Television : a friend or foe? : parent's perceptions of television in the lives of their 8 year old children : a quantitative study

Abstract

This research is an adaptation of the research project conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation in May 2006, entitled 'The Media Family: Electronic Media in the lives of infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their parents'. It investigates parent's attitudes towards their children's television use and whether they are aware of how television use may affect their children. Other issues such as its influence on academic achievement and the family, background television and television viewing habits in the home are considered. This study adopts a social psychology perspective and a quantitative approach is used. Data was gathered through structured questionnaires which were administered to 150 parents who had 8 year old children. The random sample was made up of 26 males and 124 females. The main findings of this research showed that the majority had a positive attitude towards television and that parents tend to find it convenient in a number of ways.