Parents Perception of Using Digital Technology Among Preschool Children in Selected Schools in an Urban Community

Abstract

Background: In the world we live in now, technological devices are becoming more and more important. Digital technology can be a source of information and a good way to learn new things, but it also has some draw backs. Devices like tablets, phones, and computers have taken the place of toys that children used to like. When looked at from this point of view, it can be said that many common technological devices today have both good and bad effects on people. Objective: To assess the parent’s perception of digital technology usage of preschool children in selected schools in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Methodology: The cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the A total of 123 preschool children’s (age:3-6yrs) parents participated in the study, parents’ perception of digital technology usage of preschool children in selected schools (YWCA Higher Secondary Girls School, Assemblies of GOD Church School, Silver dale Preparatory Girls High School and Zamzam Point Int. School & College) in Dhaka city, Bangladesh from January 2024 to November 2024. Data were collected by face to face interview with the parents by semi structured questionnaire. The participants were selected by convenient sampling procedure. Ethical permission was obtained from the Institutional Review Board(IRB) of BSMMU. Results: A total of 123 parents were participated in the study. Among them, 83.7% were women and 16.3% were men.60.2% of the mothers were between the ages of 20 and 30, and 78% of the fathers were between the ages of 20 and 30. 26.8% of mothers had completed H.S.C level, and 31.7% of fathers had a master's degree or more. Among the parents,48.8% Parents thought that children first used digital technology between the ages of 3 and 4 years. According to Parents perception, half of their children used digital technology for two hours a day. 69% children used digital technology for social media. According to Parents perception 59.3% of their children were generally well-behaved and usually did what adults asked, but 13.8% children often fight with other children. Among them, 36.6% of children had headaches,35.5% had body aches, 13.8% had decreased visual activity, 17.9% had lost weight and felt tired, and 40.7% were lack of sleep disruption. As a result, the children also experienced some psychological effects. 64.2% Parents thought that their children overused digital technology, which took away from their study time, 63.4% of children made them less creative, and 49.6% of children were a little bit restless. Conclusion: Digital technology use can influence a child's physical, psychological and social health. Parents influence children positive usage of technology. In order for children to adopt a healthy lifestyle, it is essential to monitor the amount of time, frequency, and content viewed while using technological devices and to ensure that children have or develop adequate opportunities for physical activity, healthy eating habits, proper sleep cycles, and supportive social relationships. Awareness program should be conducted about proper use of digital technology. Further studies involving larger sample size and addressing geographical variations are needed for generalizability.