Kids, Teens Media Use Shows Dramatic Gains

WASHINGTON: The Kaiser Family Foundation has found that 8- to 18-year-olds in the U.S. devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to using entertainment media in a typical day, stacking up to more than 53 hours per week.

This demo’s ability to multitask, Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds says, means they can pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7 hours and 38 minutes. The level of daily media usage is up from 6:21 in 2004, while the amount of media content consumed has increased from 8:33 five years ago. The widespread use of cell phones and iPods among this demo is driving the gains in consumption use, the report says. Today, 66 percent of 8- to 18-year-olds own cell phones, up from 39 percent in 2004, while 76 percent have iPods or other MP3s, up from 18 percent.

The study also found that only about 28 percent of young people say they have rules about how much time they can spend watching TV. But when parents do set limits, children spend less time with media—those with any media rules consume nearly 3 hours less media per day than those with no rules. In addition, 64 percent of young people say the TV is usually on during meals, and 45 percent say the TV is left on "most of the time" in their home, even if no one is watching. Plus, 71 percent have a TV in their bedroom, while 50 percent have a console video game player in their room.

Another key finding of the Kaiser study is that the amount of time spent watching regularly-scheduled TV declined by 25 minutes a day from 2004 to 2009. However, thanks to the Internet, cell phones and iPods, total TV consumption rose from 3:51 to 4:29 per day, including :24 of online viewing, :16 on iPods and other MP3 players, and :15 on cell phones. Overall, 2:39 of young people’s TV-viewing consists of live TV on a TV set, and 1:50 is time-shifted, DVDs, online or mobile.

"The bottom line is that all these advances in media technologies are making it even easier for young people to spend more and more time with media," said Victoria Rideout, the VP of the Foundation and director of the study. "It’s more important than ever that researchers, policymakers and parents stay on top of the impact it’s having on their lives."