CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Today’s generation of children and young people are surrounded and immersed in a

digital environment. Traditional media such as television (TV), radio and magazines are being

complemented by new digital technologies that promote interactive and social engagement and

give children and young people instant access to entertainment, information and knowledge;

social contact; and marketing. Traditional media, also called broadcast media, is typically

produced externally by established production sources such as film studios, television stations,

and editorial offices and made available for passive viewing or viewing by individuals or larger

audiences. increase. In contrast, new digital media, including social media and interactive media,

are forms of media that allow users to consume and actively create content. Examples of this are

applications (apps), multiplayer video games, YouTube videos, or video blogs (vlogs). For

today's children and young people, this evolving integration of passively viewed and interactive

media is seamless and natural. The distinctions and boundaries between traditional/broadcast

media and interactive or social media are blurring or no longer perceptible. Children are the

world’s most important resource. The well-being of the children including their physical, mental,

and psychological growth and development and their opportunity to achieve their full potential

as adults are very important. But there are several factors which affect the normal development

of children. TV, mobiles, video gaming, DVD and other forms of electronic gadgets have

become pastimes among preschool children.

 In a recent study from the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public

Health (View of Exposure to Electronic Gadgets and Its Impact on Developmental Milestones

Among Preschool Children, 2020) most of the children that are exposed to animated online

media channels belonged to the age group between 37-48 months or 3-4 years old (30%),

followed by 49-60 months or 4-5years old or 5-6 years old (27.9%), 61-72months (20.4%), 24-

36months or 2-3 years old (11.7%). This means that toddlers in today’s generation were already

exposed to using gadgets and watching different videos online at a very young stage in their

lives. This explains why there are some cases that there are toddlers who can easily manipulate a

smartphone or tablet even without the supervision of their parents. In fact, Evidence continues to

show the limited educational benefits of media for children under the age of two. Research on

TV and videos showed that in-person interactions with parents are much more effective than

video for learning new verbal or nonverbal problem-solving skills. This research also showed

that infants and toddlers experience what was referred to as the "video deficit": difficulty

learning from 2-dimensional video representations. Earlier American Academy of Pediatrics

(AAP) recommendations to discourage media exposure for children younger than 2 years were

based on this research. The absence of symbolic thinking, immature attentional controls, and the

memory flexibility necessary to successfully transfer knowledge from a 2-dimensional platform

to a 3-dimensional reality is believed to be the causes of the video deficit in infants and young

toddlers. Until the age of two, infants are still acquiring cognitive, linguistic, sensorimotor, and

social-emotional skills. For these abilities to mature successfully, children need to engage in

hands-on exploration and social contact with reliable caretakers.

On the other hand, studies also showed that too much exposure to watching animated
videos online can result in different consequences. First, it may result in drastic brain

development. Toddlers' brains triple in size during their toddler years and continue to grow into

adulthood. It has been shown that too much gadgetry can negatively affect a child's brain's

functioning, resulting in attention deficits, cognitive delays, impaired learning, increased

impulsivity, and decreased self-regulation. In Smart Parenting, parents are encouraged to sing,

read, and talk to their children rather than let them play or watch TV. Second is the obesity link.

In the United States, one in three children is obese it is because when children play on screens

rather than in playgrounds, they do not burn the calories they consume. This can lead to some

serious illnesses such as diabetes, heart attack and stroke in a long run. Third, too much exposure

to media can lead to acquiring bad behaviors such as learning how to drink alcoholic beverages,

smoking, cursing, and some are using drugs. These behaviors may imitate the child as they will

perceive it as normal and they may also be forced to try it due to their curiosity. Fourth, toddlers

may perceive violence as a reasonable action because commonly, the main characters in the

cartoons are killing those bad characters to defeat them. As a result, a toddler may be confused

about understanding right and wrong. According to the Kids Health Organization, children who

see violence on television are more prone to act aggressively, believing that the world is a

dangerous place, and that horrible things will happen to them. Fifth is sleep deprivation. Children

who are linked with excessive use of media often do get not enough sleep because they prefer to

use their time watching videos on their gadgets rather than to rest and get a night of proper sleep.

Sixth, radiation exposure. Cellphones and other wireless gadgets are regarded as category 2B

risks due to their radiation output, according to a 2011 World Health Organization report.

Radiofrequency exposure certainly poses a risk to toddlers, according to Dr. Anthony Miller of

the University of Toronto's Faculty of Public Health, who made this finding in December 2013.
Seventh, reduced interaction. Tablets make it easy for toddlers to play independently. Dr. Gary

Small, author of "iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind" and

director of the University of California's Longevity Center, says that if children spend too much

time with technology and not enough time with people, it hinders interaction and disrupts the

normal development of communication skills. Toddlers who surround themselves with inanimate

objects in a family setting tend to have a difficult time communicating with their parents. Others

copy and inherit the skill of talking from TV but fail when socializing with other people. Eight is

that it can cause damaged eyesight as prolonged exposure to gadgets may strain their eyes.

Research shows that children who are addicted to playing computer games are more likely to

develop eye problems as they grow. Vision shares more insight into how computer gaming

affects the eyes of children. And lastly is addiction. The more that their parents are allowing their

children to use gadgets, the more chance that their addiction grows.

Thus, the main purpose of this study is to know the consequences of being exposed to

toddlers in animated online media channels in the development of their motor behavior that

includes crawling, walking, sitting, jumping and throwing a ball, and anything that a child must

learn in a very young age of their lives. This study will explore the relevancy of the use of

technology for the current generations and how it would possibly shape them in the future.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study is being conducted to determine the consequences of animated online media

channels on motor behavior among toddlers in today’s generation.

 Specifically, it aims to provide answers to the following sub-problems:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents?

1.1. Age

1.2. Sex

2. How do animated videos affect the development of a toddler’s motor behavior?

3. What are the common media online channels that toddler access to watch?

4. How do parents handle their child whenever he/she becomes addicted to watching

animated videos?

5. Does the behavior of the child will improve when they are deprived of the use of gadgets

to watch animated online videos?

6. What are the insights of the parents towards the exposure of their child to online media

channels at a very young age?

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This research study is all about The Consequences of Animated Online Media Channel

Exposure in Motor Behavior Among Toddlers in the Philippines. The purpose of this study is to

know the consequences of animated online media channel among toddlers in the Philippines.

There are two (2) variables in this study (IV) toddler's exposure in the animated online channel

and (DV) Toddler's motor behaviour. This study will be conducted with 3 respondents aged 2 to

3 years old in Manila, Philippines and will be conducted in a major urban center in the

Philippines to ensure a diverse sample of respondents with varying degrees of access to animated

online media channels. The respondents will be purposefully selected based on their toddlers'

exposure as the researchers are going to observe and investigate how does exposure to animated
online channel media affects the motor behavior of toddlers. This study will limit its scope to

toddlers aged 2 to 3 years old as they are in a critical period of motor development and are likely

to be influenced by their media cons... In this study, the main respondents would be the parents

or guardians of the respective toddlers that are going to be randomly selected by the researchers

along Metro Manila. Preliminary Survey will serve as a guide to collect information to choose

qualified respondents and this study will do face to face method, Interview will serves as a main

instrument for the data gathering.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study intends to demonstrate how the exposure of toddlers to watching animated

online videos affects the development of their motor behavior. The significance of this study is

substantial for those toddlers who were exposed to the online world in this generation.

The researchers believe that the result of the study will benefit the following:

To Parents/Guardian.Because they will be the ones to guide their children to take part in the

study, they will be the first to know if there are any changes to the experiment that will affect

their child and the parent will be the first to know about those changes.

To all Content Creators. For them to be aware of the impact their content will have on viewers

and ensure that the information that you provide is helpful to the viewers of your content.

To the Educators. For educators to guide their students and assist them in understanding how

animated media channels impact the way they think and behave.

To the Future Researchers. Future researchers might use this research paper as their reference

for their study that is similar or related to this.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

METHODOLOGY

Research Design