Teens spend a third of the year in front of a screen

A survey of 3,000 children aged 7-16 by the energy company nPower has found that they spend over four months of every year looking at the screens of TVs, computers, phones or consoles.

The TV remains the screen of choice, with most teens accumulating 19 hours of viewing time every week, with the remaining time divided up in to texting friends, surfing the internet or playing computer games. Some respondents used time to do homework on a computer too.

Four in ten children said that they spend the majority of their time in their bedrooms because that’s where all their gadgets are. Eight in ten said their parents nagged them to get off the sofa at least three times a day, while a third said they would feel lost with out their mobile phone.

“The call of the screen is hard to ignore for British children,” said nPower’s education programme director Clare McDougall.

“Whether they’re on the bus, at home or in the back of the car kids look for every opportunity to tune into technology, preferring time indoors to getting out and about with their friends or family.

“The summer holidays are nearly over and they’ll soon be back in the classroom, they should make the most of their break and try something different, even for just an hour a day.”