I read an article (http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10438088-238.html) recently about the new numbers of how much TV kids watch and how much time is spent using other forms of modern media-computers, cellphones, etc. I knew the numbers where high, but not this high. The article says that "8- to 18-year-olds "devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to using entertainment media across a typical day." That adds up to more than 53 hours a week." The last time I checked, that's a regular week of full-time employment, plus a few hours over-time pay!
Now I'm not suggesting the eight-year old kids in this study should go out and find jobs, but WOW, that's a lot of media!
If instead of :
tagging their friends on facebook
TIVO-ing an episode of Desperate Housewives, or
texting their friends that are in the same room as them,
kids were slightly physically active, it would probably make a dent in the obesity epidemic or increased rates of juvenile diabetes.
I don't mean to sound like a "Debbie" [Downer, from SNLhttp://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/debbie_downer_thanksgiving_dinner/1179439], but in some ways, media does more harm than good.
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Then again, would we know about an obesity epidemic without the media? And is it bad media or bad parenting that becomes an issue here? Or none of the above? They could be watching the Learning Channel as opposed to Cartoon Network for all the study cares.
ReplyDeleteBut still, that is a long time to spend in front of a screen. Are there any correlations to vision problems later?
I loved reading this post. I think it's ridiculous how much tv kids watch. My little sister is 13 and the other day she was sitting in the living room watching a movie with me and her friend was over. All they did the whole movie was text...to each other. It made no sense. I wish kids had the experiences that I had when I was younger. I loved being outdoors and going on adventures. Nowadays your lucky if your kid will shower. I think a lot of people blind themselves to this because they don't want to see what the problem really is.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Comment #1: We might not know as much about the epidemic without the media but it would still exist in and of itself.
ReplyDeleteI'm not completely blaming "media" for any one issue. There are many positives to watching television. I simply think it’s important to look at both the positive and negative effects of something that is so ingrained in our daily lives.
And, of course, there are many factors (i.e. bad parenting) that attribute to something like the childhood obesity epidemic.
Even if they children were watching the Learning Channel, they're still sitting for 53 hours a week. I'm not saying that all TV will turn your brain to mush (like my parents told me it would), I just think that our culture's sedentary lifestyle shows a correlation with our media technology and obesity rates.
Response to Comment #2: That's exactly what I mean! The new meaning of childhood has been heavily influenced by media technology. Kids don't walk through the neighborhood and see who wants to play a pick-up game of wiffle-ball anymore-they seem to rather play the games on their phone or computer.
53 hours? Seriously? I cannot watch TV for like 1 hour. When I was younger I couldn't even watch TV for like 15 minutes without being bored, or constantly changing the way I was seated. Still in movie theatres I can't sit still.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me, especially with all these programs now for children about getting out of the house and staying active. that kids can still watch that much TV. I didn't even think there was that much on TV to watch. Growing up in my neighborhood, we always had something to do every night, even school nights. There was always some type of game, whether it was Kick Ball or Kick the Can, we had a game going every night, even if there was snow on the ground.
I believe kids now-a-days are spoiled. Little kids in middle school, even elementary school, have cell phones. I didn't get one until my junior year of high school. Kids now have their own laptops or computers in their room. We had one family computer downstairs that we had to share. Kids have it easy, growing up today. Now that I think about it, it doesn't surprise me at all that kids just sit inside and play on the computer or watch TV.