Question

Teenagers who spend an extra hour a day surfing the internet, watching TV or playing computer games risk performing two grades worse in quiz than their peers who don’t, according to research by British scientists.

In a study of more than 800 students aged 14 and 15, researchers from Cambridge University also found that physical activity had no effect on academic performance.

Since this was a prospective study, in which the researchers followed the pupils over time to see how different behaviors affected performance, the scientists said it was reasonable to conclude that too much screen time reduced academic achievement.

“We only measured this.. in Year 10, but this is likely to be a reliable snapshot of participants’ usual behavior, so we can reasonably suggest that screen time may be damaging to a teenager’s grades,” said Kirsten Corder of Cambridge’s Center for Diet and Activity Research, who co-led the work.

The study, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, found the average amount of screen time per day was four hours.

An extra hour in front of the TV or online at age 14-and-a-half was linked with 9.3 fewer quiz points at age 16 — equivalent to two grades, for example from a B to a D. Two extra hours was linked to 18 fewer points.

Unsurprisingly, the results also showed that pupils doing an extra hour of daily homework and reading scored better - getting on average 23.1 more points than their peers.

The scientists said further research was needed to confirm the effect conclusively, but advised parents worried about their children’s grades to consider limiting screen time.

In a breakdown analysis of different screen activities, the researchers found that TV came out as the most detrimental in terms of quiz performance.

1. Summarize main points.

2. Verify article’s interpretation of results to pinpoint any problems, which resulted in incorrect conclusions or application.

3. State your interpretation of the study.

Answer 1

1. Summarize main points.
This article explains the correlation between more screen time and academic performance. The study was done by researchers from Cambridge. The subject of the research was 800 teenagers between 15 and 16 years. According to the study, more screen time affects academic performance drastically. The average screen time according to this research is 4 hours per day but an hour more than this meant 9.3 less quiz points and two hours more than this meant 18 less quiz points which was enough to take someone from B to D in terms of grade. An extra hour of home work on the other hand improved the score by 23.1. Although the researchers suggested that more research need to be done inorder to verify the test results, they concluded that more TV time affects academic performance.

2. Verify article’s interpretation of results to pinpoint any problems, which resulted in incorrect conclusions or application.
The researchers have pointed out that the average screen time is 4 hours but they haven't mentioned whether this is the average time for everyone or for the students. Anyone who spends 4 hours infront of TV is not going to perform well. The population size seems to be small and limited, so it cannot be universal.
3. State your interpretation of the study.
In my point of view, the researchers are right about pinpointing the connection between watching TV for more hours and scoring less grade points in quiz or any other assignments and exams. If someone sits infront of the TV regularly to watch anything that runs at that time has already become an addict and they can't do anything during that time time except being a couch potato. Lots of disconnected visual means lots of distraction, less concentration thus zero thinking capability as whatever they thought while watching the TV was not in connection to their academic.
Today, the students are less attracted to television as internet has taken control of them. Social networking sites and apps have engulfed them, so TV is not a primary choice. But the result is same after all, only the screen size has become small and the effect remains same, 'More screen time, less academic performance'.