Thecurrentfindingscamefromdatagatheredinanationallyrepresentativetelephonesurveyof1,454Americanparentswithatleastonechildbetweentheagesof8monthsand8years.TheparentswereaskedabouthowoftentheirTVwasonwhennoonewaswatchingandwhethertheirchildhadaTVintheirbedroom.
“Foreveryminuteoftelevisiontowhichchildrenaredirectlyexposed,thereareanadditional3minutesofindirectexposure,makingbackgroundexposureamuchgreaterproportionoftimeinayoungchild’sday,”theauthorssayinthestudy.
Whattheyfoundevenmoreconcerningwasthatkidsunder2andAfrican-Americanchildrenareexposedto42%and45%morebackgroundTV,respectively,thantheaveragechild.
“It’sparticularlyconcerningbecausethereisevidencethisexposurehasnegativeconsequencesfordevelopment,”saysLapierre.Accordingtotheauthors,thesehighratescouldbetheresultofparentsnotcountingbackgroundTVasexposureorthinkingtheirkidsaretooyoungtobeaffectedbyit.
“Thisstudyshouldbeawarningtoparentsandday-careproviderstoshutoffthetelevisionwhennooneiswatching,andcertainlytoconsidertheconsequencesofhavingatelevisioninachild’sbedroomnomatterhowyoungtheymaybe,”saidCynthiaStohl,theInternationalCommunicationAssociationpresidentandprofessorofcommunicationattheUniversityofCalifornia,SantaBarbara,inastatement.
Theresearchersarehopefultheirfindingswillfurthertheunderstandingofhowhomemediapracticesrelatetobackgroundtelevisionexposure,sorecommendationsforreducingkids’exposurecanbemade.
ThenewdatawillbepresentedattheInternationalCommunicationAssociation’sannualconferenceinPhoenixnextmonth.
