The New York Times is reporting on a new study of American media consumption that says the average person spends 8.5 hours every day in front of some sort of media screen (television, computer, cellphone, etc.). If you think about it in terms of your average day, that is a HUGE portion of your time. More than the average night of sleep, more than a day spent at the office, probably more than you study or even go to class. Math may not be my strong point, but I figured that we are devoting more than one-third of our entire day to media exposure.

The study also organized data by age group to show, among other things, that “18-to-24-year-olds — generally college students and new entrants into the work force — watch the smallest amount of live TV of any age group (three and a half hours a day).” While television isn’t at the top of a college student’s to-do list, text messaging and watching videos online are. Read More »