Remember that question in some public service announcements years ago about the safety of your kids after school and at night?
At one time, the PSA made Time magazine’s top 10 list of public service announcements. The question in it was this: Do you know where your children are?
Well the answer to that question today would be on their phone or tablet.
A report at Time.com talks about a study published by the American Psychological Association,. One of those involved in the study was author and professor Dr. Jean Twenge at San Diego State University. The study found that found that kids in 8th grade through 12th grade are spending more time than ever texting, looking at social media than ever before. How much time?
The study found that the average 12th grader reported spending about six hours per day using digital media ....about two hours each... texting, surfing the internet and using social media.
Tenth graders reported an average of five hours of use per day, while eighth graders reported an average of four hours per day.
And with that much time spent using digital media, teens are not spending as much time as they used to watching TV, or going to the movies or reading teen magazines.
The study also found that at least one third of 12th graders said they had not read a real book or an e-book for pleasure in the last year. Harry Potter lovers probably not included.
So answering that question about knowing where your children are today is easy. Just find their cell phone and that’s where the kids will be, at least for hours a day. Parents can and do set rules on the amount of time their kids spend on digital media and the content they’re viewing.
And the question for today’s parents is: what are you doing about it?
Get more information on the study.
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