Examination of the effects of technological device use on preschool children's quality of life: An exploratory and cross-sectional study.

Abstract

This exploratory and cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the effects of technological device use on preschool children's life quality. One hundred twenty-five preschool students were recruited from two kindergartens affiliated to the Directorate of National Education in provincial centre of Zonguldak, Turkey. Personal Information Form and Quality of Life Scale for Young Children (KINDL Quality of Life Scale) were tools for data, collected by the researcher herself from parents through face-to-face interview method. It was found in the study that 54.4% of the parents and 42.4% of their children who were involved in the study were frequently used technological devices. Mean score of the children's KINDL Quality of Life Scale was 79.2 (9.5; range 57-99). When comparing this score and its subscales with children's desire to not sleep due to playing virtual games and so forth, the differences between all the other subscales except self-esteem were significant (p<0.05). A significant difference was also found between the children's sleeping hours and subscales such as self-esteem, physical and emotional health (p<0.05). The results show that more than half of the parents and their children frequently use the technological devices. Healthcare providers should inform the parents regarding the possibly negative consequences such as negatively affecting the children's quality of life.