Naeem Zafar, Mehek Naeem, Andleeb Zehra, Tufail Muhammad, Muhammad Sarfraz, Muhammad Haroon Hamid, Kishwar Enam, Muhammad Moaz, Bawar Shah, Sidra Ishaque, Nazir Muhammad.
Effect of COVID-19 on the Screen Time of the Children in Pakistan.
Pak Paed J Jan ;46(1):60-6.

Objectives: This study intended to look at how people were receiving information on COVID-19, how children spent time during the COVID-19 pandemic and if the screen time for children had increased during the pandemic. Study Design: The study was descriptive in nature and a quantitative Place and Duration of the Study: Data was collected from parents visiting OPDs in four hospitals of Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi in three months from July to September 2020. Material and Methods: Quantitative survey design was used, data (N=923) were collected using self-administered scale and checklist. Results: Most of the information about COVID-19 was received either through TV (50.8%) or through online social media (33.6%). Most children were spending their time either playing (32.2%) or watching cartoons/movies (19.6%). Screen time of children in the lockdown period was increased. 87.4% children used screens for at least 2 hours per day during the lock down whereas 69.1% used screen for more than 2 hours before COVID-19. Most often used devices were mobile/tablet/PC in 64.2% whereas TV was viewed 34.9% of the time. Conclusion: Most COVID-19 related information was gathered online, and a large proportion of children spent their time in front of screens. There is a need to understand the serious implications of increased screen time for children and to develop effective strategies to reduce screen time of the children.

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