Problematic amount of internet use among children – Application of the Internet Addiction Test for Families (IAT-F) in Hungary

Abstract

The early use of the internet is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon, and the children are becoming users of the digital world at a more and more younger age. As they get older, the amount of their internet use further increases, and even a problematic internet use may develop in adolescence. The level of involvement in certain online activities is so high, that it can lead to the neglect of other areas and tasks (e.g., homework, sleep, friends) in the life of the child. In our research, we translated the Internet Addiction Test for Families (IAT-F) questionnaire to Hungarian, and we used the two separate sets of questions compiled for parents of children aged 3-11 (Problematic and Risky Media Use in Children Checklist) and 12-18 (Parent-Child Internet Addiction Test). 225 parents participated in the data collection, their children were 117 girls and 108 boys, 114 from the age group of 3-11 and 111 from the 12-18 years old one. According to our results, more than 30 percent of the 3-11 years old age group was exhibiting risky or problematic behaviours, and among the 12-18 years old children 20 percent was at moderate, and 10 percent was at severe level. Moreover, the screen use behaviour of the parents (both in quantity and quality) correlated with the habits of the child. All these highlight the responsibility of the parents in creating the digital habits of the children, even in adolescence, not only through their regulation, but also as a role model.