PARENT’S PERCEPTION TOWARDS EXCESSIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AT EARLY PRIMARY (5-7Y) LEVEL

Early Childhood Enducation

The impact of technology in modern life is multifarious. We use technology in different ways and often times the way we implement various technologies ends up harming our lives or the society we leave in. This study revealed the understanding of the parents about the influence of technology on the child’s social, language and physical health development. the present study conducted by Two Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and four In-depth interviews (IDI) were the basis of the qualitative approach. All the participants were selected through convenient sampling. The findings revealed that children have access to all the technology that is available at home. It was found from the study that children’s screen time was varying from 2 to 5 hours. Findings say that children use technology for entertainment purpose, though educational purpose through Khan Academy also surfaced during the interviews. Another interesting finding was, though video games have adverse effects on children, one cannot bar children from using technology in this modern age. Some parents believe technology has some negative effects. Addiction to digital media is one of the negative effects. Among the other responses, parents identified less physical movement, less social interaction, and obesity of children as the negative influences of excessive technology use. In case of parents’ understanding on usefulness of technology at early primary level, it was found that, children start using smart phones at early age. The parents responded this early literacy of smart phones helped to develop sense of language. From the findings, it can be concluded that, parents do not have the idea of excessive time limit for using technology of their children. Parents should follow some strict parental guidance in case of excessive technology use, find innovative ideas in case of indoor play, take children for outdoor play for physical fitness, give limited playtime for video games with parental guidance. This study will help parents to think about excessive use of technology and balance it with their existing lifestyle. It will help build a social awareness among parents, policy makers and teachers about the excessive limit of using technology.

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