¿Cómo usan el teléfono móvil los niños de Castilla y León?

Abstract

Introduction: mobile phones are a great communication tool between equals, but inappropriate use can affect family and social relationships and school performance. Objectives: the main objective of this work was to study the use of mobile phones in the pediatric population of several health areas in Castilla y León. Material and methods: prospective multicenter study in several health centers and a regional hospital. A survey was passed to parents of children who attended the consultation, and to adolescents who wished to, who also responded to a dependency test (TDM). Results: the mobile is the electronic device that children used the most to surf the Internet. The average age at which they had their first mobile phone was 10.35 years, most of them with Internet access. 68% of them accessed without any parental control. 70% of parents established rules of operating. A third recognized that these rules were not fulfilled. The number of hours per day of use increased with the age of the children. More than 50% of the adolescents used it for more than two hours a day. The little ones used it to watch videos and the older ones to chat and social networks. The use of the mobile phone was related to the use of glasses, but not with academic performance, sleep problems or sports practice. In the TDM many positive responses were observed in the items of the four sections into which the test is divided, especially in the lack of control. Conclusions: the average age for acquiring their first mobile phone is lower than the recommended age. Its abuse can generate behaviors with traits of addiction.