A study on the influence of smartphone/tablet games on their overall development and imbibed lifestyle of children

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26350320
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Educational technology
• Research Institution: Naruto University of Education
• Principal Investigator: Yuji Hiroki 鳴門教育大学, 大学院学校教育研究科, 教授 (50290531)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: スマートフォン / 乳幼児 / 遊び / 生活習慣 / 操作性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to clarify the influence of games played on a smartphone or tablet by children, on their overall development and imbibed lifestyle. A survey using a questionnaire was conducted, with the respondents being guardians of infants to third graders in an elementary school, and students of fourth grade in an elementary school to those in junior high school.
The results showed that 40% or more children aged 2-5 years indulged in playing games on smartphones or tablets, and some of these exhibited tendencies of dependence on digital media. The relationships between the number of hours spent playing smart phone/tablet games, the sex and age of children, their lifestyle habits, operating environment of the smart phone/tablet, and guardian's media use were clarified. The panel survey demonstrated that the number of hours that a child spent playing smart phone/tablet games had a cause-and-effect relationship with the positive and negative influence of digital media.

Free Research Field

幼児教育