The Conceptual Model on Smart Phone Addiction among Early Childhood
A. Antecedents 1) Parental variables Just as family's effect on children's game addiction is significant [22], family's effect on children's smart phone addiction is also substantial. Parental variables that affect smart phone addiction are parents' education, age, income, whether parents are working together, raising attitude, attitudes towards smart phone, and addiction tendency. In many studies, the lower the parents' income and education [18] were, the higher the possibility of children having problems [27] was. When parents' education is lower, knowledge about seriousness of smart phone addiction is also lower, so it is easy to give smart phone to their children, resulting in higher smart phone addiction rate. Parents with poor income cannot afford expensive smart phone, so their children's smart phone addiction rate might be low. However, adults' smart phone adoption rate has reached almost 90%, and non-adoption group is limited to old-aged group, so almost all low income parents have smart phones. They lack resources to raise their children, so they easily let their children use smart phones same as game addiction of children [26]. Therefore, the lower the parents' income is, the higher their children's smart phone addiction rate is. Smart phone is a device which young people easily use and adopt pervasively. Younger parents tend to have more generous adoption attitudes about smart phone, and higher usage frequency. As a result, their children have higher chance of contact and using smart phones, therefore having higher smart phone addiction rate like internet addiction of children [7]. Children from dual-income family have longer time alone and because of lack of parent's amount of time to take care of their children; they are generous about the requirements of their children [11]. Therefore, they easily let their children use smart phones, resulting in higher smart phone addiction rate. Types of parenting can be divided into authoritarian, permissive, and responsive [28]. Authoritarian is one-way and rigorous way of raising children, strictly controlling their children. Permissive is full of affection, inconsistent, and laissez faire. On the other hand, responsive is respecting children's autonomy, being consistent. Children from authoritarian parents lack their own goals or judgments, exclusive and aggressive. Children from permissive parents are impulsive, selfish, stubborn, and hysteric. Children from responsive parents have clear goals and decision of their own, self-regulated and having high self-trust, they are likely to have positive and harmonious interpersonal relationships. Therefore, permissive parents are most likely to have children with higher smart phone addiction rate [27]. In addition, parents' attitudes towards smart phone or usage behaviors are likely to have influenced children's smart phone addiction rate same as internet addiction of children [9]. When parents have more positive attitudes towards smart phone, they let their children use smart phone more easily, resulting in higher rate of smart phone addiction. Furthermore, if parents themselves are heavy users of smart phone or addicted to it, their children have higher chance to be exposed to smart phones, resulting in higher smart phone addiction rate. 2) Child variables Child variables affecting child smart phone addiction are child's age, gender, number of siblings, and whether they attend education institutions or not. The lower child's age is, mental development is incomplete and easily immersed, having higher possibility of smart phone addiction [10]. In addition, boys tend to have more curiosity about tools and needs for trial. Also, boys tend to be more distractive and lack of self-control [14], so they have higher possibility of addiction to smart phone. While higher number of siblings means higher possibility of interacting with other people, lower number of siblings means more time spending alone, resulting in higher possibility of addiction to digital tools like smart phones [15]. In addition, when a child attends education institutions like preschool or kindergarten, they are likely to be under teacher's control and have more time to interact with peers, resulting in lower smart phone addiction rate. On the other hand, children not attending any education institutions have more time alone at home and because of lack of parents' resources, they have higher possibility of smart phone addiction. B. Consequences 1) Mental development Just as children's excessive use of computer have negative effects on them [7], children with higher smart phone addiction rate of are likely to have problems with mental development such as emotional instability, depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD), anger, and lack of attention [1], [4]. Because smart phones provide sensible and instant stimuli through visual sense and hearing sense, overuse of smart phones is likely to make children who are mentally premature, unstable [13], [26]. Smart phone itself is very playful and immersive [3], so when parents do not let them use it, children have higher chance of being depressed [9]. Furthermore, it causes mental immaturity like aggressiveness and lack of attention [26]. Smart phone addiction, similar to internet and game addiction, also bring results such as children's lack of attention and self-control [19], [21]. 2) Physical development Higher smart phone addiction rate predicts problems in physical development such as impairments in visual/hearing senses, obesity, body imbalance same as game addiction of children [14], [22], [25], [26]. When you look at the screen light continually, it is bad for eye health of adults, but children are likely to have more severe impairment in visual sense. Also, when you use smart phone for a long time with earphones, bad effects on hearing sense are expected. When you are addicted to smart phones, you have lower chance of interacting with other people [25], and decrease in physical activities will increase the possibility to be obese [3]. On top of that, operating small device with your hands for a long time might result in body imbalance. Children are incomplete in physical development yet, so overuse of smart phones will cause negative effects on children's physical development in many aspects. IV. CONCLUSION This study examined the antecedents and consequences of children's smart phone addiction. Children are have not reached the age to make rational decisions yet, so they can easily be addicted to smart phones. When they easily use parents' smart phones as their toys, and also parents use them as tools to easily take care of their children, smart phone addiction among children is likely to occur. Antecedents of smart phone addiction among children were divided into parental variables and child variables. When parents' education/income/age are higher, dual-income family, the longer parents themselves use smart phones, permissive parenting style, and positive attitudes towards smart phone, children tend to have higher possibility to be addicted to smart phones. Related to child variables, younger children, boys, children with less siblings, and not attending education institution, predict smart phone addiction. Children with smart phone addiction show problems in mental and physical development. In other words, a child addicted to smart phone has higher possibility of having problems in mental development such as emotional instability, attention deficit, depression, anger, and lack of control. Also, physical problems such as impairments in visual and hearing senses, obesity, body imbalance, and lack of brain development are found. Smart phone addiction among children is likely to be continuous throughout the life time, and because of this, there is big personal and social loss. So, efforts of parents and society to prevent the addiction are needed. First, parents should strive to spend more time with their children. Parents should realize the strong influence of smart phones on their children and it is important not to easily give smart phones to children. It is critical to understand that a convenience of a moment can cause serious results of children's smart phone addiction. Because children have weak control of themselves, they are in need of parents' control. Especially when parents themselves have generous attitudes towards smart phones, dual-income family, and permissive style of parenting, special attention is needed. In addition, efforts of the society are required. Education institutions such as kindergarten and preschool should teach children not to overuse smart phones. Also, phone companies and application producers should develop techniques to limit the approach in order to prevent children from using smart phone too much or addicted to it. Smart phone is surely a good device which made our live rich. However, this tool can be a threat to our children, the future of humanity. Parents and the society should strive to minimize the side effects of this without cease, because children are the most valuable future resources that cannot be replaced with anything else. This research has only proposed research model through literature reviews. In further research, verifying the contents of the proposed model through empirical study is needed.