METHODS: The Kids Cohort for Understanding Internet Addiction Risk Factors in Early Childhood (K-CURE) is the first long-term prospective cohort study in Korea aimed at understanding the long-term effects of media exposure on young children. The study included 195 children aged 8-11 years enrolled in the K-CURE study. Caregivers, predominantly mothers, who voluntarily participated during their visits to community centers for children\'s mental health in Korea\'s major cities, completed a detailed self-administered survey. Childhood temperament was measured in 2018 when the children were 5-8 years old. Subsequent YouTube usage patterns and emotional/behavioral problems were assessed in 2021. Data were analyzed using frequency analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression.
RESULTS: The study found that 21.0% of children started using YouTube before age 4, with the most common onset age being 8-9 years (30.3%). These children used YouTube on average 4.8 days per week for 68.5 min per day. Early childhood persistence was negatively associated with the subsequent YouTube usage duration, and the age at first YouTube use was negatively correlated with subsequent usage frequency. Furthermore, a younger age at first YouTube use and higher usage frequency were significantly associated with increased emotional/behavioral problems.
CONCLUSIONS: In the YouTube environment, where content is automatically recommended based on user preferences, traits related to usage patterns may be associated with persistence, which is linked to self-regulation. Considering the current trend where children use smartphones, contents frequently for very short durations, our findings highlight the importance of self-regulation in the media usage of children who are still developing. Additionally, our results provide fundamental information for future YouTube studies and illustrate similarities and differences between smartphone and YouTube research.
方法:了解儿童早期网络成瘾风险因素的儿童队列(K-CURE)是韩国第一个长期前瞻性队列研究,旨在了解媒体暴露对幼儿的长期影响。该研究包括195名8-11岁的儿童参加了K-CURE研究。看护者,主要是母亲,他们在访问韩国主要城市的儿童心理健康社区中心期间自愿参加,完成了详细的自我管理调查。童年气质是在2018年测量的,当时孩子们是5-8岁。随后的YouTube使用模式和情绪/行为问题在2021年进行了评估。使用频率分析对数据进行分析,相关分析,和多元线性回归。
结果:研究发现,21.0%的儿童在4岁之前开始使用YouTube,最常见的发病年龄为8-9岁(30.3%)。这些孩子平均每周使用YouTube4.8天,每天使用68.5分钟。幼儿的持久性与随后的YouTube使用持续时间呈负相关,首次使用YouTube的年龄与随后的使用频率呈负相关。此外,首次使用YouTube的年龄较小,使用频率较高与情绪/行为问题增加显著相关.
结论:在YouTube环境中,其中内容是根据用户偏好自动推荐的,与使用模式相关的特征可能与持久性相关,这与自我调节有关。考虑到目前儿童使用智能手机的趋势,内容经常持续很短的时间,我们的研究结果强调了自我调节在仍在发育中的儿童的媒体使用中的重要性.此外,我们的研究结果为未来的YouTube研究提供了基本信息,并说明了智能手机和YouTube研究之间的异同。