Why children enjoy watching multi-screens at one time

Washington, Aug 3 (ANI): A new study has found that children with access to a number of electronic viewing devices tend to take part in multi-screen viewing.

Researchers at the University of Bristol and Loughborough University questioned 10-11 year olds to find out why they enjoy interacting with more than one screen at a time.

They found that children used a second device to fill in breaks during their entertainment, often talking or texting their friends during adverts or while they were waiting for computer games to load.

TV was also used to provide background entertainment while they were doing something else - especially if the program chosen by their family was "boring".

"Health campaigns recommend reducing the amount of time children spend watching TV," Dr Jago from the University of Bristol explained.

"However the children in this study often had access to at least five different devices at any one time, and many of these devices were portable.

"This meant that children were able to move the equipment between their bedrooms and family rooms, depending on whether they wanted privacy or company.

"So simply removing the TV from a child's room may not be enough to address the health concerns and we need to work with families to develop strategies to limit the overall time spent multi-screen viewing wherever it occurs within the home," Dr Jago added.

The study has been published in BioMed Central's open access journal, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. (ANI)