Television in the Daily Lives of Children.

EDRS Price MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29 Academic Ability, *Adolescents, Audiences, Childhood Interests, *Early Childhood, Grade 1, Grade 6, Grade 10, Parent Child Relationship, Programing (Broadcast), Social Development, Socioeconomic Status, Television Commercials, *Television Surveys, *Television Viewing To parallel a study done by Schramm, Lyle and Parker (1961) , data were gathered from first, sixth, and tenth grade students about television viewing during a week in early May, 1970. Results of analyses of the data suggest several points: Compared to children in the same age group ten years ago, children are spending more time watching television; differences in viewing time today seem less marked across comparisons between socio-economic status and ability groups; students have become more skeptical about the medium's content and have become more overtly hostile to commercials; television viewing is usually accompanied by other activities rather than being the center of attention. It was also found that the importance of television declines in the adolescent years when children develop new social relationships and increasingly turn to music; the programs viewed by children are primarily programs produced for adult or family audiences, not specifically for children; cartoons, re-runs, and old movies are among the most popular with young children; and parental control of viewing appears to be a relatively weak factor, especially with children over six years of age. (SH) U.S. DEPARTMENT DF HEALTH. EDUCAT1DN & WELFARE DFFICE DF EDUCATIDN THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG INATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN IONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDU CATION POSITION OR POLICY TELEVISION IN THE DAILY LIVES OF CHILDREN