Positive use of visual media to understand and prevent bullying: the popularity and possibility of manga

Chapter 4 focuses on the impact of manga on children. Visual media such as manga, anime, and games are very popular among children not only in Japan, but also in other countries. Although such pop cultures have achieved widespread popularity worldwide, little is known about their impact on children. In particular, positive aspects are not well discussed. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the significance of their popularity and possible impact on children. This chapter discusses the following three points: 1) the reason children are devoted to manga, 2) impact of manga on children, and 3) positive use of manga to prevent traditional/cyber bullying and other Internet-related problems. Although the most popular view of manga tends to be negative regarding the impact on child readers, we challenge this view by investigating the potential of using manga to positively influence children’s well-being. This chapter discusses the recent history of manga, its current situation, and the possibility of introducing a new usage of manga to positively impact children.