A new study indicates that teens who spend a lot of time in front of televisions and computers are more likely to be detached from their parents and even friends.

Researchers in New Zealand asked 3,043 teenagers between 14 and 15 years old about they spend their time when they do not have anything to do and how close they were to other people.

The study was able to show that for every hour a kid spends in front of the TV, there is a corresponding increase of 4 percent in the chance that the child will be detached from his or her parents while there is a 5 percent increase of the same chance for every hour that the child uses the computer.

In the report published in the March issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the researchers also pointed out that the children who spent most of their time studying and doing homework were more attached to their parents.

The researchers from the University of Otago in Dunedin also studied responses by 15-year-old kids to an interview in 1987 and 1988. The results were more staggering as there was a 13 percent increase chance of detachment from parents for every hour spent watching TV while 24 percent increase in the risk of detachment from peers for every hour on TV.

One example of a reason why watching TV can cause detachment from parents is that children may spend less time eating meals with their parents when a TV set is installed inside their bedroom.

The researchers also speculate that teens may use online activities such as social networking as substitute for real life relationships.

The researchers concluded in the report that it is important for children to spend more time with their parents so the amount of time children spend on screen-time can cause an alarm. They also suggest further research to study the effect of new technologies on adolescents.