It should come as no surprise that kids are spending a lot of time in front of screens. According to a new study, teens from 8 to 12 years of age spend an average of fourandahalf hours each day watching TV or using a digital device(数码设备). For teens from 13 to 18, the average is sixandahalf hours. But those numbers hide a bigger, more complex picture.
Common Sense Media conducted the study. Here are some truths and some myths (错误看法) that the study revealed(揭示)：
Truth 1: Some teens spend too much time looking at screens.
Young people are still spending time watching television, especially tweens. One in five tweens uses screen media more than six hours each day, and 18% of teens are looking at their screens for more than 10 hours a day.
Myth 1: This is the end of reading.
While the average time young people spend reading, either in print or on a screen, is only 30 minutes per day, kids who took the survey say reading is one of their favorite activities.
Truth 2: Boys prefer video games; girls prefer social media.
Among tween boys, 71% enjoy playing video games, twice as many as tween girls. And while more than 25% of teen boys list playing video games as their favorite media activity, only 2% of teen girls do. Teen girls, meanwhile, spend about 40 minutes more each day on social media than boys do.
Myth 2: The Digital Revolution is making young people more creative than ever. Tweens spend an average(平均)of five minutes and teens nine minutes per day making something creative with all their digital tools, whether it's art, music, or writing.
