Media and Technology Use Education in Pediatric Primary Care
Abstract
Youth media and technology use is growing at rapid rates and is quickly
becoming a necessary tool for effective functioning in the modern world. However,
such use has been shown to result in negative consequences for children and
adolescents, including impaired executive functioning, increased violence and
aggression, and physical and psychological health problems. As such, the American
Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that all pediatric providers educate
parents about healthy media and technology practices for children and families. The
present study sought to examine the proportion of parents who receive
media/technology education from their child’s providers, the rates of compliance
with these recommendations, the effects that receiving this information has on the
frequency and severity of the child’s psychosocial and behavioral problems, and
the factors that may influence the likelihood that parents receive media/technology
education from their pediatric providers. A total of 302 participants were enrolled
in the study. Of the parents who chose to provide their child’s demographic
information, the mean age of children in the sample was 7.00 years (SD= 4.5;
range= 2-17 years) and the gender distribution was 54.9% male (n=163), 44.1% female (n=131), and 0.34% non-binary (n=3). Only 27.5% (n=78) of parents
reported that media/technology was discussed at their child’s most recent visit to a
medical provider, however 61.9% (n=187) believed it should be discussed and
addressed in this setting. The results also indicated that no parent was fully
compliant with all of the AAP’s recommendations for media/technology use. While
all parents fell into the partially compliant category, parents of older children
(M=4.31, SD=1.19) were significantly more compliant with the AAP guidelines
than parents of younger children (M=3.30, SD=1.00), t(245)=-4.78, p<0.001. When
examining factors that influence the receipt of media/technology use education,
acute reason for referral was a significant predictor of receipt of media/technology
use education. These results reveal that a significant percentage of parents do not
receive media/technology use education from their pediatric providers but would
support the addition of this education in the primary care setting. Findings from this
study will be used to inform provider-delivered interventions for parents and
families to promote healthy pediatric media/technology use.