Title: Screen Time
Producer: Emily Halevy
Feed: CWKN #381, April 16, 2008
Time: 1:28
SUGGESTED LEAD: THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION REPORTS THAT 5 MILLION AMERICAN KIDS ARE ADDICTED TO VIDEO GAMES.  IN FACT IF YOU ADD THE TIME SOME KIDS SPEND IN FRONT OF A SCREEN … TV, COMPUTERS, CELL PHONES, VIDEO GAMES … IT’S MORE HOURS THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THEIR LIVES EXCEPT SLEEP!  AND THAT BEGS THE QUESTION- IF THEY SPEND SO MUCH TIME PLUGGED IN, WHAT ARE THEY MISSING OUT ON?  CONNECT WITH KIDS HAS THE STORY.
<<PKG>>

NATS: Common, get up! (:00)

NARR: SABRINA AND HER BROTHER RUBEN ARE FIGHTING OVER THE FAMILY COMPUTER... (:04)

NATS: It’s my turn! (shouting) 10 minutes (:06)

NARR: AT THE SAME TIME, THEIR YOUNGER BROTHER DANIEL IS PLAYING VIDEOGAMES WITH A FRIEND ... (:04)

SUPER: Daniel Delano, 8 years old (:12)
“It’s just fun killing other people and stealing their stuff. “

NARR:  ... AND SISTER ALINNA (prono: ah-LEE-nah) WAITS TO WATCH HER FAVORITE PROGRAM ON THE BIG TV. (:04)

SUPER: Alinna Delano, 6 years old (:20)
“I dream about watching TV, and I watch Sponge Bob in my head.”

NARR: FOUR KIDS IN ONE FAMILY … WHO LOVE ANYTHING WITH A SCREEN. (:04)

SUPER: Harry Delano, Father (:29)
“It’s just nowadays it seemed like they’re a lot lazier, and just want to sit on the tube and on the phone all the time.”

NARR: IN FACT, RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL FOUND THAT A THIRD OF TEENS SPEND ABOUT 40 HOURS A WEEK IN FRONT OF A SCREEN …

WHICH RAISES A QUESTION: FOR ALL THOSE HOURS … WHAT ARE THEY NOT DOING?

EXPERTS SAY THEY’RE NOT READING, STUDYING, EXERCISING,  … OR EVEN JUST TALKING WITH OTHER PEOPLE. (:18)

SUPER: Timothy Fong, M.D., Addiction Psychiatrist (:57)
“Instead of using that time to become an adult, by learning how to talk adults, learning how to talk to women, learning how to talk to men, learning how to figure out what they want to do with their lives – those are hours that are lost, that can never really be regained.”

NARR: YOLANDA HAS TRIED TO LIMIT HER KIDS’ TIME IN FRONT OF A SCREEN … (:04)

SUPER: Sabrina Valles, 16 years old (1:15)
“Well my mom gives me an hour on Myspace, but I usually do like 3 hours.  If they don’t notice.”

SUPER: Yolanda Delano, Mother (1:22)
“Even though I get frustrated with it, I allow it to happen because – that’s what makes her happy.”

SUGGESTED TAG:   EXPERTS SAY THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF SCREEN TIME IN YOUR HOUSE.  ONE IS TO REMOVE TELEVISIONS AND COMPUTERS FROM YOUR CHILD’S BEDROOM.  FOR MORE INFORMATION LOG ONTO <LOCAL URL> AND CLICK ON THE CONNECT WITH KIDS ICON.