News and Notes from the
World of Al Menconi

TV Tips for Parents Interaction, not Isolation Eric Metaxas March 19, 2013 We’ve heard about different studies for years, that too much TV isn’t good for kids. Well, the latest study from New Zealand adds a new wrinkle: some disturbing correlations between excessive TV viewing and antisocial behavior in young people. The researchers tracked a group of kids between the ages of five and fifteen, then followed up with them when they were twenty-six. The abstract from the study is available online (check this commentary on BreakPoint.org   for the link). That abstract summarizes the findings this way: “Young adults who had spent more time watching television during childhood and adolescence were significantly more likely to have a criminal conviction, a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, and more aggressive personality traits compared with those who viewed less television.” The website PsychCentral adds, “Other studies have suggested a link between television

An article from   David R. Smith   at   TheSource4YM.com ,   2/21/2013 The cost of text messaging plans differs from carrier to carrier. Some charge for individual texts, some charge for texting as part of a plan, and some even offer an unlimited amount of text messaging for the right price.  But money may not be the only way some kids are paying for their text messages Tied to Texting Most of us know how important cell phones are to teens; onerecent survey from TextPlus found that half of 13-17 year olds felt as though they “couldn’t live without their mobile devices” for one week. The same quick poll also found that 36% of the same group said they “weren’t able to go 10 minutes” without checking their phones. Additionally, 52% said they were on their cell phones regardless of the environment they were in.  click here for the rest of this article.