Minority children spend an average of 13 hours a day using mobile devices, computers, TVs and other media — about 4½ hours more than white kids, says a report out today.
The findings, from Northwestern University, are being presented to childhood and telecommunications experts in Washington, D.C.
The results are from an analysis of two Kaiser Family Foundation surveys that tracked media use by kids 6 to 18. Researchers analyzed that data to find out how black, Hispanic, Asian American and white youth use media for homework and for fun, and how long they're plugged in on any given day.
Among 8- to 18-year-olds, Asian Americans logged the most media use (13 hours, 13 minutes a day), followed by Hispanics (13 hours), blacks (12 hours, 59 minutes), and whites (8 hours, 36 minutes.)
Researchers didn't say why, but some experts have theories.
"Children may turn to media if they feel their neighborhoods lack safe places to play or if their parents have especially demanding jobs that prevent engagement," says Frederick Zimmerman, chair of the department of Health Services at UCLA School of Public Health.
"It's clear that, overall, American youth spend an enormous amount of time with media, but minorities spend most of their waking hours with media," says study director Ellen Wartella, head of the Center on Media and Human Development in the School of Communication at Northwestern.
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