The FINANCIAL -- Americans continue to believe that young children are on their computers
and other electronic devices too often and think parents should control
how much time they spend doing so.
But a sizable number of adults think time spent on computers is better than time spent in front of the television.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 83% believe young children spent too much time on their computers and other electronic devices. That’s up eight points from January of last year. Only nine percent (9%) don’t think young children spend too much time on those devices.
Ninety percent (90%) think parents should place limits on the amount of time their children use electronic devices, while just six percent (6%) disagree.
Still, 37% of adults say time spent on a computer is better for children than time spent in front of the TV. A plurality (42%) says there is really no difference between time on a computer and time in front of the tube. Just 16% see computer time as worse for children than TV time.
The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on June 29-30, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
There is virtually no difference in opinion between adults with children living at home and those without children at home on all three questions.
Men are slightly more likely than women to believe time spent on computers is better for children than time in front of the TV.
The U.S. Supreme Court last week overturned a California law that made it illegal to rent or sell violent video games to children, but Americans strongly favor such laws.
Still, 52% are willing to sacrifice freedom of speech to protect children from indecent programming.
Polling last September found that 70% of adults are concerned that Americans have become too dependent on electronic devices, with 41% who are Very Concerned.
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