to explore that with these findings.” 

By looking at the frequency of certain strengths like courage and teamwork, but the infrequency of other equally valuable traits, Taylor discovered where media representation of character strengths needs to improve and why it's so important to do so. “Teenagers want more authentic content. They are rejecting storylines of what used to be popular, but the shift hasn’t been represented yet in film and television.” In an already flooded media landscape, there is a growing importance in listening to teens who speak up about what content is making them feel more accurately represented and understood and reflecting those comments in popular media. 

This highlights one of the bigger issues the report uncovered: the communication gap between content creators and teen audiences. Media has issues with misrepresenting teens and their values, something that adds to the failing line of understanding between storytellers and consumers. “Teenagers don't respond to content they feel is trying to send them a message or that is shoved down their throat,” says Taylor. Instead of working through this barrier, “content creators begin to think teenagers don't want to know how to, for example, display humility and integrity and self-control. This means audience members and content creators need to talk more.” 

An open line of communication will help better bridge the gap between studios and their audience and lead to the creation of work that is presented as authentic and genuine. Especially as technologies and the kids of this generation grow simultaneously, Taylor thinks these changes are worth the effort it will take to implement them. “There's a big shift between how I grew up and how kids grow up now so it’s important for researchers, content creators, and parents to realize media is not all good and it's not all bad.” 

This nuanced approach to media – such as highlighting character strengths for the benefit of consumers and creators – is exactly what the Center for Scholars & Storytellers aims to accomplish. “It’s a tricky balance to strike and nobody is going to get it perfect,” Taylor says. “But understanding the negative consequences that media can have and combatting that with some of the positive uses of it can go a very long way.”