Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Our children are at risk. And, the threat isn't the usual suspects like drugs, gangs or underperforming schools. It's entertainment media. Teen media usage is soaring - up to 7 hours and 38 minutes per day (53 hours per week) according to recently released research from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Kids are gorging themselves on an unlimited buffet of entertainment media - television, games, movies, Facebook, iPods. They are consuming media all the time and they're shoveling it in as hard and fast as they can. With media multi-tasking, our youth are able to cram in 10 hours and 45 minutes of content into that 7 and a half hours. The visual image this conjures up — a slovenly, out-of-shape, bleary eyed teen staring at multiple screens with ear buds and cords trailing from their body — is disturbing.

What's even more disturbing is that time spent texting is not included in the 7:38 hours of media use. That's another 1 hour 35 minutes for 7th through 12th graders. OMG.

Some might argue that times and technology are changing and our kids are changing too. They argue that information and education come in different forms these days and we need to keep up with our kids, not ask them to "power down." Well, the research doesn't support this and neither does common sense.

Kids who are heavier media users report lower grades. According to Kaiser, about half (47%) of heavy media users say they usually get fair or poor grades (mostly Cs or lower), compared to about a quarter (23%) of light users.

We are facing an epidemic of childhood obesity. You can't convince me that Guitar Hero or even Wii Fit are as good a workout as running around the neighborhood all afternoon with your friends. Researchers have shown that activity and fitness lead back to health, confidence and even academic performance. Time spent in front of a screen — computer, television, movie or mobile, is time taken away from physical activity.

Kids are also giving up traditional media, especially reading newspapers as part of this trend. Considering recent Pew Center research showing that 95 percent of new news comes from traditional media, it's clear that while teens are cramming in content, it's doubtful they are consuming enough content that will prepare them for the future.

Parents are standing by on the sidelines. Perhaps we are overwhelmed by all the new media. Or perhaps, like our kids, we're getting lazy. Only one in three teens report having rules on media usage, such as limits on the time they can spend watching television (28%) or on the types of content.

It's time for parents to wake up and pay attention to how their children spend their formative years. The well-being of the next generation is at stake.

With rapidly changing technology channels, it seems every crisis or natural disaster ushers in new ways to communicate. The devastating earthquake in Haiti, while being one of the most catastrophic disasters in recent memory, is no different in this respect. From mobile video and photos shared in tweets to eyewitness reports via Skype, our early news came through new communications.

With all the new ways of communicating, one relatively low-tech communication stands to have the biggest impact on the crisis in Haiti - text. In the hours after the crisis, the Red Cross and others mobilized to offer individuals an immediate way to contribute - a text through their cell phone to donate $5 or $10 that will be added to their monthly phone bill. News of this option is rapidly spreading on social media with people posting information on how they donated.

Text is a great way to mobilize a mass audience. In fact, with the fragmentation of traditional media, text, may be one of the last true "mass media" left. Text does not require special downloads or a special phone. The technology is available on 98 percent of mobile handsets and 86 percent of the US owns a mobile phone. Nielsen mobile projects that there will be 100 million text messaging users by the end of 2010 sending and receiving more than 75 billion texts each month. That's a lot of thumb-typing.

Text users aren't all kids either. Nielsen mobile says the media age of a text user is 38. This is a generation that has grown up with mobile technology. So it stands to reason that these text messaging users would be open to making a contribution via text. A short message for a truly worthy cause.

I was recently a victim of a horrible hit and run accident. The guy who ran me off the road was yapping it up on his cell phone. My car was totaled and the emotional turmoil that ensued made me feel as if I, too, had been totaled. Either the guy was so engrossed in his phone conversation that he didn’t realize that he ran me into a concrete barrier or he just didn’t care. Fortunately for me, I walked away physically unscathed. However, my heart goes out to all the people who are not as fortunate.

This situation made me ask myself if making or receiving that phone call while driving is really THAT important. Personally, I find it difficult to talk on the phone and type an email at the same time without becoming distracted from either the conversation or the email. So why is it that I think I can talk on the phone while operating a piece of 3,000 lb machinery at 60mph and be focused? I don't and I will not do it anymore.

We don't realize the impact of a bad decision until something bad happens as a result of it. Most people know that it is probably not a good idea to talk while driving, but they can't resist the urge to grab the cell phone when they get in the car. Have we become a society that does not value any downtime? Must we fill every waking moment of our day DOING something? I implore everyone to think twice about making or taking that call on your cell phone while driving – someone's life could depend on it, including your own.