How are the youth of today responding to this modern and complex media environment?
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Assignment: Digital Technology
Assignment: Digital Technology

Assignment: Digital Technology

Finally, digital technology is altering the very nature of media experiences. Images and sounds are more realistic than ever, further blurring the distinction between real-world and media events. By entering virtual worlds while riding on a school bus or sitting in their bedrooms, children can travel to different places, encounter strange creatures, and play adventurous and often violent games. And these new media are far more interactive, allowing youth to become participants in their quest for information, action, and storytelling.

How are the youth of today responding to this modern and complex media environment? A recent national study took an in-depth look at the media habits of American children (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). Surveying more than 2,000 children ages 8 to 18, the study documented that youth today are surrounded by media. The average child in the United States lives in a home with four TVs, two CD players, two radios, three DVD/VCR players, two console video game players, and two computers. More telling, the media have penetrated young people’s bedrooms. A full 71% of American children between the ages of 8 and 18 have a television in their room. Moreover, 49% have access to cable or satellite TV and 50% have a video game console in their room (see Figure 1.5). And one-third (33%) of

28 these young people have Internet access in their bedroom, up from 20% in 2005. Having a TV as well as a video game console in the bedroom is more common among both African American and Hispanic youth than among White and Asian youth (Rideout, Lauricella, & Wartella, 2011).
Figure 1.5 Proportion of children 8 to 18 years of age having various media in their bedroom.

SOURCE: Adapted from Rideout, Foehr, and Roberts (2010).

In terms of exposure, the average U.S. child between the ages of 8 and 18 spends seven and a half hours a day consuming media (Rideout et al., 2010). As noted by Rideout and her colleagues, the typical young person in this country spends roughly the same amount of time with media as most adults spend at work each day. Moreover, time spent with media keeps increasing. In 2005, youth spent an average of six and a half hours a day consuming media—a full hour less than in 2010. Even more critical is that most youth today engage in multitasking—using more than one medium at a time. When multitasking is taken into account, youth today consume a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes’ worth of media content during those seven and a half hours per day.
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