Media Addiction Quiz for Teens: Do TV, Video Games and Computers Run Your Life?

Welcome to "The Media Generation"

Teens are spending so much time watching TV and playing with their computer and video games that the Kaiser Family Foundation has dubbed this generation "The Media Generation."

The recent study found that children aged 8-18 were watching TV, playing video games, on their computers, and listening to music for a total of 6 hours and 23 minutes EVERY DAY! Many kids were doing two or more activities at once. Most of this time is still spent watching TV. Kids spent almost four hours every day watching TV. With so much time in front of TV and other media, perhaps Kaiser should have labeled it "The Media-Addicted Generation."

What excess TV, video game, and computer use may be doing to you

How much time you spend in front of a TV, video, and computer screen is important, because these activities have been linked to obesity, attention problems (like ADHD), and poor grades. Violent content may condition you to accept violence in your life. The sexual content of many popular shows and games may encourage you to experiment before you are ready. The TV can act as a depressant, stifle your creativity, encourage conformity, and simply waste your valuable time.

Find out if you are part of "The Media-Addicted Generation":

1. Does your family have more than one TV set? Yes [] No []

2. Are you in front of a screen for more than 2 hours per day?Yes [] No []

3. Do you sometimes have trouble getting TV or video game

jingles "out of your head"? Yes [] No []

4. Is there a TV/video game/computer playing in your

home much or all of the time? Yes [] No []

5. Do you have a TV, video game, and/or computer in your

bedroom? Yes [] No []

6. Is it easy for you to turn off the TV/video game in the

middle of a favorite show/game? Yes [] No []

7. Do you ever rush home, ditching friends and family, to

catch a favorite TV show, play video games, or go on the

computer? Yes [] No []

8. Do you frequently eat meals while in front of the TV,

video games, or computer? Yes [] No []

9. Have you ever caught yourself unintentionally mimicking

a TV or video game character? Yes [] No []

10. Do you talk to and play with your friends more than you

watch TV, play games, and play with computers? Yes [] No []

11. Can you turn off the TV, computer, and video games OFF

right now and leave them off for three days? Yes [] No []

12. Do you ever mindlessly surf through TV channels or

the internet? Yes [] No []

13. Do you need TV, video game, or a computer to relax after

a rough day? Yes [] No []

14. Do you feel edgy, anxious, or "not right" if there is no TV,

video game, or a computer playing? Yes [] No []

15. Do you watch TV, play video games, and/or play on the

computer more than spend time with your family? Yes [] No []

16. Do you ever watch the TV, play video games, or surf

the internet longer than you intend to? Yes [] No []

17. Do you feel spend too much time with TV, video games,

or computer? Yes [] No []

18. Have you missed a special event with friends or family

because you were watching a TV program? Yes [] No []

19. Have you ever tried to quit watching TV, playing video

games, or going on computer, but were unsuccessful? Yes [] No []

20. Do you have difficulty limiting the time you watch TV,

play video games, or go on the computer? Yes [] No []

*Note: Time spent on the computer for homework purposes does not count:

To calculate your score:

For all questions, except for #6, #10, and #11, give yourself 1 point for every "Yes" answer and 0 points for every "No". For questions #6, #10, and #11 give yourself 0 points for every "Yes", answer and 1 point for every "No". Add your total.

Your total: ____________

Scoring:

0-6: Great! Your TV, computer, and video games are not in control of your life. You are. But keep an eye on how much time you spend with these activities to make sure an addiction does not sneak up on you.

7-14: You are moderately addicted to your TV, video games, or computer. Maybe all of them. The good news is that with a little effort, a list of fun non-screen activities, and a reasonable schedule you should be able to keep your addiction under control. "The TV-FREE System" also helps you create a schedule that keeps you busy with fun, goal-centered activities. Follow your dreams instead of staring at a screen..

15-20: Oh dear. You probably have a serious addiction problem. You may need to take extreme steps, including getting rid of your TV or video games, to get in control of your time. Start with the device which squanders the most of your time. The good news is "The TV-FREE System" was designed to help even the most serious addict, and can be used for video game, or computer addiction as well.

Life is too short to "watch" it go by.

Katherine Westphal is the guru of TV control, and the founder of Trash Your TV. Find out how you can get in control of your TV, video game, and computer use with The TV-Free System [http://tvfree.trashyourtv.com]. Get in control of your addiction today.

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Internet Computer Addiction Among Teens

A growing trend is internet computer addiction among teens. It is not a positive trend, unfortunately, but negative. This kind of addiction among teens is very often destructive and one that could have a major impact on not only the computer addict, but on his or her family and friends also.

Teenagers of today find that the internet and computers are a necessity if they are going through high school. They need the internet and computers to do research for their assignments. If you don't have a computer you will get left behind in this information age. Internet addiction among teens is not specifically targetted towards the teens themselves, even children in lower grades will require a computer to research their assignments, but it all leads to one thing - computer dependency.

If a parent needs to combat internet computer addiction among teems, how are are they going to do it without confiscating the computer and depriving their children of it? It is not going to be possible to stop their teens from going anywhere near a computer. Computers are at schools, internet cafes and with friends. These are just some of the challenges faced by the parents of teens who are suffering from computer and internet addiction.

So, what sort of signs do parents of teens addicted to the computer have to look out for? Internet computer addiction among teens ranges from being addicted to games to spending hours and hours in chat rooms. Either way, the teenager is living out a fantasy life. The internet and computer is often an escape from reality for teenagers who feel they do not fit in with the real world. Either in chat rooms or with games, the teenager can be whomever they choose to be. All it takes is a click of the mouse and they are in their fantasy world living out their dream life, either in the form of a hero in a game to being somebody they are not in a chat room.

It is unfortunate that for a minority of teenagers, role playing of this kind turns into a full-on addiction. Internet computer addiction among teens is very often the cause of family arguments because the teen will forgo social and family events preferring to use their computer instead. Very often an internet addict will stay up all night playing games or using a chat room. In the worst cases, teens will quit school or college favoring their computer and internet addiction.

Internet computer addiction among teens is very similar to other teenage addictions, such as alcohol or tobacco. Symptoms can include mood changes, they can become withdrawn, bursts of anger and a huge impact on their social relationships.

To prevent, and end, internet computer addiction among teens is somewhat a challenge. A parent of a teenager suffering from internet and computer addiction should act upon it as soon as they see the symptoms by trying to limit the amount of hours the teenager spends on the computer. Encouraging the child to take up other pastimes or hobbies can in most cases turn their attention away from the computer.

An organization specifically set up to combat internet computer addiction among teens, and has helped many thousands of teens and indeed, people of all ages, with their computer and internet addiction. The organization is called The Center for Internet Addiction Recovery and can be found online at http://www.netaddiction.com.

http://www.computeraddictionanswers.com provides information on everything related to Computer Addiction. If you stop by our site you will get some education in different forms of computer addiction. Be sure to check out our page on internet computer addiction among teens.

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