London: In what would raise worries about
the risks youngsters face using Internet and electronic
gadgets, a new study has claimed children as young as eight
are spending more than seven hours a day online.
According to the study by US welfare institute the Kaiser
Family Foundation, on average youngsters spend seven hours and
38 minutes using "entertainment media" across a typical day,
an increase of one hour 17 minutes since 2004.
This includes surfing Internet, computer games, listening
music on iPods and using mobile phones.
The researchers, who interviewed about 2,000 young people
aged between eight and 18, found that some youngsters consume
up to 10 hours of electronic content a day through "media
multitasking", or by simultaneously using more than one
device, the Telegraph reported.
While children on average spend one hour and 35 minutes
on sending or receiving messages, girls appeared to be
devoting more time (25 mins a day) than boys (19 mins) using
social networking sites such as Facebook, the study found.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation report, there
has been a dramatic increase in the time children spend using
electrical gadgets in the past five years.
And this is because portable devices have revolutionised
the way children access television programmes, films and
music, said the report.
Michele Elliott, a child psychologist and founder of the
child welfare charity Kidscape, said parents needed to limit
the amount of time young children use electronic media.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 01, 2010, 18:58