21 May, 2017
U.S. Families Will Spend Average of 1/3rd of Their Summer Staring at a Screen
CHICAGO-May 18, 2017 -(BUSINESS WIRE)–With warmer weather finally arriving in most parts of the country and the school year winding down to a close, Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) (www.groupon.com) asked 1,000 U.S. parents how much time their families plan to spend on their electronic devices this summer––and the results were staggering.
The average American family will spend an average of 35 days of their summer, which is the equivalent of more than one-third, using their electronic devices. The survey, which was conducted for Groupon’s Funtacular Fun Fest (gr.pn/funfest) running from May 18-20, found that the average child will watch an estimated 60 movies and play 150 hours of video games over the summer months.
“We love technology, but we also think it should be in the service of something we love even more, which is spending time with our families and experiencing the compelling local activities offered during the summer months and throughout the year,” said Greg Rudin, head of Fun Things To Do at Groupon. “As parents, we’re often just as guilty as our kids when it comes to screen time, which is why it’s important for the entire family to put down our devices every once in awhile and go make some memories together.”
When asked how too much screen time affected their children, 77 percent of parents said screen exposure influenced their child’s mood, 62 percent said they face regular battles to get their children to put down their device and almost half said too much screen time impacts their sleep. And their children weren’t the only ones impacted by too much screen time, parents said they feel like they personally waste one of out every four weekends per month and throw away 9 non-working days over the summer due to their own inactivity.
Parents were asked the top five ways that families can make sure they get the most out of their summer without being consumed by their electronics, and they identified the following:
- Hitting the beach
- Attending a BBQ
- Going on a road trip
- Visiting a zoo
- Going to a water park
But according to parents, ditching the technology and spending more time with the kids over the summer months won’t come cheap. The survey asked parents to imagine their perfect family weekend and found Moms and Dads estimating it would cost $2,328.
Parents said they would spend $1,465 on travel, lodging, taxis and fuel––with an additional $510 spent on admissions and tickets to attractions and evening entertainment. Parents also estimate that they’ll spend $353 on meals during the perfect family weekend.
For those families looking to have the perfect weekend on just about any budget, Groupon’s Funtacular Fun Fest offers a number of deals on top summer activities, including deals on family activities, tickets and events, outdoor fun and top deals of the week.
To view the entire collection, please visit gr.pn/funfest.
To view an infographic of the survey results, please visit https://www.groupon.com/pages/summer-screen-time.
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