83% Say Kids Spend Too Much Time On Electronic Devices
Americans continue to believe that young children are on their computers and other electronic devices too often and think parents should control how much time they spend doing so. But a sizable number of adults think time spent on computers is better than time spent in front of the television.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 83% believe young children spent too much time on their computers and other electronic devices. That’s up eight points from January of last year. Only nine percent (9%) don’t think young children spend too much time on those devices. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Ninety percent (90%) think parents should place limits on the amount of time their children use electronic devices, while just six percent (6%) disagree.
Still, 37% of adults say time spent on a computer is better for children than time spent in front of the TV. A plurality (42%) says there is really no difference between time on a computer and time in front of the tube. Just 16% see computer time as worse for children than TV time.
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The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on June 29-30, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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