Investigating the cause and effect factors of young children’s smartphone overuse: focusing on the influence of parenting factors

Factors influencing smart device addiction among preschool children: An extended protection-risk model perspective

“…Children tend to imitate their parent’s behavior, and parents with high self-control are more likely to have children displaying the same ( Nofziger, 2008 ; Boutwell and Beaver, 2010 ). Several studies have shown that parental screen time is positively correlated with that of children, and overuse of smartphones by parents may lead to similar behavior in children ( Lene’McFarland, 2010 ; Adebar, 2018 ; Lee et al, 2022 ; Rai et al, 2022 ). Conversely, children tend to use their smartphones less if their parents have self-control over their own use ( Cho and Lee, 2017 ).…”

“…Among these, mobile phone addiction is of particular concern ( Bianchi and Phillips, 2005 ), as it has become a new and increasingly prominent societal problem ( Shapira et al, 2003 ; Zou et al, 2017 ). As digital technology offers convenience, people have started using smart devices more frequently, due to which mobile phone addiction has evolved into smartphone addiction ( Bozzola et al, 2018 ; Sharma et al, 2021 ; Lee et al, 2022 ). Smartphone addiction is defined as a behavior characterized by the overuse of smartphones ( Aljomaa et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Children’s social competence and emotional intelligence, opportunities to interact with peers, and physical activity decrease as they become addicted to smart devices ( Cho and Lee, 2017 ; Domoff et al, 2019 ; Lin et al, 2020 ), ultimately interfering with their learning development ( Bozzola et al, 2018 ). The overuse of smartphones by children between 1 and 6 years of age not only affects their sociability and activity but also increases their emotional sensitivity ( Lee et al, 2022 ). In addition, addiction to smart devices can interfere with family harmony causing parent–child conflict ( Domoff et al, 2019 ).…”

“…However, few studies have empirically investigated their psychological factors (e.g., depression and social withdrawal) in relation to their smart device addiction. In terms of caregiver factors, parenting stress and styles are important in children’s smart device addiction ( McDaniel and Radesky, 2020 ; Lee et al, 2022 ; Lee and Kim, 2022 ; Yang et al, 2022 ). Studies have also identified a strong relationship between mothers’ negative parenting behaviors (e.g., overprotection, permissibility, rejection, and neglect) and preschoolers’ over-dependence on smart devices ( Lee and Kim, 2022 ).…”

“…One study has even suggested that most parents of smartphone-addicted children (1–6 years old) come from a lower educational background and lack stable employment ( Cho and Lee, 2017 ). It has also been suggested that when parents overuse smartphones to relieve parenting stress, children are also likely to do the same ( Lee et al, 2022 ). Preschoolers are at an early developmental stage, and their behavior often imitates that of their parents ( Konok et al, 2019 ).…”