Most Maltese children who took part in an EU-wide study started using digital technology from the age of one or younger.

The qualitative report on technology and childhood, conducted by University of Malta researchers Charles Mifsud and Rosita Petrova for the European Commission, found that touchscreens and handheld portable smartphones or tablets had a strong attraction for infant users.

The local part of the EU-wide study was conducted from a sample of 10 families. All the families had at least one child six to seven years of age. They were from different parts of Malta and varying income brackets. As the research was based on semi-structured interviews with the children and their parents, the researchers said numerical data was limited.

All parents involved in the study had smartphones and “most of them” allowed their children to play games and watch YouTube videos. The research found that smartphones had become a common way for parents to keep children distracted.

“I use mummy’s [smartphone] when we go to a shop of adults where things break,” Ann, 6, is quoting as saying.

The researchers commented that “some” of the parents allowed their children to make phone calls, send text messages and take photos and videos using their phone.

Meanwhile, two of the children stopped using smartphones after they were given tablets of their own.

All the families except one had one or more tablets at home, and four of the children had their own tablet.

Games and YouTube videos were the main uses, while some children used tablets for homework.

Four of the children used a tablet to listen to and read e-books. However, they all admitted they still preferred to read books in print.

It was not just handheld technology that was popular with the young participants.

According to the re-searchers, all the children watched television, and three of them had a TV in their bedroom. Some parents told the researchers they believed that watching TV in their bedroom helped them calm down.

Two of the families had a PlayStation and another family had a Wii console.

Another two children ex-pected to get a PlayStation for Christmas. Amy, 8, said: “I never played PlayStation, but everyone likes them, so I think I like it too.”

The research found that it was common for children to use their parents’ devices. The children had a sense of ownership, even though some did not have a device to themselves. This was referred to as the pass-back effect.

“My mum’s [iPad] is ours, she does not really use it. That’s the one we have, my mum’s,” Amy said.

In another example of the pass-back effect pointed out by the researchers, Josh, seven years old, said he “had” his mother’s tablet.

In one family there was a mixed attitude towards digital devices.

The younger boy, who was three years old, had become addicted to digital devices when he was just one-and-a-half.

He was prohibited from using any devices, and the other members of the family avoided using or referring to the devices in front of him.

In some of the families, the children were at times more proficient in the use of technology than their parents.

One child commented on his mother needing help with her tablet: “Sometimes I help my mum to go in the settings, because there won’t be enough space to download a game.”

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