Exposição e uso de dispositivo de mídia na primeira infância

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the exposure and characterize the use of media devices by children from zero to six years of age treated at the pediatric unit of a Regional Hospital in the Federal District. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive, and investigative study, conducted through an interview applied to volunteers responsible for the children. The data obtained were plotted and treated to determine the frequencies of each variable investigated. RESULTS: 102 interviews were performed, and all results were included in the study. We found that all the children in the study used media devices daily. Approximately 83% of them started using it before one year of age and 17% between one and two years of age; and 28.4% had their own media devices; 13% of children had a profile in social networks. We had 93.1% of the respondents stating that they had never received guidance from pediatricians on health risks due to the excessive use of a media device. CONCLUSION: The results revealed a pattern of inappropriate use of media devices by the children in the study, with early, frequent, and excessive use. There was a vacuum in the pediatricians’ role in dealing with the problem related to the use of media by children in early childhood. Such findings may support the development of strategies for the prevention of toxic stress linked to the current epidemic, called digital addiction.

Keywords

• child
• smartphone
• epidemiology
• child development screen time