Kids are spending over an hour a day more with all media versus five years ago -- more so when you consider multitasking. According to a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation,
total media consumption of young consumers 8-18 -- from mobile, TV, games, Internet, etc -- comes to a big seven hours and 38 minutes a day, up from six hours and 21 minutes in 2004.
Factoring in multitasking of media platforms, the numbers are higher -- actually 10 hours and 45 minutes in 2009, versus 8 hours and 33 minutes five years ago. That means kids have added over two
hours.
Fueling this process are big increases in mobile device ownership. The study says since 2004, ownership among 8- to-18-year-olds has jumped to 66% from 39%, and to 76% from 18% for iPods
and other MP3 players.
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Confirming other studies, Kaiser says young people are spending more time listening to music, playing games and watching TV on cell phones -- 49 minutes daily -- than
talking on phones -- 33 minutes.
Traditional TV viewing has been hit hard, according to the study.
Kaiser says that for the first time over the course of its ongoing study, the amount of
time spent watching regularly scheduled TV -- live and time shifted -- declined by 25 minutes a day over those five years.
But when looking at all viewing through new digital devices --
computers, phones, iPods -- there has been an actual increase in video consumption to four hours and 29 minutes from 3 hours and 51 minutes in 2004.
Live TV viewing comprises 59%, or 2 hours
and 39 minutes a day, of young viewers' video time with 41%, 1 hour and 50 minutes, coming from time-shifted programming, DVDs, online, or mobile.
Other trends: About two-thirds -- 64% -- of
young people say the TV is usually on during meals, and just under half -- 45% -- say the TV is left on most of the time in their home, even if no one is watching.
Kaiser also says only three
in 10 young people say they have rules about how much time they can spend watching TV, playing video games and using the computer.