LOS ANGELES — Children in lower-income families spend more time watching TV and using electronic devices than kids in more affluent homes, according to a survey released Thursday.
The report by the
By comparison, kids in higher-income homes spend just under two hours on such activities. The offspring of better-educated parents also spend less time with media (1 hour, 37 minutes) compared with children of those with less education (2 hours, 50 minutes).
"Before we can begin to understand the impact of media and technology on kids and families, we have to better understand their attitudes and
The survey found that Latino parents expressed the most concern about what their children are exposed to in media, including sex, violence and racial and gender stereotypes. African-American parents voiced somewhat less concern, with white parents expressing the least worry among ethnic groups.
But a majority of parents overall said their children's use of digital media helps boost learning and creativity.
The time youngsters spend reading or being read to has remained steady at 30 minutes daily, compared with previous studies in 2011 and 2013. But fewer than half (43
Nearly half (49
According to its conclusion, the survey "should not be read as a judgment on the quality of children's time with media; rather, it is a snapshot of how media and technology are infused into daily life. Additional experimental and qualitative work is essential to better understanding the full implications of children's media use."
Other key findings:
— Children 8 and younger spend an average of 2 hours, 19 minutes daily with screen media, about the same as in prior study years. TV gets the lion's share, 58 minutes, but mobile has risen rapidly from 5 minutes daily in 2011 to 48 minutes in 2017.
— ?The "digital divide" is narrower but still exists between more and less affluent families. Home computers and internet access were found in 72
— In a surprising twist, children pick "old-fashioned" paper books over digital reading. Only three of the 29 minutes that kids spend reading each day are on electronic devices.
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Online:
www.commonsense.org/research
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Lynn Elber can be reached at lelber@ap.org and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lynnelber.
Lynn Elber, The Associated Press