|
New Study Links
Television in Teens' and Pre-teens' Bedrooms to Risky
Behavior
A University of California study finds that teenagers
and pre-teens with televisions in their bedroom are
more likely to use drugs, smoke cigarettes, binge drink,
and have sex. The study was recently published in the
Australian Doctor.
The study surveyed more than 1,000 10
to 16 year olds and found that over 50 percent of
them had a television in their bedroom. They also
watch more television than teens and pre-teens without
a television in the bedroom.
The study links the risky behavior to
the amount of and unsupervised exposure to the high-risk
behavior found in the media. The study also addresses
how television's replacement for parent- child interaction
contributes to harmful behavior. According to the
study, parents of teens and pre-teens with televisions
in their bedrooms are less likely to know where, and
with whom, their children spend their after-school
hours.
The National Institute on Media and
the Family recommends parents keep televisions out
of their teens and children's bedrooms. It is difficult
to monitor what your children are watching when they
are watching television in their own room. Having
a television in a child's room discourages participation
in family activities and encourages them to watch
television when they could be studying, reading, or
sleeping.
|
