Surely, given the near-universal use of home computers and smart devices(设备 )like smartphones and tablets, most of us would suspect that watching TV-seen as out dated or even old-fashioned by some-is on the decline. We probably would. And we would be wrong. A new study on screen time conducted by researchers from Robert Stempel College of Public Health Social Work have found that TV-watching has actually gone up since the moment when smart devices became widely available in 2014.
"The findings are surprising as it feels like mobile devices are omnipresent, but the television still commands more eyeballs than its more advanced brothers and sisters" said Dr. Jenny Radskey" And there is a growing concern over the screen time of children, particularly very young children, for whom watching shows in front of screens is still the most common way to consume media."
According to a study published in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) Pediatrics the increase in the amount of screen time for inns and toddlers(婴幼儿) is telling. Specifically, in 1997 children under the age of 2 spent 1.3 hours in front of TV per day on average, while children between the ages of3 and 5 did the same for 2.5 hours. By 2014, however, the latter group showed no significant change, while the former group more than doubled their time spent watching TV, clocking in at 3 hours per day.
The research also shows that too much screen time before age 2 or 3 is associated with language development delays, ADHD, and learning difficulties. A child's brain develops rapidly during the first years, and young children learn best by interacting with people, not screens.
Based on these findings, parents who worry about the excessive amount of time their children spend glued to their smartphones and tablets might do well to pay more attention to their littlest ones, for whom viewing time in front of the TV should be greatly cut down.
