Kids and High Tech

A study just released by The Kaiser Family Foundation on kids and high tech found that kids are spending much more time with electronic media that adults spend at their full time jobs. The study found that:

• Youth spend 7 1/2 hours a day using some for of electronic media and by multitasking with different electronic devices they actually expand their equivalent exposure to 10 hours and 45 minutes.
• Seven out of every 10 kids have a cell phone
• Almost half of heavy users of electronic media have a C grade average or lower. 23% of light users are in that same grade range.
• Few parents enforce any rules they set for using electronic media.

To view the complete report you can click on the link above to go to their website.

This report is another reminder how important it is to become part of your child's online and electronic world. Get involved with them on their use of all kinds of electronic equipment. From Ipods to laptops they are being distracted from learning by the constant barrage of music, chat messages, emails, and text messages. Its okay to turn things off, even if only for an hour a day, to read a book or more importantly talk with each other face to face. Use that time to talk about what is going on in their lives, in school, and their relationships. You might be surprised how easy it is to do. You can find more information at www.internetsafetyconsulting.net