A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation reveals some scary numbers on the daily media usage of 8 to 18 year olds. Thanks to 24-hour media access and readily available media the study found that 8 to 18 year olds spend a little over 7 ½ hours a day using “entertainment media” (texting, watching tv, online gaming, etc.). The study further found that “because they spend so much of that time 'media multitasking' (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.” Since the 2004 version of this study this represents an increase of 2+ hours a day!This is not casual research either. According to the Kaiser Foundation: Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds is the third in a series of large-scale, nationally representative surveys by the Foundation about young people's media use. It includes data from all three waves of the study (1999, 2004, and 2009), and is among the largest and most comprehensive publicly available sources of information about media use among American youth.
Since the 2004 study media ownership and access has exploded. Among all 8 to 18-year olds:
• 76% own an iPod/MP3 Player compared to 18% just six years ago.
• 66% own a cell phone compared to 39% in 2004.
• 29% own a laptop compared to 12% in 2004.
And the detailed breakdown of their time spent with each media in a typical day?
• 4:29 hours spent on television
• 2:31 listening to music/audio
• 1:29 on computers
• 1:13 on video games
• :38 on print media
• :25 on movies
60% of their “computer time” is spent social networking, playing games and visiting video sites like, You Tube, etc. Of all media usage the lowest form by far is books, magazines and newspapers. Before we tie this to poor academic performance the study found that 65% of light, moderate and heavy media users get good grades!
The majority of those surveyed said their parents have no rules regarding their time spent using television, music, computers and video games. Given the usage statistics I would say that’s obvious. Draw your own conclusions and see the research for yourself at Kaiser Foundation.
This research confirms what I see every day in the culture. I’ll resist the temptation to make several comments and let the research speak for itself. One thought: If students are using media a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes a day (the figure includes multi-tasking), how much time are they spending with their parents and family? Add in 7-8 hours of sleep and there’s not much time left for family conversation. It would be interesting to note the research figures for adult usage of the same media. How much time are Mom and Dad spending on media each day? Add the two together and we probably wouldn’t like what we see. Our attention is clearly divided.
2 comments:
Extremely interesting! Since we just finished with Descriptive Statistics in the course I'm teaching at Tri-County Technical College, I will share the graphical results from the study itself with my students along with getting their expressed impressions. I'm concerned about the three 'profiles' done -- are they typical 8-18 year olds or the extreme? Most of my students work part-time, some have children themselves, so their responses should be interesting.
Wow! i knew it was bad, but that's scary. three thoughts that i have:
1)this affirms the notion behind the 'ADD' generation that has emerging. students cannot focus. the never ending pull from media resources becomes irresistible for them, consuming their being on a daily basis.
2) i am grateful for the 'faithful few' of the students who are are pushing towards what God has for them...but the overall census in churches with students that i have worked with/am working with is that...we are seeing a generation of Biblically illiterate students emerge. no doubt, this has been going on for generations, and it desperately needs to be reversed. how in the world do we follow Christ if we don't have a clue about the truth of His word???
3) as we have talked about many times before, parents (me included!) have to take control!!! students are not mature or responsible enough to figure this life out on their on. part of the whole deal with discipline is to protect and keep us from the things that will destroy us. once we become addicted to something, a different more forceful type of discipline must be enforced. parents MUST arise and take the leadership role. we must, as parents and priests of our home, realize the huge responsibility of bringing the Gospel to our children, teaching it to them, and making disciples.
Post a Comment