Parental knowledge, attitudes and concerns towards media technology and screen time use in children with ASD and typically developing children

BACKGROUND: While digital technology has helped in various aspects as learning, social communication and entertainment, it poses substantial risk for young children. Amongst the various effects, excessive screen time has been identified as a risk for autism. OBJECTIVES: Against the background of increasing use of digital devices and lack of data on parental involvement, the present study aimed to investigate the parental knowledge, attitudes and concerns towards Media Technology And Screen time (MeTS) use by preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Typically Developing (TD) children in Indian context. METHODS: 182 parents of children with ASD (n= 90) and TD (n= 92) participated in a survey to answer various closed and open-ended questions related to device usage, knowledge, attitude and concerns related to children’s use of MeTS using the google forms. Responses from the survey were descriptively analyzed and compared between groups using chi-square test and qualitative thematic analysis methods. RESULTS: Results of our study revealed that children with ASD were exposed to MeTS from an earlier age, while average exposure to MeTS was significantly higher in TD children. Parents of children from the two groups showed good and comparable knowledge about the effects of MeTS and reported using various methods to monitor its use in children. Further, the parents showed concerns and possessed mixed attitude towards MeTS use in their children.