Examining the Relationship between Screen Time and Interpersonal Communication Quality among Elementary School Students in South Jakarta

Abstract

Background: Generation Alpha children are growing up in a digital environment with high daily screen exposure. In urban areas like South Jakarta, excessive screen time is suspected of affecting children’s interpersonal communication and social interaction quality. Aims: This study examines the relationship between screen time duration and the quality of interpersonal communication among Generation Alpha elementary school students in South Jakarta. It investigates how intensive digital exposure in an urban environment shapes fundamental social interaction dimension. Methodology: The research employed an explanatory quantitative approach with a total sampling technique (census), involving 89 fourth and fifth-grade students in Jakarta, Indonesia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire based on DeVito’s Interpersonal Communication Quality dimensions (Openness, Empathy, Supportiveness, Positiveness, and Equality) and analyzed through simple linear regression. Results: Descriptive analysis shows that the dimensions of Empathy (6.2) and Openness (6.6) received the lowest scores, indicating a decline in face-to-face emotional depth despite high digital connectivity. However, regression analysis revealed that screen time duration averaging 5.3 hours per day accounts for only 0.7% (R2 = 0.007) of the variance in communication quality and is not statistically significant (p = 0.437). Conclusion: Screen time duration is not a significant predictor of communication quality in this demographic, suggesting that digital habits have become a "normalized environment." The social degradation observed is likely driven by technoference and a lack of active parental mediation rather than cumulative screen hours. Consequently, interventions should shift from simple duration limits toward fostering emotional responsiveness and active digital parenting to restore children’s interpersonal integrity.