The Impact of Traditional Children’s Games on Internet Use, Social Skills, and Stress Level: A Cross-Sectional Design

Abstract

Introduction: Traditional games are essential for children’s social inclusion due to cultural values and beliefs. This study was conducted to measure the impact of traditional children’s games on internet use, social skills, and stress levels. Methods: A cross-sectional design was carried out. Children who had parental approval and agreed to participate were included in the study ( n = 314). The data were collected using a questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (8–11 years), and the Social Skills Assessment Scale. Linear regression and multinomial logistic regression were performed to analyze the data. Mantel–Haenszel chi-square test was performed to assess the confounding factors for playing traditional games. Results: The children’s mean age was 11.58 ( SD = 0.49), and 56.1% were girls. Children who did not play traditional games were more likely to use the internet than those who played traditional games (odds ratio [OR] = 2.16, p = .014). The social skills were significantly associated with daily internet use time (β = 0.164, p = .003), playing traditional games (β = 0.155, p = .008), and frequency of gaming per week (β = 0.123, p = .035). The stress levels were associated with gender (β = 0.120, p = .033) and academic level (β = 0.111, p = .048). Discussion: Traditional game playing reduced the duration of one sitting and daily internet use. Moreover, outdoor gaming, frequency of playing games, and daily internet use duration were predictors of social skills, whereas being a girl and sixth-grade student were predisposing factors of stress level. Nurses could benefit from traditional games in reducing internet use and stress and improving social skills in children.