The Shocking Media Habits Of 8-18 Year Olds

Kids are leading the world's transition to digital media.
This is in part because kids aren't afraid of technology, and in part because kids haven't spent years getting use to anything else.
So if you want to get a sense of where the world's media habits are headed, it makes sense to watch what kids are doing.
The Kaiser Family Foundation did just that in a comprehensive survey released early this year. Kaiser surveyed more than 2,000 families, and turned up all sorts of interesting information about the media habits of 8-18 year olds.
(Just go to the presentation >)
Some key points:
- Kids consume a heck of a lot of media--and more all the time. Basically, if kids are awake, they're consuming media. And, increasingly, they're consuming multiple forms of media at the same time.
- Kids' print media consumption is tiny and falling.
- Kids' digital media consumption is going through the roof.
No big surprise there. What is a surprise is how little parents seem to care about this. (Or, alternatively, how much parents encourage this media consumption by consuming a huge amount of media themselves.)
- In 2/3 of households, TVs are on during meals
- In 75% of households, TVs are on when no one is watching them.
- More than 70% of kids have TVs in their bedrooms
- Only 1/3 of households have media-consumption rules
No surprise, more media is consumed in households in which TVs are always on, where there are no media consumption rules, and where kids have TVs in their bedrooms.
And, no surprise, kids who consume the most media get the worst grades (but is this cause or effect?)
It's a long presentation, but it's awesome.
Flip through the presentation here >
Note: We first published this presentation this spring.
TV still rules...

Kids' Media Use By Platform
Image: Kaiser Foundation
More media all the time -- now 10.5 hours a day

Kids' Media Exposure Per Day
Image: Kaiser Foundation
With 3 hours of media multi-tasking

Kids' Media Exposure Per Day
Image: Kaiser Foundation
What kids do when they're media multitasking

Kids Media Multitasking
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Mobile: Who owns what

Kids Mobile Media Use
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Still 33 minutes a day gabbing on the cell phone

Kids Mobile Media Activity
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Again, TV still rules

Kids Media Use By Platform
Image: Kaiser Foundation
But LIVE TV consumption is dropping (less couch-potato-ism!)

Kids TV Content Consumption
Image: Kaiser Foundation
DVD consumption hanging steady (for now)

Kids TV Content Platform Breakdown
Image: Kaiser Foundation
DVR consumption still rising (though surprisingly small)

Kids TV Content Platform Breakdown
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Online TV consumption growing (will soon replace DVR and DVD?)

Kids TV Content Platform Breakdown
Image: Kaiser Foundation
iPod TV consumption also growing (another threat to DVR and DVD)

Kids TV Content Platform Breakdown
Image: Kaiser Foundation
And, lastly, TV consumption on a cell phone (we're betting that's iPhone-based playback, not MobiTV)

Kids TV Content Platform Breakdown
Image: Kaiser Foundation
So, total TV-content consumption is growing, but via different media

Kids TV Total Time
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Here's how kids are consuming TV shows

Kids TV Time By Platform
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Moving on to music--it's growing, too

Kids Listening To Music
Image: Kaiser Foundation
But as with TV, music is being consumed via different media. So long, CDs...

Kids Listening To Music By Platform
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Next, computers: They're taking over

Kids Computer Time
Image: Kaiser Foundation
In part because almost all households now have Internet access

Kids Home Internet Access
Image: Kaiser Foundation
More than half now have HIGH-SPEED Internet access

Kids High Speed Internet Access
Image: Kaiser Foundation
A third of kids now have Internet access in their bedrooms

Kids Internet Access In Bedroom
Image: Kaiser Foundation
And here's what kids do on their computers (mostly social networking, games, and videos)

Kids Computer Use By Activity
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Kids now blow more than an hour a day on video games

Kids Video Game Use
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Video games are a boy thing

Kids Video Game Use By Gender
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Video games are shifting to handhelds (sorry, Sony)

Kids Video Game Use By Platform
Image: Kaiser Foundation
And now for READING...

Kids Reading Time
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Books actually hanging in there (thanks to school?). Newspapers, not so much.

Kids Reading Type
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Only a quarter of kids glance at a newspaper every day (Sorry, Mr. Sulzberger)

Kids Reading Type Day
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Digital media is where it's at

Kids Media Time By Platform By Age
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Basically, if kids are awake, they're consuming media

Kids Media Time By Age
Image: Kaiser Foundation
And this is interesting: Check out media consumption by race

Kids Media Time By Race
Image: Kaiser Foundation
The race disparity has widened in recent years

Kids Media By Race Per Day
Image: Kaiser Foundation
And now for the side effects of all that media consumption...

Kids Media Use And Grades
Image: Kaiser Foundation
"Light" media consumers get good grades. So do "moderate" media consumers

Kids Media Use And Grades Moderate
Image: Kaiser Foundation
But not "heavy" media consumers. (Is that cause or effect?)

Kids Media Use And Grades Heavy
Image: Kaiser Foundation
No surprise: Kids consume media while doing homework

Kids Media Multitasking
Image: Kaiser Foundation
SHOCKING: In two-thirds of households, the TV is on during meals

TV on During Meals
Image: Kaiser Foundation
In 75% of households, the TV is often just ON, even when no one's watching it

TV On When No One Watching
Image: Kaiser Foundation
EVEN MORE SHOCKING: 70% of kids have a TV in their bedroom (Are we parents brain dead?)

TV in Bedroom
Image: Kaiser Foundation
Only one-third of households have rules about media consumption

Kids Media Consumption Rules
Image: Kaiser Foundation
No sh*t, Sherlock: Kids watch more TV in households in which a TV is just on all the time

Kids TV On In Home
Image: Kaiser Foundation
No sh*t, Sherlock 2: Kids who have a TV in their bedroom watch a lot more TV

Kids TV Consumption If TV In Bedroom
Image: Kaiser Foundation
No sh*t, Sherlock 3: Kids who have no media consumption rules consume more media

Kids Media Consumption By Media Rules
Image: Kaiser Foundation
No sh*t, Sherlock 4!

Parents Matter
Image: Kaiser Foundation
You can download the whole presentation here >

Kaiser Presentation
Image: Kaiser Foundation
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