Poor kids spend nearly 2 hours more on screens each day than rich kids
Kids from more affluent families have more access to tech but use it less.
Tweens and teens from families that make less than $35,000 per year spent nearly two hours more with screen media each day than their peers with incomes over $100,000, according to new data from media nonprofit Common Sense.
Lower-income teens (13- to 18-year-olds) spent more than 8.5 hours each day on smartphones, tablets, video games, and other screen media, compared with six hours and 49 minutes for their higher-income peers. Lower-income tweens (8- to 12-year-olds) used screen media for nearly six hours a day, compared with four hours for higher-income tweens.
That’s despite higher-income kids having universally greater ownership of all matter of screens, from smartphones to computers to TVs, according to the study.
This data reflects a number of socio-economic differences, including access to child care and extracurricular activities as well as how technology is perceived. It also marks a reversal in how we understand the so-called digital divide: it’s no longer just access to technology but also the ability to restrain that access.
These findings have been pretty consistent over the last few years, said Vicky Rideout, the report’s lead researcher. But more research needs to be done to explain and understand the reasons for the disparity and what repercussions it has.
“We’re not really saying this is a bad thing or a good thing, but that this is a difference,” CONTINUE READING: Study: Poor teens and tweens spend more time on screens than rich ones - Vox
