Reaction Time in Television Watching School Children

Study was done to find out whether Auditory and Visual reaction time (ART, VRT) is affected in school children who watch television (TV) daily. 56 school children of both gender aged between 10- 14 years were included and informed consent was obtained. Children watching TV for less than 1 hour per day were taken as controls and those watching for more than 2 hours per day were included in study group. Daily hours of physical activity, academic performances were enquired. ART and VRT was measured using Portable Reaction Time Response Apparatus supplied by Inco Instrumentation. Student t test was applied for two groups to find out significant difference. VRT was significant with p value = 0.008. Hours of daily TV watching was significant with p value= 0.000. Academic performance was significant for boys with p value= 0.033. Physical activity was significantly affected in study group with p value = 0.004. VRT was prolonged in children watching TV for more than 2 hours. TV watching causes memory and concentration problems leading to decreased academic performance, replaces activities like sports, outdoor games which are essential for growing children.