Zach Linsky, 11, watches TV for 3 and a half hours a day and plays video games every other day. Zach, a sixth grader in Washington, D. C., is an American. But unlike many kids, he doesn't have a TV, VCR, or computer in his bedroom. He only has a boom box  . The survey of 3,155 kids, aged 2 to 18, shows that they spend 5 hours and 29 minutes on average  a day using some types of media outside of school, including 2 hours and 46 minutes watching TV, 21 minutes on the computer, 20 minutes playing video games, and 8 minutes on the Internet. The good news: The total includes 44 minutes spent reading. The survey also shows that those aged 2 to 7 spend 3 hours and 9 minutes watching TV every day and shows that 32 percent in that age group have TV sets in their rooms. Among those aged 8 to 18, 21 percent have computers in their rooms, 65 percent have TV sets, and 61 percent say their parents don't stop them from watching TV. Nearly 1 in 4 say they watch more than 5 hours a day. "Kids are living much more lonely lives than ever before," says Kay S. Hytnowitz. "They just disappear into their rooms and spend all of their time with these media." At what age do children in America spend about five and a half hours on the media a day?
Aged 2 to 7. Aged 2 to 18. Aged 8 to 18. Aged 2 to 11.