NEW STUDY FINDS KIDS SPEND EQUIVALENT OF
FULL WORK WEEK USING MEDIA
Many Kids Have Multi-Media Bedrooms, TV on During Dinner, and No Rules
Time Spent With Computers Lags Far Behind TV and Music
New York, NY - The typical American child spends an average of more than 38 hours a week - nearly five and a half hours a day (5:29) - consuming media outside of school, according to a major national study released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That amount is even higher - nearly six and three-quarter hours a day (6:43) - for kids eight and older. The study - Kids & Media @ The New Millennium - examined media use among a nationally representative sample of more than 3,000 children ages 2-18, including more than 600 who completed detailed media use diaries. The study included children's use of television, computers, video games, movies, music and print media.
"Watching TV, playing video games, listening to music and surfing the Internet have become a full-time job for the typical American child," said Drew Altman, Ph.D., president of the Kaiser Family Foundation. "This study really underscores the importance of paying attention to the messages and the information kids are getting from the media, both good and bad."
The study also found that many parents are not exercising much control over their children's media use: among kids eight and older, two-thirds (65%) have a TV in their bedroom and say the TV is usually on during meals in their home, and nearly that many (61%) say their parents have set no rules about TV watching. Parents watch TV with their kids in this age range just 5% of the time. Nearly one out of every four kids in this age group (24%) spends more than five hours a day watching TV.
Even the youngest kids are dedicating a big chunk of their day to media use. According to their parents, kids in the 2-7 year-old age range spend an average of three and a half hours a day using media. Even among these younger kids, one in three (32%) has a TV in their bedroom. More than a third (35%) of parents of 2-7 year-olds say the TV is on in their homes "most of the time" and almost half (47%) say it is usually on during meals. Parents watch TV with their young kids just 19% of the time.
Computers. Nearly seven in ten kids (69%) have a computer at home and nearly half (45%) have Internet access from home. Among kids eight and older, one in five (21%) has a computer in their bedroom. But despite this widespread access to computers, kids still spend a comparatively small amount of time with computers, averaging less than half an hour a day (:21) using a computer for fun, compared to two and three quarters hours a day (2:46) watching TV. "Computers may be the wave of the future, but TV still dominates kids' time and attention today," said Vicky Rideout, director of the Foundation's Program on the Entertainment Media and Public Health.
There are significant disparities in computer use among children from different economic circumstances: in a typical day, half (50%) of all kids who live in or go to school in higher income communities use a computer, while only 29% of those from lower income areas do. Schools are helping bridge that gap: students are equally likely to use a computer in class whether they go to school in a low (32%) or a higher income (30%) community.
Contrary to popular perception, the study did not find evidence of large numbers of children spending hours a day playing computer games or surfing the Internet. Less than one in ten kids (9%) spends more than an hour a day using a computer for fun, including 3% who spend more than an hour online and 2% who spend more than an hour playing computer games. By contrast, nearly two-thirds of kids (64%) spend more than an hour a day -- and 17% spend more than five hours a day -- watching TV.
"Heavy" media users. The study identified a subset of children in the 8-18 year-old range who are classified as "heavy" media users - those who spend more than ten and a half hours a day using media. About one in six kids (16%) falls into this category.
Most kids in this age group report that they have lots of friends, are happy at school, get along well with their parents, don't get into trouble a lot, and are not often bored, sad or unhappy. On a "contentedness index" summarizing self-reports on these issues, most children appear well-adjusted. However, those children identified by the study as "heavy" media users score lower on the index than those children who use less media. The study cannot determine whether heavy use of media causes kids to be less content, whether discontent contributes to children spending more time with media, or whether some other factors cause both effects. However, even when controlling for factors such as race, age, family composition and income of the community in which the child attends school, indicators of discontent are associated with high media use.
Other media. According to the study, music is a dominant force in kids' lives. Young people spend an average of almost an hour and a half a day (1:27) listening to CDs, tapes or the radio. "After TV, music is the medium of choice for most kids, especially older teens," said Donald F. Roberts, Jr., Ph.D., professor of communication at Stanford University and an author of the study.
While the study confirms that electronic media dominate young people's time, it also indicates that reading for pleasure is still a staple in most kids' lives. More than eight in 10 kids (82%) will read for fun each day, averaging nearly three quarters of an hour (:44) a day (excluding time spent reading in school or for homework). But kids still spend more than five times as much time in front of a TV, computer or video game screen each day than they do reading (4:06 v. :44).
Methodology: The study is based on a nationally representative sample of 3,155 children ages 2-18, including more than 2,000 written questionnaires completed by children 8 and older, more than 1,000 in-home interviews with parents of 2-7 year-olds, and more than 600 week-long media use diaries maintained by parents (for 2-7 year olds) or kids (for 8-18 year-olds). The surveys and diaries were completed between November 10, 1998 and April 20, 1999. The study was designed by Kaiser Family Foundation staff in consultation with Stanford University Professor Donald F. Roberts, Jr. and Harris Interactive, Inc. (formerly Louis Harris & Associates). The data were collected by Harris Interactive, and the results were analyzed by Foundation staff and Professor Roberts. The margin of error for the combined sample of children 2-18 is +/- 3%; for children 8 and older it is +/- 3%; and for children 2-7 it is +/- 5%. The study e
xamines children's non-school use of television, videos, movies, video games, CDs and tapes, radio, books, magazines, newspapers and computers. Children or parents completed detailed questionnaires regarding the child's use of these media the previous day.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, based in Menlo Park, California, is an independent national health care philanthropy, and is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. This study is a project of the Foundation's Program on the Entertainment Media & Public Health, which was established to examine the impact of entertainment media on society, and to work with the entertainment industry on important public health issues.
To order a copy of the full study (publication #1536), executive summary (#1535), or appendices (#1537) on which this release is based, call the Kaiser Family Foundation's publication request line at 800-656-4533, or review them online at www.kff.org.
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Kids & Media @ the New Millennium:
A Kaiser Family Foundation Report
Key Data
Amount of time children spend using media each day, on average:1
All kids 2-18 5:29
2-7 year-olds 3:34
8 and older 6:43
Amount of time kids spend each day, on average:2
Watching TV 2:46
Listening to music 1:27
Reading for fun :44
Watching videos :39
Using a computer for fun :21
Playing video games :20
Online :08
Percent of kids who spend more than an hour a day:
Watching TV 64%
Reading for pleasure 20%
Listening to CDs or tapes 19%
Listening to the radio 17%
Using a computer for fun 9%
Playing video games 8%
Online 3%
Playing computer games 2%
Amount of time kids spend each week, on average:3
Watching TV 19:19
Listening to music 10:04
Reading 5:15
Using a computer for fun 2:29
Playing video games 2:17
Percent of kids who have a TV in their bedroom:
All kids 2-18 53%
2-7 year-olds 32%
8 and older 65%
Percent of kids who use a computer in a day:
All kids 2-18 42%
2-7 year-olds 26%
8 and older 51%
Percent of kids who have a computer in the home:
All kids 2-18 69%
2-7 year-olds 62%
8 and older 73%
Lower income4 49%
Upper income 81%
Percent of kids who have a computer in their bedroom:
All kids 2-18 16%
2-7 year-olds 6%
8 and older 21%
Percent of school-aged children who use a computer in a typical day, by income:4
In school:
Lower income 32%
Upper income 30%
Out of school:
Lower income 23%
Upper income 48%
Parental oversight:
Percent of kids…
With no rules about TV: 49%
In homes where TV is
usually on during meals: 58%
Percent of time parents watch TV with their kids:5
2-7 year-olds: 19%
8-18 year-olds: 5%
- Time is presented in hours:minutes.
- Times cannot be summed, due to use of more than one medium at a time.
- Week-long averages are based on mean times
with each medium, separating out weekday and weekend
reports. Times cannot be summed due use of more than
one medium at a time.
- Income categories are based on the median income of the zip code in which the child lives (for 2-7 year-olds) or goes to school (for 8-18 year-olds), and represents the following ranges: "low income" is less than $25,000, and "high income" is $40,000 or more.
- Based on media-use diaries.