ABSTRACT

The proliferation of information and communication technology (ICT) has changed the way we live and this also has implications on how it is used for learning and entertainment. However, technology and digital media are more often seen as gateways to entertainment and the attraction is a very strong one. This is true for adults and children including pre-schoolers. This online survey research investigated parents’ attitudes and concerns towards their pre-schoolers’ use of technology and digital media in Singapore. More specifically, this survey research explored parents’ attitudes towards the ‘what’ and ‘why’ questions of pre-schoolers’ use of technology and digital media at home; what technological devices were more commonly used, what digital media activities were pre-schoolers mostly engaged in (i.e., learning or entertainment) and why technology and digital media were used. Parents were also surveyed if they were concerned about some perceived effects of their pre-schooler’s digital media use. Although parents rated and ranked improving their pre-schoolers’ skills and knowledge as the highest in terms of importance of digital media use, the findings of the survey reflected that the amount of time their pre-schoolers use technology and digital media for entertainment is significantly more than that for learning.

摘要

信息和通信技术 (ICT) 的激增改变了我们的生活方式，这也影响了它如何用于学习和娱乐。然而，技术和数字媒体更常被视为通往娱乐的门户，吸引力非常大。对于成人和儿童，包括学龄前儿童来说都是如此。这项在线调查研究调查了新加坡家长对学龄前儿童使用技术和数字媒体的态度和担忧。更具体地说，这项调查研究探讨了家长对学龄前儿童在家使用技术和数字媒体的“什么”和“为什么”问题的态度；哪些技术设备更常用，学龄前儿童主要从事哪些数字媒体活动（即，学习或娱乐）以及使用技术和数字媒体的原因。还调查了家长是否担心学龄前儿童使用数字媒体的一些感知影响。尽管家长将提高学龄前儿童技能和知识的重要性评为数字媒体使用的重要性最高，但调查结果表明，学龄前儿童使用技术和数字媒体娱乐的时间显着不仅仅是为了学习。