Association between home environment and children's long hours of internet use: An analysis of Survey on Parent-child Relationship in the Internet Age

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between home environment and long hours of internet use among Japanese elementary school and junior high school students.Methods We used data from the Survey on Parent-child Relationship in the Internet Age conducted by the Japanese National Institute for Youth Education in 2017. In the analysis, 2062 children between fifth grade of elementary school and second grade of junior high school from 20 prefectures in Japan were retained after excluding 210 children with no internet use. Exposure variables included children's ownership of internet devices (e.g., smartphones), parents' ways of using a mobile phone or smartphone at home, and the child's relationship to his or her parents. Outcomes were long hours of internet use on a weekday and a weekend day and experiencing a lack of sleep. We defined long hours as three or more hours on a weekday and five or more hours on a weekend day. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated using logistic regression analyses.Results Children's ownership of a smartphone or tablet was associated with long hours of internet use and experiencing lack of sleep. Compared to non-owners, adjusted odds ratios for smartphone owners were 2.55 [95%CI: 1.92-3.38] for long hours of internet use on a weekday and 1.66 [95%CI: 1.17-2.34] for lack of sleep. Spending long hours on the internet on the weekend was associated with parents using mobile phones while talking to their children [OR=1.59, 95%CI: 1.03-2.44] and children who do not enjoy being with family [OR=2.05, 95%CI: 1.00-4.18]. Additional analysis showed that situations such as parents' frequent use of mobile phones during talking, family members' frequent use of mobile phones even during family time, and not enjoying being with family were associated with not setting rules for children's use of mobile phones and personal computers at home.Conclusion Our findings suggest that factors such as ownership of devices and the ways parents use their mobile phones are associated with children's hours of internet use at home. To create an environment where children use internet appropriately, parental practices regarding mobile device use and rule setting at home may be important.