Impact of Excessive Screen Time on Social Skill Development of Primary School Children in Rural Field Practice Area of a Tertiary Care Centre, Kozhikode: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: In our day-to-day life, screens have become an integral part. Children, in particular, are spendingincreasing amounts of time in front of screens, whether it’s watching TV, playing video games, or scrollingthrough various social media. While screens can provide education, entertainment and social connection,excessive screen time has been linked to various negative effects on social skills development.Objective: Aimed to investigate the impact of screen time on social skills development in Primary school childrenaged 6 to 11 years.Material and Methods: A Cross sectional study was conducted at South AM UP School and Theruvathekadavuand GHSS Naduvannur in Rural Field Practice Area of Kozhikode district, Kerala from December 2024 to January2025. A total of 220 children from both the schools were enrolled using stratified sampling. Screen time wascategorized into three groups: Low (less than 1 hour per day), Moderate (1 to 3 hours per day), and High (morethan 3 hours per day). Social skills were assessed using the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) RatingScales. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square and Pearson correlation.Results: The Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.864) indicates a strong positive correlation screen time andsocial skill development problems.Conclusion: High screen time is negatively associated with social skills development in young children. Limitingscreen time may foster better social skills development.