Art imitates life and research imitates common sense, it seems. A new study has found that the more young people watch television, the poorer their relationships with both their friends and parents.

Evidently, some parents worry that their kids might feel excluded if they were not watching the same programmes as their friends. But lead researcher Dr Rose Richards of the University of Otago, New Zealand, says that limiting TV viewing “may result in stronger relationships between young people, their friends and their parents."

The study involved 3043 New Zealand adolescents aged 14 to 15 in 2004. The teens completed a confidential questionnaire about their free-time habits, as well as an assessment of their attachment to parents and peers.

The researchers also assessed interview responses from 976 members of the Dunedin study who were 15 years old between 1987 and 1988.

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