Parents’ Attitudes Toward School Students’ Overuse of Smartphones and Its Detrimental Health Impacts: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Parents’ awareness of the risk of the overuse of smartphones (SPs) among their children and parents’ attitudes towards this societal phenomenon are crucial factors to consider when investigating the causes and effects of, and interventions to control, this public health issue. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to explore the awareness and attitudes of parents regarding SP overuse among their children and the detrimental impacts associated with it METHODS The qualitative method of semi-structured face-to-face interviews was used to collect data from fathers and mothers of children aged 6–18 years RESULTS One hundred and twenty parents agreed to participate in the study: there were more female (62.5%) than male (37.5%) respondents. Almost all of the participants (98.3%) were aware that the overuse of SPs could lead to their children becoming addicted to the devices; they were also aware that there could be side effects on their health (97.5%). Although the participants, mostly the mothers, supervised their children’s use of SPs closely (88.3%), the majority could not control their children’s length of time using SPs, as the children considered this a deprivation of their rights. Eye-related problems, headaches, and anger were the most common complaints among the children CONCLUSIONS Although the parents were aware of detrimental impact of SP overuse, the majority could not control the length of time their children spent using the devices. It was found that strong social bonds among family members can play a large role in controlling the use of SPs. Solutions are suggested.

Correlates of parental knowledge about smartphone exposure among young children

“…While unable to find any studies that cite a parenting knowledge gap in this area, we believe the latter may be explained by the especially close bonding mothers have with young children, which would lead them to be more concerned about smartphone exposure among their offspring. This view is supported by Buabbas et al, 23 who reported that mothers supervised their children's smartphone use more than fathers.…”

Established Adults, Who Self-Identify as Smartphone and/or Social Media Overusers, Struggle to Balance Smartphone Use for Personal and Work Purposes

“…Research on smartphone overuse has focused on youth (e.g., Buabbas et al, 2021;Kim et al, 2020), and emerging adults (see review from Busch & McCarthy, 2021), with little research focusing on individuals in the established adulthood stage of life (Mehta et al, 2020). This study explored smartphone use by established adults who perceive that they overuse their smartphones and/or social media.…”

Prediction of Symptoms of Psychosomatic Disorders in University Students Based on Perfectionism Mediated by Smartphone Addiction

“…The improper use of smartphone can cause problems such as smartphone addiction, which is categorized as behavioral addictions. This phenomenon can affect many aspects of the lives of adolescents and youth, including education and physical health, and may be associated with problems such as interpersonal problems, anger, aggression, and excitement [6]. Among the main consequences of smartphone addiction are negative psychological effects, psychosomatic, and physical disorders such as; digital eye strain, itchy eyes, headache caused by eye fatigue, and text neck.…”