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Touch-screen technology usage in toddlers
Caroline Ahearne1, Sinead Dilworth2, Rachel Rollings2
1Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research, Cork, Ireland.
Insights
Most toddlers use touch-screen devices daily, with many developing key interaction skills by age two. This study explores toddler touch-screen technology use and skill development.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Pediatric Technology Use
Background:
- Touch-screen devices are increasingly prevalent in households.
- Understanding early childhood interaction with technology is crucial for developmental research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of touch-screen device access among toddlers.
- To identify patterns and age-related milestones in toddler touch-screen interaction skills.
Main Methods:
- Parental questionnaires were administered to parents of children aged 12 months to 3 years.
- The study assessed device access, daily usage duration, and the ability to perform specific touch-screen interactions.
Main Results:
- 71% of toddlers had access to touch-screen devices, with a median daily use of 15 minutes.
- Median ages for swiping, unlocking, and active feature-seeking were around 24 months.
- By age two, 32.8% of toddlers could perform four common touch-screen skills.
Conclusions:
- Toddlers aged two and older can purposefully interact with touch-screen devices.
- Common touch-screen utilization skills are demonstrated by toddlers from two years of age onward.
Objective:
To establish the prevalence and patterns of use of touch-screen technologies in the toddler population.
Design:
Parental questionnaires were completed for children aged 12 months to 3 years examining access to touch-screen devices and ability to perform common forms of interaction with touch-screen technologies.
Results:
The 82 questionnaires completed on typically developing children revealed 71% of toddlers had access to touch-screen devices for a median of 15 min (IQR: 9.375-26.25) per day. By parental report, 24 months was the median age of ability to swipe (IQR: 19.5-30.5), unlock (IQR: 20.5-31.5) and active looking for touch-screen features (IQR: 22-30.5), while 25 months (IQR: 21-31.25) was the median age of ability to identify and use specific touch-screen features. Overall, 32.8% of toddlers could perform all four skills.
Conclusions:
From 2 years of age toddlers have the ability to interact purposefully with touch-screen devices and demonstrate a variety of common skills required to utilise touch-screen technology.
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