“I cannot live without my [tablet]”: children's experiences of using tablet technology within the home

Hadlington, L ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9095-0517, White, H and Curtis, S, 2019. “I cannot live without my [tablet]”: children's experiences of using tablet technology within the home. Computers in Human Behavior, 94, pp. 19-24. ISSN 0747-5632

Preview

Text 14725_Hadlington.pdf - Post-print Download (353kB) | Preview

Abstract

The current study aimed to examine children’s experiences of using tablet technology within the home. Eighteen children aged between eight and nine years old took part in four separate focus group discussions. Thematic analysis revealed three predominant themes: a battle of boundaries, a tool to escape the surrounding world, and an emerging dependency on tablet technology. The data implies that there is a growing dependency on tablet technology use among this age group. The current study also outlines that many children engage in a variety of techniques to circumvent parental limits on their tablet usage. However, other children discussed a lack of clear rules and restrictions for their use of tablet devices. The findings suggest that covert and unregulated use of tablet technology may have a detrimental impact upon children, particularly in relation to reduced social interaction, fatigue and increased family tensions due to excessive usage. Further research of child interactions with a wide variety of digital technology and media is warranted. Such exploration would further our understanding of the potential advantages and disadvantages for such technology use, as well as presenting a pathway to produce more effective guidance on home use.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Computers in Human Behavior
Creators:	Hadlington, L., White, H. and Curtis, S.
Publisher:	Elsevier Ltd.
Date:	May 2019
Volume:	94
ISSN:	0747-5632
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.043 DOI S0747563218306290 Publisher Item Identifier
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Jill Tomkinson
Date Added:	05 Sep 2019 08:23
Last Modified:	04 Jan 2020 03:00
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/37571

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads