Table of Content - Volume 11 Issue 1 - July 2019

 

 

Study of impact of the use of electronic media on developmental milestones in children

 

 

Abstract               Objectives: To study the changes, if any, in the appearance of certain developmental milestones due to increased use of technology in children below the age of 5 years. Design: cross sectional study. Setting: tertiary care hospital Methods: This was a proforma based study, carried out on 105 patients between 6 months to 5 years on both IPD as well as OPD basis. The patient information sheet containing the salient points of study was distributed. A record of developmental milestones in all domains was recorded. Additional information regarding the electronic development milestones (like mobiles, TV Remote, Remote control operated toys) was elicited from history. Results: The cross sectional study was carried out on 105 patients between 6 months to 5 years of age. Out of 105 patients, 51 were females and 64 were males. The Sample contained mainly Upper Middle class subjects (54), followed by Upper class (33), Middle class (18), Lower Middle class (3) and none from the Lower class according to the modified B.G. Prasad classification. Out of 105 subjects, 7 subjects did not have a Television at home. Of the remaining 98 subjects, 51 subjects were unable to use a TV remote while, 47 subjects were able to effectively use the remote Conclusions: There was no observed change in the time of appearance of the normal developmental milestones in this study due to the impact of exposure to electronic gadgets. These parameters of operability of gadgets can serve as a tool for assessment of a child’s growth and development, after a further in-depth study and extensive research. These parameters may prove useful to both the paediatrician and the parents as “electronic” developmental milestones in the future.

Key Word: electronic media.

 

 

INTRODUCTION

One of the notable changes in our social environment in 21st century has been the saturation of our culture and daily lives by the mass media. A study carried out by Kaiser Family Foundation found that 25% of all children between the age 4-6years use personal computer for at least 50 min every day. Unfortunately use of such media has detrimental effects on children well being. Many Indians now posses smart phone and other gadget which the child is well versed with. So history of use and playing of such gadget can be easily noticed and assessed by parental report which could be easily correlated between all domains of milestones. The project was carried out in tertiary care hospital with the most accessible and widely used gadget by children like mobile phones and TV Remote.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. To study the changes, if any, in the appearance of certain developmental milestones due to increased use of technology in children below the age of 5 years.
2. To identify any additional electronic milestones that may be achieved by children below the age of 5 years.

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a proforma-based, cross-sectional study carried out on 105 subjects between 6 months and 5 years of age on both, IPD as well as OPD basis over the months of August and September 2016. A Patient Information Sheet containing the salient points of the study was distributed in English and Marathi after which a Written Informed Consent of the guardian/parent of the child was taken.

Inclusion Criteria

1. The subject has to be between 6 months and 5 years of age at the time of the study.
2. The informant should be a source close to the subject i.e. a family member who lives with the subject
3. The subject should have atleast 2 of the following 3 electronic gadgets at home, namely, television with remote, Smartphone and remote control car.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Patients suffering from any condition causing failure to thrive.
2. Patients suffering from any disorder affecting the central nervous system.

A record of the current motor, sensory, social and cognitive developmental milestones was recorded from the informant present. The parameters for these developmental milestones was taken from the standard textbook of O.P. Ghai Essential Paediatrics 8th Edition. Additional information regarding the electronic developmental milestones was elicited from the history and corroborated at the place of research with the use of daily household items like a mobile phone, a TV remote and remote controlled toys, used regularly by the subject for entertainment and education. As the hospital is based on the outskirts of Pune city and the patients come from semi-urban as well as a rural setting, the socio-economic class was calculated on the basis of modified B.G. Prasad classification. The data was analyzed by the help of Microsoft Excel. The inclusion criteria was expanded to include the point of the subject having exposure to the use of at least 2 out of the 3 electronic gadgets included in the study, namely, Television with remote, smartphone and remote control car. This was to bring about some standardization into the study to prevent discrepancies in data collection. The sample size was decreased from 120 subjects to 105 subjects due to constraints with regards to time as also due to the failures to meet the inclusion criteria.

 

OBSERVATIONS

1. The sex ratio in the project was as follows

Females = 51; Males = 54

 

1. The socio-economic make-up of our sample size was as follows

The Sample contained mainly Upper Middle class subjects (54), followed by Upper class (33), Middle class (18), Lower Middle class (3) and none from the Lower class according to the modified B.G. Prasad classification.

1. The age distribution in the study was

1. The Developmental History was found to be normal in all the 105 subjects.
2. Out of 105 subjects, 7 subjects did not have a Television at home. Of the remaining 98 subjects, 51 subjects were unable to use a TV remote while, 47 subjects were able to effectively use the remote at:

1. All 105 subjects had a mobile phone at home. 40 subjects were unable to unlock the phone while the data for the remaining 65 subjects was:

1. 46 subjects were unable to access the gallery of the mobile phone/play games on the mobile phone while the rest of the data for 59 subjects was

1. 78 subjects did not have access to a remote control car while 27 subjects had a remote control car and the data was