U.S. children exposed to about four hours background TV a day
On average, children in the United States are exposed to nearly four hours of background television per day, with younger children and African-American children having even higher exposure, according to a study published online Oct. 1 in Pediatrics.
(HealthDay)—Children in the United States are exposed to nearly four hours of background television on average every day, an amount that threatens healthy child development, new research reveals.
Younger kids, black children and the poor grow up with even more hours of background TV—where the television is on but no one is watching or someone else in the home is viewing.
"I was floored with the amount of exposure we found," said study author Deborah Linebarger, associate professor of education at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Prior research has found that background TV (as opposed to actual TV viewing) appears to impede social skills, impulse control, and the ability to concentrate, focus and complete tasks.
"We think the problem may come from the sound effects, the changes in dialogue and voice pitch, which as a whole constantly recruits a kid's attention and causes them to shift back and forth between their play task and the TV," Linebarger said. "And that constant shifting makes it more difficult to learn how to concentrate and attend appropriately."
For the study, which was published online Oct. 1 in the journal Pediatrics, Linebarger and colleagues surveyed nearly 1,500 parents and caregivers of children between 8 months and 8 years of age in 2009.
The authors cite estimates suggesting the average American child engages in direct TV watching about 80 minutes per day from birth until age 6. Concerns about how such "foreground" exposure might hamper development have primarily centered on the potential long-term impact of violent and sexually explicit programming.
By contrast, concerns about background TV exposure have focused less on content and more on the overall distraction factor, with the idea being that background TV may threaten a child's ability to stay attentive and execute non-TV-viewing activities.
The survey participants were asked to keep a one-day diary regarding their child's background-TV exposure. They also were asked how many TVs they owned, how many were in a bedroom and how often a TV typically was on.
The result: For every minute of direct foreground TV viewing, children were exposed to roughly three minutes of indirect background TV, with the latter amounting to about 232 minutes per day on average.
Babies under 2 years old were the most exposed to background TV, at a rate of 5.5 hours per day, with exposure declining as children aged. Kids between 6 and 8 years old experienced a little less than three hours of exposure.
Kids in households living below the poverty line clocked in at about six hours per day, said Linebarger. Those in single-parent homes experienced more than five hours of exposure, versus less than four hours among those in two-parent homes.
The team also found that black children faced higher exposure levels than those in white households: 5.5 hours versus 3.5 hours.
Children with televisions in their bedrooms also logged more background TV exposure.
"What we have suggested is to watch with a purpose," Linebarger said. "Turn on a TV to watch a specific show and then turn it off when it's done. Don't have the TV on when you're eating or sleeping. And just try to be aware how much you have it on. It's challenging, but just being more mindful or conscious of when it's on can make a difference in your child's development."
David Bickham, a research scientist at the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children's Hospital, seconded Linebarger's suggestions.
"TV is still a big presence in the American family, and there is pretty substantial data that shows that the presence of a TV can interfere with a child's play sessions," he said. "And four hours of background TV exposure a day is an awful lot. Over time, that certainly has the potential to have a long-term impact on children's learning skills and attention skills."
Bickham, who is also an instructor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School in Boston, agreed that the TV should be off when no one is watching.
"That's not telling people not to watch at all," he said. "Just that we should be intentional viewers when we do."
More information: Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Journal reference:
Pediatrics
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
-
American children exposed to high amounts of harmful background TV
Apr 19, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Parents should limit young children's exposure to background TV
Jul 15, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
TV Exposure May Be Associated With Aggressive Behavior in Young Children
Nov 02, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New study suggests most preschool-age children exceed daily screen time recommendations
Oct 28, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study assesses TV viewing and verbal interactions among low-income parents and infants
May 05, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Learning curve of Electromagnetism?
31 minutes ago
-
thin glass in liquid
1 hour ago
-
How many joules expended for a push up?
4 hours ago
-
force to keep the folding doors
4 hours ago
-
Confusion regarding direction of kinetic friction on inclined plane.
5 hours ago
-
Mage hand
11 hours ago
- More from Physics Forums - Classical Physics
More news stories
New study recommends using active videogaming ('exergaming') to improve children's health
Levels of physical inactivity and obesity are very high in children, with fewer than 50% of primary school-aged boys and fewer than 28% of girls meeting the minimum levels of physical activity required to maintain health. ...
Pediatrics
May 17, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Study shows preschoolers affected by medication-related poisonings at alarming rate
Poisonings in young children have increased over the past decade, mainly due to medications in the home. A new study led by the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital, found that medication-related poisonings ...
Pediatrics
May 16, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Implementation research and child diarrhea
While considerable recent progress has been made against childhood diarrheal diseases, the number of children dying from diarrhoea remains unacceptably high.
Pediatrics
May 14, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Massage therapy shown to improve stress response in preterm infants
It seems that even for the smallest of people, a gentle massage may be beneficial. Newborn intensive care units (NICUs) are stressful environments for preterm infants; mechanical ventilation, medical procedures, caregiving ...
Pediatrics
May 14, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Study updates estimates, trends for childhood exposure to violence, crime, abuse
A study by David Finkelhor, Ph.D., of the University of New Hampshire, and colleagues updates estimates and trends for childhood exposure to a range of violence, crime and abuse victimizations.
Pediatrics
May 13, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health
An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).
US psychiatry gets makeover in new manual
The latest makeover to a massive psychiatric tome honored by some, reviled by others and even called the "Bible" of mental disorders is being released Saturday with a host of new changes.
New case of SARS-like virus in Saudi: ministry
A new case of the deadly coronavirus has been detected in Saudi Arabia where 15 people have already died after contracting it, the health ministry announced on Saturday on its Internet website.
AIDS science at 30: 'Cure' now part of lexicon
Big names in medicine are set to give an upbeat assessment of the war on AIDS on Tuesday, 30 years after French researchers identified the virus that causes the disease.
For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests
Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or ...
New colonoscope provides ground-breaking view of colon
A ground-breaking advance in colonoscopy technology signals the future of colorectal care, according to research presented today at Digestive Disease Week(DDW). Additional research focuses on optimizing the minimal withdrawal ...