An Exploration of Preschool and Early School Age Children's Patterns of Television Viewing and Reading Behaviour in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

Abstract

Even with a wide variety of media platforms available, young children still spend a large proportion of their leisure time viewing television. It has been argued that time spent viewing displaces time for reading. For television viewing time to displace reading time two assumptions need to be met. The first assumption is that children who are not viewing would read. The second assumption is that there is a 'zero-sum' relationship between time for reading and viewing, so that increases in viewing time are systematically associated with reductions in reading time. This study set out to investigate evidence for these assumptions using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Time use diaries for a typical weekday (N=3,562) and a typical weekend day (N=3,397) were analysed at 4, 6 and 8 years of age. Cross-sectional analysis examined viewing and reading behaviour in blocks of time across the day to identify if and when behaviour was consistent with the first assumption of the displacement hypothesis. Reading and viewing behaviour were not consistent with the first assumption during the day. Nonviewers were not more likely to read than viewers. In the evenings, reading and viewing behaviour were partially consistent with the first assumption, nonviewers were consistently more likely to read but viewers were not always less likely to read. Data were also consistent with the second assumption in the evening. Nonviewers consistently read for more time than viewers in the evening. A rigorous test of the second assumption was then carried out. Cross-sectional analysis, focussed on the evening, showed reading times tended to decrease as viewing times increased. Results were partially consistent with the second assumption of the displacement hypothesis. For lighter viewers, the second assumption did not hold. Time spent reading and viewing did not take up all their available evening time. For the heaviest viewers, time spent reading and viewing took up almost all their available evening time. Consistent with the second assumption, any increase in viewing time would likely be at the cost of reading time. Longitudinal analysis showed that the pattern of viewing for longer times and reading for shorter times evident at 4 years persisted through 6 and 8 years. The associations between viewing and reading time could lead to a downward spiral in reading achievement. The length of time children had available in the evening, maternal education and family involvement had small positive associations with time spent reading. However, the association between time spent viewing and time spent reading was stronger than these associations.