BC Council for Families

According to a recent study conducted by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda, when university students were to abstain from using all electronic media for 24 hours, many described the experience using language similar to that of someone suffering withdrawal from a substance addiction:

• “Although I started the day feeling good, I noticed my mood started to change around noon. I started to feel isolated and lonely.”
• “I noticed physically, that I began to fidget, as if I was addicted to my iPod and other media devices, and maybe I am.”

Similar levels of dependence on electronic technology may be spreading to younger teens and adolescents. Canada's Media Awareness Network found in a 2005 study that:

• Twenty-eight per cent of Grade 4 students use instant messaging on an average school day, a number that jumps to 43 per cent in Grade 5; by Grade 11 that number is 86 per cent.
• 6% of Grade 4 children said they owned a cellular phone; by Grade 11, the proportion reached 46%.

The Media Awareness Network advises that parents concerned about levels of internet and electronic media use by their children and teens should check out the WebAware website for tips on maintaining a healthy balance between entertainment media and other activities in their children's lives.