Children spend 7 hours a day in ‘electronic life’

February 1, 2010 by Infowars Ireland

Chris Hastings and Georgia Warren
www.timesonline.co.uk

A new generation of “multimedia” children are spending an average of seven hours a day glued to smartphones, iPods, TVs and video games. Research has found that youngsters aged between eight and 18 now spend almost every waking minute outside school using some electronic device.

By using more than one device at a time, some are consuming over 10 hours of electronic content a day.

Children’s “electronic life” has “exploded” in the past five years because portable devices have revolutionised the way children access television programmes, films and music.

The findings have alarmed child welfare experts. Michele Elliott, a child psychologist and founder of the child welfare charity Kidscape, said: “It’s a very sad state of affairs and I hope the research will be a wake-up call for some parents. As far as some people are concerned these devices have become like an opiate designed to keep children quiet.

“When children are using these devices they are not communicating or interacting with anyone else [in person]. They may be very good at texting but how do they do when they have to meet someone face to face?

“Parents need to limit the amount of time young children use electronic media.” Read more…