Use Of Technological Devices And Physical Activity During Covid-19 Lockdown. Comparison Between Europe And Latin America

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major changes in people's lifestyle, health, and social relationships, especially impacting children and adolescents. The objective of this work has been to know the peculiarities of the use of technological devices and the levels of physical activity (PA) during the pandemic, both in Ibero-American and European countries. Methods: To comply with this, a quantitative investigation was carried out with a non-experimental design, descriptive, comparative and correlational (transversal) character. The sample consisted of 2,316 children aged between 3-12 years (M=7.70; SD=2.86). For the analysis and treatment of the data, the statistical software SPSS 25.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA) was used. Results: The European participants use more video consoles, computers and tablets, while the Ibero-Americans were the ones who obtained the highest values in the use of TVs. However, in the European countries, higher values were manifested in the time spent on PA, homework, artistic activities, free and family play; while in Ibero-America there were longer times in the use of the mobile phone and sleep. Conclusions: From these results, public and educational institutions should establish social and educational policies that guarantee a minimum of information and training for parents so that they can establish strategies at home to promote healthy habits and responsible use of technological means.