영유아의 미디어 매체 노출실태 및 보호대책

Abstract

Infant and young children's exposure to media devices is starting earlier than it had for previous generations. Thus due to the significance of infancy and early childhood, the use of and exposure to media devices during this period will be investigated to provide objective groundwork for governmental intervention aimed to provide sound environments for children's use of these devices. Consequently, relevant policies will be developed which are anticipated to guide children's sound physical and psychological development and prevent excessive indulgence and its negative outcomes. First of all, domestic and foreign literature were reviewed followed by survey of parents with young children between the age of 0 and 5 residing in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do. Furthermore, in-depth interviews of directors, teachers and parents of childcare support centers were conducted. The results show that most homes own TVs, computers and smartphones. In these homes, most children watch TV and over 50% of them use smartphones. More detailed results reveal that children who watch TV use computers and smartphones more often. The average time of use of TV, computers and smartphones were 3 hours a day. Around 30% of the homes had the TV on habitually. Almost 4 out of 1 time children were watching TV because the adults were doing so, thus revealing that adults were the cause of exposure. The biggest reason children used media devices was because they enjoyed the experience, and the second was because the use of media devices offered children a sense of bonding with their peers. Also, parents were experiencing difficulty in guiding their children to the use of these devices, smartphone use being the toughest. On the other hand, use at childcare support centers were limited due to the restriction of teachers. However, children who were more frequently exposed to media devices tended to be more interested in media devices present at the centers rather than in peer interactions, and showed more behaviors of distraction. Teachers are consulted by parents of these children on how to guide their children on media use, nonetheless, they are not equipped with professional knowledge regarding these issues. Thus the present study proposes four politic measures. First, parent education and guidance is necessary for parents to be able to guide their children on media device use. Second, in order to prevent children from distraction by media devices, parent-child play and learning should be a common practice at home. Third, development of a scale for media addiction measurement is urgent. Fourth, as a preventive measure, the adoption of legal regulations and age appropriate policies are in demand.