Young Children Prefer the Internet over Television

Does Power Rangers make children more prone to violence?

The answer is dated fodder and old news. After years of debate surrounding content and program ratings, parents might have more than television to worry about as children move online.

In 2000, most television sets came equipped with a V-chip to block programming parents believed to be inappropriate for children. And, now, less than 10 years later, after pouring millions in to monitoring the tube, a study from DoubleClick Performics found that television is less of a draw for children between the ages of 10 to 14, as reported in the New York Times. That might be good news for some.

“Forgoing television to be online is a good thing because when they are online they are interacting with information,” says Nancy Willard, executive director at the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use. “They’re not just sitting passively –watching what someone else wants to feed them in an environment where there is tons of advertising.”

The average cable subscriber pays about $60 versus $42 for high speed internet access: translating to $18 worth of savings for parents. But, at a time when safety concerns remain a big issue for parents, advertisers are increasing spending on the internet. Whether it’s Webkinz or Dora the Explorer consumerism is introduced to children using both mediums.

With more ways to consume news and entertainment, how your child is being pitched products is evolving. While a commercial break is much more obvious to children, subtle advertisements using market profile questionnaires and the fun surveys may not be obvious to children. “I think we have to be very conscious about who is selling what to our children,” says Willard. “They see privacy policy across the page, and they think that means any information is private, but that’s not true. The privacy policy says you have no privacy.”