Smartphone Use among Pre-School Children – An Exploratory Study

Aim:  Present study aimed to see the extent of smartphone use among children of Pre-school age with associated factors and impact of such usage. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted at two nursery level English medium schools at the urban locality of Gwalior city at Madhya Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: Purposive sampling method was used to enroll Participants (N=55), aged 2-6 years, who were Pre-schoolers and using smartphone for at least one hour per day. IQ of all participants was assessed using GDT. Then Parents (either one) of such participants, who has average level of developmental milestones/IQ, were screened on GHQ-5 and interviewed regarding their child’s smartphone use behaviour on Smartphone Use Questionnaire for Early Childhood.  Statistical Analysis: Data was analysed on SPSS 20.0 in the form of Frequencies and Percentages. Contingency Coefficient and Pearson ‘r’ was used to see relationship between different socio-demographic and other intervening variables. Results:  Family-type, duration of smartphone use by parents, child’s age, and educational reasons were some of the factors influencing Smartphone use by children. Significant association was found between the duration of Smartphone use and the negative impact on the child in the form of increased anger, reduced interest in studies, and weak eye sight. Conclusion: Socio-demographic characteristics of parents and children play a significant role in increased usage of smartphones in this age group.