Screen Time and Preschoolers' Acquisition of Social Skills in Public Childcare Centres in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Screentime, Social Skills, Interactive Screen-Time, Passive Screen-TimeAbstract
The modern preschooler navigates a bifurcated environment in which face-to-face socialization is increasingly influenced, and sometimes displaced, by digital content. This paper investigated the relationship between screen time and preschoolers’ acquisition of social skills in public early childcare centers in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. A correlational research design was adopted for the study. The study was guided by two research questions and two hypotheses. The population of the study was 4,523 preschoolers in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. The study used a sample of 452 preschoolers, representing 10% of the target population. A simple random sampling technique was used to draw the sample. An instrument designed by the researchers and titled Screen-Time and Preschoolers’ Acquisition of Social Skills Checklist (STPASS) was used to elicit responses from the respondents. Two experts in Early Childhood Education validated the instrument. Test-retest was used to assess the reliability of the instrument, yielding a coefficient of 0.82. The data generated in the study were analyzed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC). The findings of the study showed that there is a weak positive relationship between interactive and passive screen time and preschoolers’ acquisition of empathy and patience in public childcare centers in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. The paper recommended that caregivers and early childhood educators in public childcare centers in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria, should intentionally incorporate well-designed interactive screen-time activities into the daily learning routines of preschoolers. Digital tools and apps that promote shared play, communication, and emotional recognition can enhance the acquisition of empathic skills. The choice of these instruments should be determined by their capacity to develop collaboration, turn-taking, and emotional awareness in young children.
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