The relationship between anxiety and the type of digital content consumed in the older preschool age

Context and relevance. In the context of the active digitalization of modern society, preschoolers regularly interact with digital content, including material that is age-inappropriate. Despite the widespread use of digital media, the relationship between childhood anxiety and the type of content consumed by preschool children remains insufficiently studied, which highlights the scientific and practical relevance of this study. Objective. Identification of the interrelationships between anxiety and the type of digital content consumed in older preschool children. Hypothesis. Children who consume age-inappropriate digital content have higher levels of anxiety than children who do not consume such content. Methods and materials. The study involved 155 children aged 6-7 years (M = 6,8; SD = 0,29), pupils of preparatory groups of kindergartens in Moscow, among them 49,7% boys, as well as 60 mothers of preschoolers. During the study, a semi-structured interview was conducted with children about the content consumed, as well as an anxiety test (Tamml, Dorky, Amen, 2002). Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire to determine the level of anxiety in children (Lavrentieva, Titarenko, 1992). Results. Based on the responses received from preschoolers during the interview, all children were divided into three groups according to the type of content consumed. It was found that in the group of children who consume age-inappropriate content, there are significantly more preschoolers with high levels of anxiety than in the group of children who do not consume such content. In addition, it was found that among children who consume age-inappropriate content, as well as among children with higher levels of anxiety, there are significantly more boys than girls. Conclusions. The study confirmed the link between the consumption of age-inappropriate digital content and higher rates of anxiety in preschoolers.

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