Is it time to turn off the TV? Conflicting studies have interesting results.
First, the findings from a major study on the effect of heavy media exposure on kids was released today. The news is not good if the TV remote is permanently glued to your kid's hand. The researcher's findings don't surprise me--spending a lot of time watching TV, playing video games and surfing the web isn't good for kids. In fact, these activities can lead to a wide range of health problems including obesity and smoking according to the recent research by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Yale University and California Pacific Medical Center. The researchers analyzed 173 studies since 1980 on the effects of media consumption in children.
"In a clear majority of those studies more time with television, films, video games, magazines, music and the Internet was linked to rises in childhood obesity, tobacco use and sexual behavior. A majority also showed strong correlations--what the researchers deemed 'statistically significant associations'--with drug and alcohol use and low academic achievement," according to an article in the NYTimes.com.
I am not a scientist, but I found it interesting that the studies as reported in Reuters found the quantity of time kids spend watching TV or on the Internet to be a bigger factor than the quality of the media they are watching. I'm waiting for the next study to tell us the dangers of FaceBook and MySpace.
Don't turn off the computer yet. Another study by the MacArthur Foundation says parents should "chill out" because most teenagers steer clear of dangerous sites. Instead teens are using the Internet to connect with peers.
"One of the main things we found is that it is highly motivating for kids to learn from peers, whether it's the everyday social stuff or learning about new technology or making videos or doing creative writing," says Mizuko Ito, a University of California, Irvine researcher and the reports lead author according to an article in the Houston Chronicle.
