More toddlers in South Korea start using smartphones before turning 2: Report

SEOUL – More than half of children under five surveyed in South Korea began using smartphones before turning two, according to a government survey.The Mental Health Information and NCMH Data, or MIND, report released in January by the National Center for Mental Health’s Mental Health Research Institute surveyed the parents of 400 Korean children aged two to five about when their children began using smartphones.The largest share, 37.18%, said their children began using smartphones at 12 to 23 months old, while 13.8% said they started at zero to 11 months.Combined, 50.98% began using smartphones before turning two.Another 23.66% began at 24 to 35 months, followed by 12.39% at 36 to 47 months and 12.96% at 48 to 59 months.On weekdays, 56.78% of children used smartphones for less than an hour, while 32.74% did not use them at all and 9.46% used them for one to three hours.The report also found an association between mothers’ smartphone use and their children’s smartphone use.Children whose mothers were in the high-risk group tended to start using smartphones at a younger age than those whose mothers were in the low-risk group.The report suggested that children of mothers in the high-risk group may have more opportunities to use smartphones and face fewer parental restrictions.Experts generally recommend limiting young children’s smartphone use.World Health Organization guidelines issued in 2019 recommend no sedentary screen time for children under two and no more than one hour a day for those aged two to four. THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK