A new study says younger parents are not worried about their children’s use of media.  Researchers at Northwestern University surveyed 2300 parents of children as old as eight.  They found media use—including television and computers—did not cause stress or conflict.  Of the parents surveyed, 59 percent also said they were not concerned about their children becoming addicted to new media.

The researchers found families fell into one of three categories:

• media-centric or about 39 percent of those surveyed,
• media-moderate or about 45 percent of those surveyed, and
• media-light or about 16 percent of those surveyed.

In media-centric families, children used electronic devices for 4.5 hours a day, while parents spent almost 11 hours in front of a screen. In these households, televisions were left on much of the time. In addition, about 44 percent of children in this group had televisions in their rooms.

In media-moderate families, children used media about three hours a day while parents averaged about five hours.  Parents in this group were also less likely to use television as part of a bedtime routine when compared to the media-centric families.

In media-light families, parents were in front of a screen for less than two hours a day.  Their children averaged just 1.5 hours a day with new media.

Today’s parents grew up using media as part of their daily routines more than any generation before them.  Ellen Wartella, the lead author of the study and the director of Northwestern’s Center on Media and Human Development, says today media use is a “family affair.”

Wartella also says the belief that busy parents handing children a phone or computer to keep them occupied is not true.  Of parents surveyed, 88 percent said they would use toys or activities to keep a child occupied and 79 percent said they would use books. In comparison, only 37 percent of those with smartphones or tablets said they would turn the device on to occupy a child.

Overall, the study showed parents have a positive impression of media.  One exception was video games.  Parents expressed concern that video games—more than television or computers or phones–could have a negative impact on attention span, academic and social skills, creativity, and sleep.  About 60 percent of parents also expressed concerned for all devices—about the lack of physical activity associated with being in front of a screen.

Overall, Wartella says, parents were more concerned about health, safety, nutrition and exercise than media use.