More and more children "take the lead" at home ... Television can be an entertainment and an interesting source of knowledge, as long as we are responsible and critical in its use. Children can also enjoy watching TV, although you have to ask to what extent it is appropriate that they are in front of the screens.
And the fact that more and more children spend more time watching television does not seem like a good trend, because that time of passive and often isolated entertainment is subtracting much more stimulating, interactive and company moments that contribute to the healthy development of children. .
According to a study by the Eurodata TV Worldwide panel of the Mediametrie consultancy, television consumption by the smallest of the house has grown in European countries the last two years, and children now spend more time in front of television than ever.
Spanish children between four and 12 years passed in front of the television for half an hour and 38 minutes a day, representing an increase of 11.2% compared to the time they spent watching television in 2005.
For the director of studies of Eurodata TV Worldwide, Johanna Karsenty, part of this increase in the time that children see television has to do with new technologies, which allow children to "connect more" with their favorite characters, since the arrival of new channels specifically focused on children, as in the case of Clan (which, by the way, could disappear) or Boing, in Spain.
In the European context, Spanish children would be at an intermediate level in terms of television consumption, among French children, those who spend less time spend on average watching television, but very close to Italians (those who watch more television, with two hours and 42 minutes).
This increase in television consumption among minors has gone hand in hand with a increase in the time television is generally seen in Spain.
On the other hand, the study highlights that as the time that children spend in front of television increases, the competition of the chains for offering adequate content for that audience increases. Thus, the report highlights that in the case of Spain, despite the fact that TVE's Clan channel remains the leader, the arrival of Boing de Mediaset España, with an important development since its launch in September 2010, has reduced its share of screen.
As for the contents preferred by minors, there are also differences depending on each country. Thus, in Spain, Italy and France the majority of children's programming consists of animated series (up to 90% in the case of France), while in the United Kingdom and Germany programs aimed at minors occupy an important position among the preferences of the spectators.
By audience, three of the five most watched broadcasts in Italy by minors are Japanese animation series, such as 'Dragon Ball Z' in first place (some drawings from a few years ago ...), while in Spain among the Most viewed series are 'Fanboy and Chum Chum', 'The Penguins of Madagascar' and, of course, 'SpongeBob'.
Remember, with no intention of being catastrophic, that among the effects of children watching too much television we have the worst performance in school, a greater sedentary lifestyle, tendency to obesity, consumption of junk food ...
So it doesn't seem like good news that European children watch more television than ever. We hope that the trend is changing and from the families we put more of our part to propose other offers of shared and active leisure.
