Children on the internet play less sport
Children who spend extended periods on the Internet are much less likely to participate in sporting activities, according to data released today (7th June) by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
ABS Assistant Director of Recreation Statistics Paul Pamment said the biggest drop in sports participation is evident in children who spend more than 20 hours a week on screen based activities.
Pamment explained "our statistics show that just 52% of children who spend 20 or more hours a week online while at home participate in organised sport.
"In contrast, 70% of kids who spend 3-4 hours per week accessing the Internet at home took part in at least one organised sport outside of school hours in the 12 month period prior to survey."
A similar pattern was found among children watching TV, DVDs or videos, with Pamment adding "we found that 64% of children who spent 20 hours or more watching TV in the last two school weeks prior to the survey period participated in organised sport and dancing.
"This compares to 72% of children who spent 3-4 hours watching TV."
The data is contained in the ABS publication Perspectives on Sport.
Click here for further information on Perspectives on Sport (cat. no. 4156.0.55.001).
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