Effect of Electronic and Digital Media Use on the Health of Adolescents in Ondo City.

Abstract

The use of electronic and digital media has been a growing concern worldwide in recent years. It is associated with some health-related problems, among children and young adults. However, few studies have examined this problem in Ondo city. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of electronic and digital media use on the health of adolescents. The study used an explanatory cross-sectional design. The population comprised 174 students who were randomly selected from 6 secondary schools. The schools were randomly selected from all senior secondary schools in Ondo city. The Electronic and Digital Media Questionnaire (EDMQ) was used. Two hypotheses were tested using an independent t-test and binary logistic regression. The result showed that female adolescents have almost 3 fold the male odds of having poor health outcomes after exposure to electronic and digital media (OR: 2.61; p<0.05). Whereas those who mostly liked mixed channels had 78 per cent lower odds (OR: 0.22; p<0.05) of having poor health outcomes following exposure to electronic and digital media. The study revealed that there is a significant effect of electronic and digital media use on the health of adolescents as well as a significant difference in gender difference regarding the effect of electronic and digital media use on the health of female and male adolescents in Ondo city. The study recommended enlightenment programmes and counselling for secondary school students to address the health-related problems associated with the use the electronic and digital media