Study: Media use by teens up to over 50 hours a week

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on January 20, 2010 at 4:09 PM

Teens and tweens spend more time using media than ever, consuming media an average of seven hours and 38 minutes per day, or about 53 hours per week in the United States, according to a new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Chicago Tribune reported today.

Five years ago, the country's eight- to 18-year-olds used media one hour and 17 minutes less than today. When considering that they are multitasking for some of this time, such as watching television and using the computer at the same time, hours increase to 10 hours and 45 minutes per day.

The study was based on a survey of 2,002 students conducted between October 2008 to May 2009.

Kids watch about four and a half hours of TV, listen to two and a half hours of music, use the computer just under an hour and a half, play video games about one hour and 13 minutes, use print for 38 minutes and movies for 25 minutes each day, according to the study, PCMag reported.

Teens also spend an hour and a half text messaging each day, and a half hour talking on the phone, according to the study, ABC News reported.