Parental opinions on the effects of technology addiction on children of various age groups

Abstract

It has been a difficult option for human beings to abandon the technological developments in the 21st century, the pace of progress in digitalization and information technologies and the variety of opportunities. Technology has become an indispensable part of their lives especially children and adolescents who born and socialized in this age. However, this indispensable causes various negative effects especially on children and adolescents. Technology addiction is the most important of these. The negative effects of long-term use of technological tools (internet, computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.) on the growth and health of children have been proven by various studies. Children's use of technological tools for a long time and in various positions can lead to problems in their physical development stages (musculoskeletal), health problems such as physical problems, obesity and impaired mental health. In this study, it was aimed to reveal parents' opinions about the negative effects of this technology addiction on children. The data were collected by semi-structured interviews and analyzed by content analysis. As a result, it has been found that parents have significant effects on technology addiction for 7-18 years old children.