National Survey Confirms Exponential Growth of Online Media Consumption by Young Americans

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The Kaiser Family Foundation just released findings from the third in a series of national surveys about young people's media use.  The study found that young Americans, ages 8 to 18, spend more than seven and a half hours per day, except for the time in school, using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device.  This is an hour more per day than what was reported in the last study, conducted in 2004, and does not count the hour and a half that youths spend texting, or the half-hour they talk on their cellphones.  When multitasking is factored in, such as surfing the Internet while listening to music, these youth jam in an average of 11 hours of media content into the seven and a half hours.

The study found that young people on average spend two hours a day consuming media on a mobile device.  They spend almost another hour on 'old' content like TV or music delivered through Hulu or iTunes.  Youths now spend more time listening to or watching media on their cellphones or playing games than talking on them.  The study found that the heaviest media users are black and Latino youths and 11 to 14 year-old 'tweens'.

At a forum where the study was released, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski referenced the dangers to youth of proliferating media and increased screen time in front of them but also said there was potential to educate and engage future world citizens in that media mix by combining regulation, technology, and new business models.  He also put in a plug for universal broadband, emphasizing that too many kids are being left behind and need to be connected to be engaged citizens and economic participants.