There can be no doubt that television plays an important part in the leisure activities of every child. Consequently it must have a significant role to play in their development. It must not be assumed that children are unusually susceptible to the images relayed to them by the screen. They select a wide variety of programmes and although they do watch a substantial amount of television, other activities are not neglected. Several patterns of viewing have been identified in this survey and generally complement previous studies.
Girls watch science fiction and boys watch soap operas.
Age does have some impact on viewing habits in terms of the type of programmes selected, but not to a significant extent in the range surveyed. Despite the identification of these trends this survey has shown that viewing habits are largely individual. Weekend viewing habits were not within the scope of this survey and it is possible that the viewing patterns would be substantially different and with the introduction of Channel 5 these patterns may alter. What is certain is that in an age of ever-increasing variety of entertainment forms television is a presence in children's lives which cannot and should not be ignored.