Parental Perception of Infants’ use of Mobile Devices: A Qualitative Exploration

ABSTRACT

Despite the clear restrictive guidelines about the use of modern handheld devices among children younger than 2 years, parents are seen to extensively use these devices with their infants. However, parents’ perceptions in this regard remain unclear and underexplored especially, in the context of South Asian cultures such as Pakistan. This qualitative study aims to explore parents’ perceptions regarding their infants’ use of mobile devices. Using the purposive sampling technique, 10 couples (i.e. 20 parents) from Pakistan were individually interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Parents with at least two children including one infant (0–2 years) were included. Single parents and parents of children with special needs were excluded. Findings revealed parents hold mixed opinions regarding the use of mobile devices. Parents expressed negative outcomes of the use of mobile devices, which were categorized into internalizing problems, emotional problems, social interaction problems, and issues in cognitive processing. They also shared positive perceptions, categorized as learning outcomes, and increased cognitive abilities. Based on their first-time parenting experiences, parents expressed both negative and positive outcomes of the use of MDs with infants. A shift in perception was observed based on their first-time parenting experiences. With increased parenting demands, participants shared constant challenges in limiting the screen time of infants, leading to experiencing negative emotions among parents i.e. guilt and worry. This study can be useful among clinicians to consider the effects of the use of mobile devices while making a neurodevelopmental diagnosis. It can also be useful in promoting learning among infants in daycare/childcare centers, in developing parenting manuals, and in developing screen time policies or guidelines.

KEYWORDS:

• Parental perception
• infant development
• mobile devices
• preschool
• screen time

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

The data that has been used in the study is confidential.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Omama Khalid

Omama Khalid holds a Master's in clinical psychology from National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Pakistan, with a focus on qualitative research methodology. Her research interests include mental health, behaviors impacting early childhood development, and the impact of culture on human behaviors. She is currently working as a peer support Counselor for adult population.

Azher Hameed Qamar

Azher Hameed Qamar is a post-doc researcher at School of Social Work, Lunds University. He did his PhD in Interdisciplinary Child Research from Norwegian University of Sciences and Technology (NTNU-Trondheim). His research interests are broadly related to children, young people, families, wellbeing, social work, migration, social resilience, and social integration.