Locals switched on to screens

Watching TV while surfing the internet is a popular activity for square-eyed Wairarapa residents, new figures reveal.

A new survey, which polled 4300 Kiwis on their TV watching habits, shows 50 per cent of Wairarapa respondents spend more than 10 hours watching TV each week.

A similar number said they combined TV watching with surfing the net, and about 35 per cent reported they enjoyed TV while in bed.

The survey follows new research that found high numbers of Kiwi kids missed out on sleep and underperformed at school - with principals saying technology use could be to blame.

Sport Wellington Wairarapa also warns that too much television time could detract from outdoor activities essential to a child's social development.

"What we know is that sport offers kids an opportunity to engage socially," regional development manager Dayle Clarkson said. "If you're locked inside your house watching television, you're not going to get that social development that all young people need."

In Wairarapa, most primary and secondary school students were encouraged to participate in organised sport, she said.

"We're quite fortunate that we have schools that offer either compulsory sport or have sports co-ordinators in their schools to ensure that opportunities continue to be available."

Nationally, more than half of those surveyed spent more than 10 hours each week watching television.

Couch potatoes seemed more prevalent outside the main centres - with large numbers of Northland (60 per cent) Hawke's Bay (59 per cent) and Central North Island (58 per cent) respondents admitting to watching more than 10 hours a week. This dropped to less than 50 per cent for Auckland.

Freeview general manager Sam Irvine said while city dwellers reported watching less TV, they were more likely to be "double screening" or browsing the net when in front of the box.

"The survey shows 64 per cent of viewers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch regularly browse the web while watching TV, compared to 56 per cent of those living in the regions."

Bed-time viewing was less popular, with about 43 per cent of respondents saying they watched TV in bed.

International research from Boston College, which tested 900,000 children in 50 countries, found 69 per cent of Kiwi 9 and 10 year olds, and 62 per cent of 13 and 14 year olds were identified by teachers as being adversely affected by insufficient sleep.

While the research did not examine why children lacked sleep, Principals' Federation president Philip Harding said increased technology use in the home could be a factor.

"Light [from screens] suppresses the development of melatonin, which helps you go to sleep. Today kids and adults sit and watch television on a big flat screen and they've got computers. They are doing the exact opposite of what they need to be doing to get to sleep."APNZ