TV Viewing Habits Amongst Urban Children

TV competes with family, school, society and religious institutions to provide role models and information that affect childrens’ beliefs, values, behavior, attitude and lifestyle. This study was conducted to make note of TV viewing patterns amongst children from middle and upper middle socioeconomic strata of the urban society. A sample of 400 children of 8 to 16 years of age, across the region of Punjab was selected. It was found that on an average, children watch two hours or less of TV daily and most of them indulged in bedtime TV viewing. They watched TV primarily for entertainment and for learning. Childrens’ most preferred program was childrens’ shows/serials, followed by cartoon/animated programs. More number of girls and older children watch TV to learn and to counter loneliness and because parents discussed TV more often with them compared to boys and younger children