Determination of the prevalence of using mass media among children between 13-60 months in İzmir province center

Pre-school period is the period which the physical development of a child is the fastest and the learning capacity is the highest; and also, the most vulnerable to the external effects. Taking these features into consideration, the maximization the capacity of the child and his or her lifetime success strongly depends on the healthy and conscious progression of this period. Inappropriate usage of television, tablet PC and smartphone may cause negative results and affect the physical and mental health of children and adolescents. The most important problems are violence and aggressive behaviors, decrease in school success, learning disabilities, sexual behavior problems, night fears, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, eating disorders and obesity. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that children under 2 years of age should not be exposed to the screen in any case; but also, do not recommend screen exposure above 2 hours in a day for children above 2 years of age. The main goal of the study is to determine the prevalence of using the mass media (TV, tablet PC, smartphone) and related risk factors among children aged 13 to 60 months in the city center of Izmir. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The study is completed; in 12 Family Health Centers (FHC) , which were determined by random sampling from each of the provincial districts of Izmir, between January 2-31 2018 and March 1-31 2018, among 1112 parents with children aged between 13 to 60 months who were in the FHC for various reasons. The questionnaire, which was prepared by the researcher using the curreent literature, consisted of a total of 62 questions about the sociodemographic characteristics of the children and their families, about television, tablet PC and smartphone usage. The prevalence of using screen more than 2 hours in weekdays was found to be 45.4% for television, 14.4%; for tablet PC and 10.6% for smartphone. These rates were higher at the weekend. The age of the child, the duration of the parent television usage, having its own screen were determined as the factors that increase the screen duration of the child; restriction of the screen use by the family, and physicians' consultation were determined as decreasing factors (p<0.05). No significant association was found between screen duration and the child's gender, the number of siblings, economic status, parental age, family type, day caregiver. The results of the study showed that children aged 13 to 60 months use the screen more than recommended. Because of the strong positive relationship between children and their parents' screen duration, parents should be informed about the importance of being role models. Physicians should keep in mind the importance of their counseling on the subject.