Generation M

A national Kaiser Family Foundation survey entitled Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds found children and teens are spending an increasing amount of time using “new media” like computers, the Internet and video games, without cutting back on the time they spend with “old” media like TV, print and music. Instead, because of the amount of time they spend using more than one medium at a time (for example, going online while watching TV), they’re managing to pack increasing amounts of media content into the same amount of time each day.
The study examined media use among a nationally (U.S.) representative sample of more than 2,000 3rd through 12th graders who completed detailed questionnaires, including nearly 700 self-selected participants who also maintained seven-day media diaries.
You can find the 41 page executive summary as a PDF here.
The full 145 page report is available as a PDF here.
If your library serves school age kids, then this is a must read. it shatters some of our perceptions about the role media (gaming, TV, DVD’s, music, and more) plays in their lives.
Stephen