Research Finding
From 1999 to 2005, the number of hours a day children ages 8-18 spend using media (TV, music, computers, video games, and print) has remained the same, a little over 6 hours. But, children now are multitasking, increasing the amount of time they spend using more than one media at a time, so that the total amount of media content they consume has increased by about one hour.
The Good News:
While children are obviously heavy media users, those who spend the most time with media also report high levels of time pursuing hobbies, hanging out with parents, and in physical activity.
Research Finding
51% of 8-18 year-old children live in homes where the TV is left on most of the time, whether anyone is watching it or not.
68% of 8-18 year-old children have a TV in their bedroom.
The Bad News:
Young people who grow up in homes where the TV is on most of all of the time or with TVs or game consoles in their bedrooms spend more time watching TV and playing video games, and less time reading.
Source:
Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds
Kaiser Family Foundation
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia030905pkg.cfm
