Toddlers, preschoolers use tablets, smartphones on a daily basis: study

As more and more people are becoming "techie" in today's modern world, it is no surprising that more people, consequently, are becoming digitally literate at a younger age. And when we say young, it could mean as early of a stage as that of in a toddler.

A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics reveal that almost all kids (96.6 percent) from the U.S. were able to use and access a mobile device, and most of them have started even before celebrating their first birthday, NBC News reported.

"We were not surprised to see infants and toddlers using the mobile devices; we saw that in the clinic every day," said Dr. Matilde Irigoyen, chair of pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and one of the lead authors of the study. "But we were very surprised to see how often the children used the mobile devices, how many of them owned a personal device, how many could use the device without assistance, and how many engaged in media multitasking."

The results of the study also show that by age 4, three-fourths of the kids already have their own mobile device, and about 50 percent were already capable of multitasking with the use of more than one device almost at the same time.

The research involves more than 280 parents of 350 children between 6 months to 4 years of age in an urban, low income, minority community, the USA Today wrote. The parents were given a survey with 20 questions and the data showed that 97 percent of the household owns a television, as compared to 77 percent smartphone ownership—which is still high.

Based on the parents' response to the questionnaire, 20 percent of the one-year-olds own a tablet computer, 28 percent of two-year-olds can navigate a mobile device with no help, 21 percent of 4-year-olds own a gaming console and 28 percent of parents said they use a mobile device to put their children to sleep.

"Access to, familiarity with and skill using mobile devices are the first steps in achieving digital literacy," Irigoyen also pointed out.

Meanwhile, one expert who is familiar with the study findings believe that the data poses a concern. As per Philly.com, Dr. Danelle Fisher, vice chair of pediatrics at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, said this could mean that some parents are already dependent to technology as a surrogate babysitter. Most of these parents are using mobile devices to keep their kids pre-occupied and quiet, or to keep them entertained. Fisher said that this could be troubling because children still need parental interaction.