Touch-screen technology usage in toddlers

Abstract

Objective: To establish the prevalence and patterns of use of touch-screen technologies in the toddler population.

Design: Parental questionnaires were completed for children aged 12 months to 3 years examining access to touch-screen devices and ability to perform common forms of interaction with touch-screen technologies.

Results: The 82 questionnaires completed on typically developing children revealed 71% of toddlers had access to touch-screen devices for a median of 15 min (IQR: 9.375-26.25) per day. By parental report, 24 months was the median age of ability to swipe (IQR: 19.5-30.5), unlock (IQR: 20.5-31.5) and active looking for touch-screen features (IQR: 22-30.5), while 25 months (IQR: 21-31.25) was the median age of ability to identify and use specific touch-screen features. Overall, 32.8% of toddlers could perform all four skills.

Conclusions: From 2 years of age toddlers have the ability to interact purposefully with touch-screen devices and demonstrate a variety of common skills required to utilise touch-screen technology.

Keywords: Media; Neurodevelopment; Technology.