American media contribute more to adverse health outcomes than to positive or prosocial ones, according to authors from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Young people average 16 to 17 hours of television viewing weekly, beginning as early as age 2, the article states. When video game and videocassette usage are added, some teenagers may spend as many as 35 to 55 hours in front of the television set.
More families own a television set than a telephone.
By 1996, nearly five million youths had used the Internet or an on-line service from school or home. Young people view an estimated 10,000 violent acts each year. A recent National Television Violence Study examined nearly 10,000 hours of television programming over a three-year period and found that 61 percent contained violence, with children s programming being the most violent. Each year, teenagers view nearly 15,000 sexual references, innuendoes, and jokes of which less than 170 will deal with abstinence, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases, or pregnancy. For every just say no or know when to say when public service announcement, teens will view 25 to 50 beer and wine advertisements.