Kids lost in cyberspace

A headline in today's New York Times online edition caught my eye: "If your kids are awake, they're probably online."

The gist of the piece, written by Tamar Lewin, is that kids ages 8 to 18 are connected to the Internet in some fashion — by smartphone, computer, television, or some other device — for seven-and-a-half hours a day. The study states: "Because they spend so much of that time 'media multitasking' (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those seven-and-a-half hours.
The numbers come from a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (http://www.kff.org/entmedia/mh012010pkg.cfm)

The report is based on a survey of more than 2,000 students in grades 3 to 12 that was conducted from October 2008 to May 2009.

I'm surprised the numbers aren't higher for certain screen-time uses, as the study says on average, young people spend about two hours daily consuming media on a mobile device. The study said school time is excluded, but ask any middle school or high school teacher and you'll learn that personal screen time may not stop when classes are in session —- or between classes, either.

The study said youths spend another hour watching TV programs or listening to music on the Web. It's no surprise to hear that this age group spends more time consuming media or playing games on their mobile phones than talking on them. Talking on a phone is so 1990s, folks.

The story also points out that Twitter didn't exist when the study began, so its full impact isn't measured. I'll argue that this age group doesn't use Twitter much. Direct, one-to-one text messaging is still young people’s biggest use for mobile phones. Twitter's one-to-many advantages are finding their ways into business, but I think the microblogging site is too impersonal for school-aged Internet users.

The study found that most of the participants got good grades, but nearly half of those who consumed a minimum of 16 hours of media daily had mostly C's or lower. Only about one-quarter of those consuming three or fewer hours of media daily had the lower grades.

The story offers parents tips for controlling their children’s screen time. Setting limits and removing televisions from bedrooms are the two obvious suggestions. One thing not mentioned, but something I strongly urge parents to do, is to ask their children what they’re doing online. Parents should have their children show the sites they visit and the way they communicate with their friends.

It's also wise to remind them to never divulge personal information (name, address, phone number, school locations, etc ...) to strangers, whether they are online or offline.

Read The New York Times story here: (http://bit.ly/7srFPf)