Teenagers who watch several hours of television a day do worse at school and are less likely to graduate than their peers, a new study suggests.

The 20-year study involving nearly 700 families in upstate New York, US, found that those watching more than three hours of TV a day were twice as likely not continue their education past high school. The researchers say their study is the first to show that attention problems linked to TV viewing could be the cause of academic failure, since they controlled for learning difficulties and behavioural problems at the start of the study.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn11803

So? Seeing the American Idol final is vastly more important than any freaking graduation.