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 About ten years ago, I used my computer only when I needed to look for term in Encarta Encyclopedia, or when I needed to print a document. I used to spent most of my time watching TV, and reading magazines like Seventeen. By that time DVD’s haven’t come out yet, so I used to spent my weekends watching VHS movies. Buying CD’s, and listening to my favorite artists like Britney Spears or Backstreet Boys on my Discman was a hobby of mine too. My parents rule was that I should first finished homework, and then I could watch like around two hours of my favorite TV shows like Sabrina: The Teenage Witch before going to bed. I remember every year that went by technology was growing too. I was in six grade when my Dad bought our first DVD player, and I was in eight grade when my Dad gave to me my fist Sony MP3 player. Ten years later, technology and media have grown to this huge magnitude that have not only brought incredible improvements, but have also shaped from the beginning a population named as Generation M2.  

 
Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds 
 
Since they were born, members from Generation M2 like my sister have been surrounded by all these technological and media improvements. According to a study perform by the Kaiser Family Foundation because technology allows an exposure of 24-hour media access to children and teens entertainment media has risen dramatically. Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). And because they spend so much of that time ‘media multitasking’ (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.
Factors/Causes

 The Kaiser Survey presents some influent factors: 

  •   Parents and media Even though, TV consumption has decreased in the past years, It has increased. Many new ways to watch TV–on the Internet, cell phones, and iPods–actually led to an increase in total TV consumption from 3:51 to 4:29 per day, including :24 of online viewing, :16 on iPods and other MP3 players, and :15 on cell phones.

My parents keep the same rule with my sister. She must first have finished her homework, so she can play Wii or a computer game.

  •  Mobile media driving increased consumption Over the past five years, there has been a huge increase in ownership among 8- to 18-year-olds: from 39% to 66% for cell phones, and from 18% to 76% for iPods and other MP3 players.  

I got my first I-Pod when I turned fifteen, and I got my first cellphone when I turned sixteen. In contrary, my little sister got both her first cellphone and I-pod when she was ten years old.

  •  Heavy media users report getting lower grades About half (47%) of heavy media users say they usually get fair or poor grades (mostly Cs or lower), compared to about a quarter (23%) of light users.

My sister is struggling to pass her seventh grade due to her dependence to the Internet, instead of using analysis or rational thinking.

  •  Popular new activities like social networking also contribute to increased media use  Top online activities include social networking (:22 a day), playing games (:17), and visiting video sites such as YouTube (:15). Three-quarters (74%) of all 7th-12th graders say they have a profile on a social networking site.

 I created my Facebook account when I was sixteen. My sister is not even thirteenth, and she has already a Facebook and MSN account. 

  •  Big changes in TV Only about three in ten young people say they have rules about how much time they can spend watching TV (28%) or playing video games (30%), and 36% say the same about using the computer.

 

Every generation has been shaped by the factors that have been to their surroundings. Ten years ago, I used to follow the media that was taking place by that time. Nowadays, teens are the ones shaping the course of media.