Psychiatry Investig.  2018 Jun;15(6):568-573. 10.30773/pi.2017.11.30.2.

Electronic Media Exposure and Use among Toddlers

• Chang HY
• Park EJ
• Yoo HJ
• Lee JW
• Shin Y

• KMID: 2428881
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2017.11.30.2

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
These days, young children are exposed to a wide range of smart devices and their usage of smart devices is rapidly increasing worldwide. However, the use of smart devices by young children has not been studied in detail yet because smart device is relatively recent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the exposure status of smart devices among 2-5 years old children in Korea.
METHODS
Four hundred parents of 2- to 5-year-old children were invited to enroll. Data on demographic information and the frequency of media use, time of media use, age at first use of media was self-reported.
RESULTS
Among 390 toddlers, 39.3% watched TV almost every day, while 12.0% of children used smartphone on a daily basis. During weekdays, 48% of the children watched TV for over an hour. On weekends, 63.1% of the children watched TV for over an hour. On weekends, 23.4% of children use their smartphones for over an hour. Children using smartphones before 24 months of age were 31.3%.
CONCLUSION
Research has shown that TV and smartphones are the most popular digital devices used by toddlers. Most toddlers began using smart devices at 12-24 months. This study provides comprehensive information on children's contemporary use of media.

Keyword

Toddler; Electronic media; Smart device; Exposure

MeSH Terms

Child
Child, Preschool
Humans
Korea
Parents
Smartphone