Urban Indian Parents' Occupational Perceptions of Play and Governance of Children's Excessive Screen Time Preferences and Behaviours in this Digital Era

Authors

• Joanna Priyadarshini Udaykumar, CHRIST (Deemed to be University)Follow
• Tony Sam George, CHRIST (Deemed to be University)Follow

Abstract

Abstract

Children’s innate urge to engage in joyous, self-directed, meaningful, iterative activities embodies their unique play experiences and facilitates their holistic development. However, the exponential growth of digital technology in an urbanized world has transformed their social landscape by offering them a plethora of novel play opportunities that ‘pushes children away from the outdoors and pulls them indoors’. Moreover, the radical transition from nature-based recreation to media-centric activity insinuates the surge of a global pandemic characterized by low physical activity, sleep deprivation and sedentary, lifestyle diseases. This emerging trend reflects children’s predilection for videophilia over biophilia due to the dominance of digital culture juxtaposed with the steady decline in access to free, open playgrounds and parents’ safety concerns, compelling children to stay cooped up indoors. In the light of this situation, it is imperative for policy makers, health practitioners and researchers to work in tandem to provide children with safe, affordable spaces for active, outdoor play. Moreover, sociocultural factors influence family dynamics especially among dual-earner couples in urban settings, who strive to maintain a healthy work-life balance between fulfilling occupational obligations and domestic duties. Hence, this qualitative paper explores parents’ vocational perceptions and involvement in curtailing the mediating role of discretionary screen time (DST) over children’s physical activity and sedentary behavior. Findings revealed that parents’ initiation of healthy movement behaviors during children’s formative years and their role modeling of healthy screen habits through ‘smart tech-free guidelines’ can be effective in downsizing the repercussions of excessive screen time on children’s psychosocial development.

Recommended Citation

Udaykumar, J. P., & George, T. S. (2026). Urban Indian parents' occupational perceptions of play and governance of children's excessive screen time preferences and behaviours in this digital era. International Journal of Playwork Practice, 6(1). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijpp/vol6/iss1/5

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