TV now almost woven into Brit kids' lives

London, January 17 : Children are spending a significant fraction of their day in front of television sets, according to a survey conducted in the United Kingdom. Experts at Childwise, the market research company, say that 65 per cent of the children surveyed reported watching TV before school, while 83 per cent did so upon returning home. ore than 50 per cent said that they watched TV during their evening meal, while 68 per cent would have their TV sets on while in bed as they fall asleep.

The survey also revealed that children of school age spent 2.6 hours a day, on average, before the idiot box.

The study population also comprised of 10 per cent of children who watched TV for more than four hours every day.

"Television is now almost woven into children's lives, but a lot of viewing has lost the 'pay it attention' feel it used to have," the Telegraph quoted Rosemary Duff, who wrote the report, as saying. "It is part of the background - not just at home but wherever you go," Duff added.

Four out of five children said that they had a television set in their bedrooms. They even admitted to combining watching TV with other activities like playing computer games, and using social networking websites such as Facebook and Bebo, constantly flicking their eyes between the two.

The report suggests that with the growth of internet, children have started to spend an average of five hours and 20 minutes in front of a screen each day.

ANI