The most recent study from the Kaiser Family Foundation on teen media use presents an interesting portrait of the younger generation.

While the report shows what many of us would expect, that teen screen time is rapidly expanding and that emerging mobile technologies are keeping kids aged eight to 18 glued to rich media more than ever, it also presents a kernel of hope that this might not validate the ensuing conclusion that teen minds are being pounded into mush.

The report does show that kids in this age range are spending more time in front of screens, be they for phones, TVs, or computers, averaging just over seven and a half hours a day. This is well over the suggested limit of 2 hours per day provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Time spent in front of the computer has increased from just over a half-hour in 1999 and just over an hour in 2004 to one-and-a-half hours today.

However, while the study also shows a corresponding decline in the consumption of print materials like newspapers and magazines, the study shows an increase in the time spent reading books over the past ten years. The increase is not overwhelming, going from 21 minutes per day in 1999 to 25 minutes per day in 2009, but one has to take these bits of good news where we can.

If you need help limiting your kid’s time on the computer or iPhone, we can help you there, but for the TV and everything else, you’ll have to rely on just good ole fashioned parenting.

Filed under: Internet Safety News