The Sustainable Effect of Artificial Intelligence and Parental Control on Children’s Behavior While Using Smart Devices’ Apps: The Case of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The study was necessitated by the unprecedented consumption of smart devices by children in Saudi Arabia, which has been a concern to parents and other stakeholders. It investigated the way that game apps, social media apps, and video-streaming apps impact child development. It also examined the roles played by artificial intelligence control and parental control in enhancing the sustainability of children’s behavior amidst smart technologies. The theories underpinning this research were the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. The population of the study was 1,616,755 households in the eastern, western, and central regions. The researcher used an online survey to capture the sentiments of a sample of 415 parents who had given their children at least one smart device. The primary questionnaire focused on game apps, social media apps, video-streaming apps, artificial intelligence control, parental control, and the sustainability of child behavior. On the other hand, a separate questionnaire designed specifically to capture demographic information was also drafted. The structural equation model (SEM) was preferred, as it depicted the moderating roles of artificial intelligence control and parental control by using SPSS AMOS software. Findings established that games, social media, and video-streaming applications negatively affected the sustainability of child behavior. The findings presented in this paper show that the moderating effect of artificial intelligence control was more statistically significant than parental controls in influencing the sustainability of child behavior. Moreover, the results show that the greatest effect on children’s behavior were social media, video-streaming, and games apps. respectively. Nevertheless, both approaches resulted in positive child behavior. Hence, the study concluded that using artificial intelligence control is more effective than relying on parental controls to enhance the behavioral sustainability of children with smart device applications in Saudi Arabia.