Canadian Research Team Conducts 3-Year Study on 315 Preschool Children
As young children are exposed to digital devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs at an earlier age and their usage time increases, a study has found that the more tablet use between the ages of 3.5 and 5.5, the more expressions of anger and frustration increase. The research team expressed concern that this could lead to a risk of emotional regulation disorders.
On the 14th, Yonhap News reported that Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick's team at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada, published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics the results of a three-year study investigating the correlation between tablet use and expressions of anger and frustration among parents of 315 preschool children.
The research team repeatedly surveyed and analyzed the tablet usage time and expressions of anger and frustration of 315 parents of preschool boys (171) and girls (144) aged 3.5 to 5.5 living in Nova Scotia from 2020 to 2022.
As a result, the average weekly tablet usage time of the children surveyed was ▲ 3.5 years old (6.5 hours) ▲ 4.5 years old (6.7 hours) ▲ 5.5 years old (7.0 hours).
Analyzing the relationship between tablet usage time and expressions of anger and frustration, it was found that children who used tablets 1.15 hours more per day at age 3.5 showed a 22% increase in expressions of anger and frustration at age 4.5. Additionally, children who expressed more anger and frustration at age 4.5 increased their tablet usage time by 0.28 hours per day at age 5.5.
The research team explained that these results show that as children's tablet usage time increases, expressions of anger and frustration also increase, and the increase in anger and frustration can in turn lead to longer tablet usage time, creating a vicious cycle.
The team pointed out that although "tablet use among preschool children continues to increase and mobile device use is known to be related to emotional regulation disorders in children, there has been no clear research demonstrating the link between tablet use and the development of self-regulation abilities."
They added, "The ability to effectively regulate anger and frustration is important for school education and future health," urging that "parents should pay more attention to the fact that tablet use in early childhood can interfere with their children's ability to manage anger and frustration and may increase outbursts of anger."
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