Impact of mobile phone use on health, behavior and social interactions among children aged 2 – 12 years

Abstract

Children and teenagers are becoming increasingly dependent on their mobile devices, which they use for entertainment, education, and self-expression in addition to keeping in touch with friends and family. The prolonged use of mobile phones can have deleterious effects on children. Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate these effects on specific areas of the children. Methods:  It was a cross-sectional study conducted at the outpatient department during the study period from September 2019 to February 2020. Children below the age of 2 years or mentally challenged children were excluded. Informed consent was taken from parents who participated in the activity. The child and the parents are explained the research purpose and data collected in the pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire. SPSS version 21.0 was used to enter and analyses the data. Results: A total of 399 participants of age 2 to 12 years were included in the study. In 50.3 % of children who were using mobile for more than 2 hours, 55.1% of children slept less than 6 hours a day with 68.9% of children having a disturbance in sleep pattern. 33.9% of children reported having been wearing glasses and 34.8% of children showed an increase in weight. Regarding social interaction and behavior, 39.9% of children showed rude behavior towards their parents.53.2% of children using mobiles were associated with behavioral issues like isolation thus avoiding gathering while 77.3% were addicted to mobiles and showed anger and frustration when mobiles were taken away from them. Conclusion: The use of the mobile phone negatively impacts the various aspects of a child’s life.