Numbers Don’t Lie?

As we begin to unpack our theme for this year, DISconnect, the first thing to do is to get a sense of how connected we really are. How much of our time and energy is consumed in “connected” activities? The numbers are quite astounding and have prompted experts and media specialists to sound alarm bells. Let’s take a look at a few statistics about media consumption today:

• Kaiser Family Foundation released their most recent media usage study. Six years ago they found the usage of 8-18 year olds was about 6 hours and 21 minutes of media consumption a day. The media consumption rate for 8-18 year olds has now risen to 7 hours and 38 minutes (If you’re doing the math, this adds up to around 53 hours — or more than two days — per week). What is even more wild is that kids are often watching multiple forms of media at once. The actual consumption of media was found to be closer to 10 hours and 45 minutes.
• 7th-12th graders spend an average of 1.5 hours/day TEXTING.
• The average Facebook session is 37 minutes (about 4.5 hours a week).
• 71% of all 8-18 year olds have their own TV set in their bedrooms.
• An average home with an 8-18 year old contains 3.8 TVs, 2.8 DVD/VCR players, 1 digital video recorder, 2.2 CD players, 2.5 radios, 2 computers, and 2.3 console video game players.
• In 2004, only 39% of 8-18 year olds owned a cell phone. Now it is closer to 66%.
• Nearly two-thirds of the kids surveyed said that the TV is typically on during meals.
• Teens on average send 50 text messages a day.
• Adult media consumption has also risen in the last 10 years.
  • 46% of adults used the internet in 2000, 79% of adults used the internet in 2010
  • 50% owned a cell phone in 2000, 80% owned a cell phone in 2010
  • 5% had broadband in 2000, 64% had broadband in 2010
  • It is estimated that at least 70% of the Internet population is using Social Media.
  • Only three out of 10 young people have parent-enforced limitations on daily TV, video game and Internet use.

Very simply we live in a connected world. My hope is that this year we will ask important questions of what “being connected” means to us.

Have a great long weekend,

Karl Steinkamp
Director