JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Internet Addiction is an emerging mental health issue in this digital age. Nowadays, children start using the internet in early childhood, thus making them vulnerable to addictive use. Prior studies have reported that the risks of Internet Addiction tend to be higher in developing regions with lower quality of life, such as Indonesia. Indonesia has high risks and prevalence of Internet Addiction, including in children. Digital interventions have been developed as an option to combat Internet Addiction in children. However, little is known about what parents and therapists in Indonesia perceive these kinds of interventions.

Objective:

This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences, perceptions, and considerations of parents and therapists toward digital interventions for combatting Internet Addiction in young Indonesian children.

Methods:

The study employed a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews. We involved 22 parents of children aged 7–11 and six experienced Internet Addiction therapists for children. The data collected was transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results:

Participants in this study recognized three existing digital interventions to combat Internet Addiction: Google Family Link, YouTube Kids, and Apple Parental Control. They perceived that digital intervention could be beneficial in continuously promoting healthy digital behavior in children and supporting parents in supervision. However, the existing interventions were not highly utilized due to limitations, such as the app’s functionality and usability, parental capability, parent–child relationship, cultural incompatibility, and data privacy.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that digital interventions should focus not only on restricting and monitoring screen time but also on building children’s competencies to combat addictive behavior, educating children and parents about digital literacy, and supporting parental decision-making to promote healthy digital behavior in children. Implications for future digital interventions are provided, such as gamification features to enhance parental capability in supervising and regulating their children, tailored or personalized content to suit users’ characteristics and culture, and provision of training and information about the use of interventions and privacy agreements. Clinical Trial: Not applicable