In a story by Mary Brophy Marcus for USA Today, the findings, from Northwestern University, are being presented to childhood and telecommunications experts in Washington, D.C.
The results are from an analysis of two Kaiser Family Foundation surveys that tracked media use by kids 6 to 18. Researchers analyzed that data to find out how black, Hispanic, Asian American and white youth use media for homework and for fun, and how long they're plugged in on any given day.
Among 8- to 18-year-olds, Asian Americans logged the most media use (13 hours, 13 minutes a day), followed by Hispanics (13 hours), blacks (12 hours, 59 minutes), and whites (8 hours, 36 minutes.
Researchers didn't say why, but some experts have theories.
"Children may turn to media if they feel their neighborhoods lack safe places to play or if their parents have especially demanding jobs that prevent engagement," says Frederick Zimmerman, chair of the department of Health Services at UCLA School of Public Health.
"It's clear that, overall, American youth spend an enormous amount of time with media, but minorities spend most of their waking hours with media," says study director Ellen Wartella, head of the Center on Media and Human Development in the School of Communication at Northwestern.
The report shows that compared with white children, minority youth:
•Watch TV and videos one to two hours more a day;
•Listen to music about an hour more a day;
•Use computers about 1½ hours more a day;
•Play video games 30 to 40 minutes longer a day.
Black (84%) and Hispanic kids (77%) also are more likely to have TVs in their bedrooms and to eat meals in front of the TV.
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