If Your Kids Are Awake, They’re Probably Online

This from the New York Times:

The average young American now spends practically every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day with such devices, compared with less than six and a half hours five years ago, when the study was last conducted. And that does not count the hour and a half that youths spend texting, or the half-hour they talk on their cellphones.

And because so many of them are multitasking — say, surfing the Internet while listening to music — they pack on average nearly 11 hours of media content into that seven and a half hours. “I feel like my days would be boring without it,” said Francisco Sepulveda, a 14-year-old Bronx eighth grader who uses his smart phone to surf the Web, watch videos, listen to music — and send or receive about 500 texts a day.

The study’s findings shocked its authors, who had concluded in 2005 that use could not possibly grow further, and confirmed the fears of many parents whose children are constantly tethered to media devices. It found, moreover, that heavy media use is associated with several negatives, including behavior problems and lower grades.

The third in a series, the study found that young people’s media consumption grew far more in the last five years than from 1999 to 2004, as sophisticated mobile technology like iPods and smart phones brought media access into teenagers’ pockets and beds.

Dr. Michael Rich, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Boston who directs the Center on Media and Child Health, said that with media use so ubiquitous, it was time to stop arguing over whether it was good or bad and accept it as part of children’s environment, “like the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat.” ...

Video: Profiles of Generation M(2)

This video explores the powerful force that media can be in the lives of teens and tweens. The three young people who are profiled explain what types of media they use—such as smart phones, computers, TV, video games—how much time they spend with media and what impact it has on their lives.

A Crash Course in Texting

This from the Henry County Local:

A 16-year old male driver was typing a text message into his phone when he almost rear-ended a motorcycle, veered off the right side of the road then hit a deer.

A 16-year old girl fared little better, repeatedly crossing
the center line on a two-lane road while typing her name into her phone’s keypad.

“She was pretty much over the center line all the time,” said James Gray of the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety.

It was all part of a distracted driving simulation at Henry County High School last week. Representatives of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Drive Smart division were invited by the Henry County Family Resources and Youth Services Center to the school to demonstrate the dangers of distracted driving. A simulator was set up to test teenage drivers’ ability to drive while typing a text message on their cell phones.

When Jessica Booher, who has her driver’s permit, got behind the wheel she was instructed to begin driving normally.

After establishing a driving pattern, Gray told her to pick up her phone and type in her first and last names. Though she appeared to be watching the road, Booher repeatedly drifted over the center line into oncoming traffic...

Parents' text rage against school

This from The Press (New Zealand):

Parents can be a student's worst enemy when it comes to making excuses about why their child is not at school.

Waimea College and Nayland College have an automated computer system which sends text messages to parents asking them to explain why their child is not at school.

Parents can reply to the messages to confirm if their children are
legitimately away from class, or if they are just skiving off.

Waimea College principal Larry Ching introduced the text response system last year and said it had made a difference in student attendance. Beforehand, the college had 85 per cent attendance and now it was 90 per cent.

However, Mr Ching said there were a small number of parents causing concern with the messages they sent back to the school....