The effects of problematic media USE and digital games on inpatient children 3-6 YEARS of age

This research was conducted between 26.02.2022-01.05.2022 with a descriptive cross-sectional research method to determine the effects of problematic media use and digital games on inpatient children 3-6 years of age. The sample for this research consisted of 87 parents who had an inpatient child, and 87 parents who did not have prior hospitalisation experience, for a total of 174. Data was collected using Data Collection Form for Inpatient Children, Data Collection Form for Children without Hospitalisation Experience, Problematic Media Use Measure (PMUM), and Scale for Effects of Digital Games at Early Ages (SEDG). Numeric, percentage, average, median, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis, and Spearman Correlation tests were used for data analysis and evaluation. As a visual media device, inpatient children mostly use smartphones (54%), while children without hospitalisation experience use the television (42.5%). 11.5% of inpatient children and 4.6% of children without hospitalisation experience have 6 hours or more screen use time. Children from both groups use visual media devices mostly for watching videos. Out of all inpatient children, 60.9% use visual media devices for idling/having nothing to do, 55.2% because of a lack of friends, and 62.5% because of the unsuitability of the physical conditions for playing games, while 52.9% of children without hospitalisation experience use visual media devices for playing games. Between groups, a statistical significance was not found (p>0.05) regarding PMUM total scores by age and gender, and PMUM total scores and SEDG subscale scores. Between PMUM scores and SEDG Fun, Physical, Social and Emotional subscales positive relation was determined. Monitoring and paying attention to the screen use time of children, and for digital games to serve a useful purpose and be played within parental monitoring is advised. Keywords: 3-6 years of age, children, digital games, hospitalisation, problematic media use