Media Me
The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that “today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). And because they spend so much of that time ‘media multitasking’ (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.”
Wow, those numbers are astounding. Entertainment media includes iPods, internet, video games, texting, and T.V.
The report also says that the heaviest users get lower grades. That makes sense. If you’re spending seven hours a day playing Blood Bath III, you’re probably finding it hard to cram in a little Algebra homework. Just a guess.
What do you think? How much time would you say you spend with entertainment media? Are you less connected to real life when you’re plugged in? Does your time on FB leave you feeling you have fewer meaningful relationships, or do you feel like you are making more connections with the ease of communicating on line and texting? Do you think it’s the new reality, that there’s no stopping the increase in internet use and video games? Are we all going to end up like those blobs on Wall-E that are glued to screens all day and have lost their ability to walk?
It’s rather disturbing if you think about it…if a teenager spends an average of seven hours a day plugged into being entertained by someone else…when will they learn to entertain themselves? If you’re never alone with your thoughts, how can you know who you are? How can you know what you want? I imagine there will be exponentially more people who move through life like mindless sheep. Everyone is watching this…following that blog…wearing that style/designer…doing what the herd is doing… You can’t be an individual if you don’t ever spend any time in your own head!
I’ve heard reports that people leaving Highschool and entering college now are having difficulties reading whole books because they’re so used to reading bits and pieces on a screen (apparently this developes different parts of the brain or something). Professors are apparently hearing Freshmen moaning because they have to read books. If this is true, it doesn’t say much for our suposed culture in fifty years time. Will our grandchildren even visit libraries as anything other than museums?