New generation of 'screen kids'

Children are losing out on family life thanks to technology, says The Watching, Wanting and Wellbeing report from the National Consumer Council (NCC). The Guardian reports.

"TVs and computers are the "electronic babysitters" for a generation of children who are losing out on family life and becoming more materialistic, a report says today.

The study paints a picture of a breed of "screen kids" who are spending more and more time watching TV and surfing the net in their bedrooms, unsupervised by adults.

... The authors, Agnes Nairn, Jo Ormrod and Paul Bottomley, also found that materialistic children were more likely than others to argue with their family, have a lower opinion of their parents and suffer from low self-esteem.

... Dr Nairn, a researcher on children and marketing and affiliate professor of marketing at EM-Lyon Business School, told the Guardian: "The effect of so much television viewing and computer usage is that things are replacing people and family relationships are suffering. This is a bad cycle."

emily | 11:02 AM | Studies and Research |
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