Kids’ Daily Media Use Up Sharply

20 Jan, 2010 By: Chris Tribbey

Children and teens today are spending more than 7.5 hours a day using entertainment media, according to a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation, up more than an hour from 2004. They’re also squeezing in more entertainment in fewer hours, multitasking with different devices, according to the data.

Mobile media appears to be the driving force behind the increase, with 8- to 18-year-olds owning more cell phones, iPods and MP3 players compared to 2004.

Two-thirds of young people say they have the TV on at home when they eat their meals, and 70% say they have a TV in their bedroom. Half say they have a video game console in their room as well.

“The amount of time young people spend with media has grown to where it's even more than a full-time work week,” said Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation. “When children are spending this much time doing anything, we need to understand how it’s affecting them — for good and bad.”

The amount of time kids spend watching regularly scheduled TV dropped by 25 minutes from 2004, but the total amount time spent watching TV on all devices increased by about 40 minutes.

“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, Foundation VP 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.”