ABSTRACT
All areas of research have inherent in them. The more firmly held the assumptions, the harder they are to see. In this chapter, I consider four different assumptions that bear identification and consideration as we construct our research going forward. The first assumption is that children and adolescents are qualitatively different from adults, an assumption strongly held although historically recent. Second, age is taken as a primary variable. Although it may be a self-evident and necessary assumption when considering development, it should not be held up as interdependent from other variables. The third assumption is that all differences are related to development, again, a possibly problematic assumption that should be included in research conceptualization and theory building. Fourth, researchers have selectively applied only certain kinds of development (e.g., cognitive) while leaving out others. For example, with the advent of tablets, physical development may be a necessary factor to consider when in the past, it has not been. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of children's environment when studying media and the importance of considering and measuring the Covid-19 pandemic as it relates to children and families in future research in this area.
