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Feeling like your kids are a little too plugged in? You’re not alone – a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids ages 8 to 18 spend 7 ½ hours each day using entertainment media. Added up, that’s more than 53 hours a week, essentially dominating every hour between school and sleep.

We’re looking at the different aspects of the study from Canada’s CTV, the blog Latina Lista, CNN, ZDNET and NBC News.

One technology analyst tells CTV that too much media use runs the risk of stunting a child’s social skills.

“Some of these kids had 200-300 Facebook friends, but then had nobody to go outside and play with, right? Exactly. The concept of a Facebook friend is quite laughable especially in so far as kids are concerned. At that age, they are learning precisely what a friend means and a Facebook friend really is nothing more than a tenuous connection.”

Latina Lista comments on the study’s finding that black and Hispanic youth consume 4 more hours of media than white youth. She says parents need to monitor content, especially content targeted toward racial groups.

“From the music...to the Internet... to the amount of time spent with each media that makes interacting with friends and family an impatient and laborious act, high media usage among Hispanic and black children is something that needs to be addressed with even bigger questions.”

But CNN's Ali Velshi notes that the world demands more technology and parents need to adjust their attitudes toward media use. And an NBC news reporter notes that high usage can translate into further problems.

“There’s no point in old farts like us saying that it’s the wrong thing to do. That falls on deaf ears. It doesn’t matter – it’s a different world for the kids. We need to approach this from a very different perspective – don’t be getting mad at the kids about the fact that they’re wasting their time on all this stuff.”

“The heaviest users were more likely to report they got into trouble, were not happy at school, and 47 percent made average grades or lower.”

The study couldn’t determine whether the media use causes lower grades or if troubled children are simply more likely to use entertainment media. A contributor for ZDNET says schools need to stop banning media from classrooms and start embracing technology.

“If kids are bored, what are the chances that they are learning?... The media aren’t the problem. It’s our outdated thoughts about kids’ capacities to process, use, and enjoy the massive streams of data they access.”

Finally, NBC’s The Today Show shares the perspective of one parenting expert, who says parents can connect with their kids more by being tech savvy themselves.

“So glass half full…is this possibly an opportunity for parents to connect with their kids if they get to know this technology a little better?... Sit down with your child and talk to them about what they’re watching. Text so that you can connect with your child, it’s getting more into their lives. When they are doing something like a family meal – that would be your time to turn off so they’re more engaged.”

So do you think kids are spending too much time in their electronic world? Or will all that media multi-tasking prepare them to deal with a plugged-in world?

Writer: Jenn Herseim

Producer: Newsy Staff