A new study released today shows that technology, particularly mobile technology, is significantly boosting the amount of time young people spend with media, including television, video games, and the Web.
The Kaiser Family Foundation study showed that 8 to 18-year-olds spend more time with media than in any other activity, besides possibly sleeping. Young people devoted an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to entertainment media on a typical day (an increase of one hour and 17 minutes a day in the past five years). But because young people often multi-task by using more than one type of technology at a time, the study found they manage to pack 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into those hours.
Mobile devices such as iPods and cellphones, now equipped with everything from Internet access to games, were credited with contributing to much of the increased access to media. Though the study found that about half of heavy media users reported lower grades than light users, researchers also determined that about half of students said they used media either most or some of the time they’re doing their homework.
The New York Times featured a Page 1 story on the report today, which you can read here.
For the full study by the Kaiser Family Foundation go here.