A recent report from Common Sense Media has found that American teenagers are actually spending more time with their electronic entertainment than they are spending time sleeping.
A recent report released by the San Francisco based nonprofit, Common Sense Media, has found that American teenagers spend more time entertaining themselves with various electronic media than with anything else in their lives. Teens, the reports states, spend at least nine hours per day attached for some manner of electronic entertainment media which includes their cell phone, texting, social media, online videos and gaming pursuits. That compares with the six hours most teenagers sleep every night.
For Common Sense Media, teenagers are defined by those between the ages of 13-18. Right behind the electronic guzzling teens are the tweens, 10-12 year olds, who are spending a minimum of six hours a day hooked to their electronic entertainment, according to USA Today. These numbers are strictly for the entertainment level. The research did not include the use of electronics for school assignments or for homework.
One of the most remarkable things about the study is the illumination of what teens do while they are doing their homework. While doing their homework, 51 percent are watching television, 76 percent are listening to music, 60 percent are texting and 51 percent are also being active on a social media platform. The research by Common Sense Media was based on interviews over a two-month period of 2,658 American children ages 8-18.
CEO and founder of Common Sense Media, James Steyer, commented that educators need to do more with regard to the area of multitasking. Steyer said that children of all ages don’t see any correlation between multitasking and the ability to stay focused on one thing at a time so as to increase focus and learning ability.
The favorite thing to do for the preteen crowd, those 8-12 year olds, was to watch television, and 62 percent said they watched television every day. Boys were found to play video games much more than girls do, as boys spend nearly one hour per day playing video games on average. Girls spend about seven minutes a day on video games but read more than boys and are more active on social media than boys.
