How Much Media Is Too Much Media for Kids?

Seven hours and 38 minutes — that’s how long the average young person spends either online, watching TV or otherwise consuming media in a typical day, according to a study released this week from the Kaiser Familiy Foundation. The rise of 24-hour media access and widespread use of mobile devices are among the factors that have led the number of hours children and teens spend online or watching television to jump dramatically in the last five years.

For more, we talked to a lead researcher in the study, Vicky Rideout, about what the numbers say about young people, media use and the impact of the Web on daily life.