According to a study released last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation called Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds, this is the average number of hours per week that an 8 to 18 year old spends consuming media. The news release on the study was full of fascinating information.
- 7:38 (7 hours, 38 minutes) - the amount of time an 8 to 18 year-old spends using entertainment media in a typical day.
- 10:45 - the amount of content actually consumed due to multi-tasking!
- 76% - of people studies have iPods or other MP3 players.
- 2:52 - the reduction in the amount of time consuming media spent by youth that have restrictions placed on them by there parents.
- 1:35 - the amount of time spent texting during a typical day! (Which this study did not include in the total amount.)
She offered one example of how gadgetry can alter relationships with her four children, ages 9 to 15. In a simpler time, the car was an ideal place for heart-to-heart chats (captive audience, no eye contact).When I'm on a trip with my youth group I have a rule we share what we're listening to by playing it on the stereo. I'll play any kind of music, as long as the kids vouch that it doesn't have inappropriate language in it, even if I don't like it. I also throw in music from our Lutheran friends as well! When I first started enforcing this rule, I faced a near revolt. Some students do sneak their ear-buds on, but they put up with it for the most part and sometimes I even hear them having conversations!
But when her kids go right to their cellphones or immediately retreat into their headphones in the car, "it's no different than if they were in their bedrooms, with the door closed," said Kirsh, an educational coordinator at a local church. "That's when I really put my foot down."
Have you noticed media consumption taking over the lives of the youth you work with? How do we respond to this study? What policies do you have in your youth group about media during time together? Throw some thoughts up in the comment section below. There is also a video released with the study that might provoke some additional comments or responses.
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