Sumudu Mallawaarachchi completed her PhD on understanding early childhood mobile screen use from a child developmental perspective. She investigates the multiple influences of child characteristics and skills, parent perceptions and experiences, and the digital environment design of mobile screen content, to inform how we holistically gain insights into early childhood mobile technology use.

As a Research Fellow in the Healthy Child program and contributor to the Educated Child program, Sumudu will examine associations between children’s digital technology use, engagement, design of digital environments and child developmental outcomes. Sumudu hopes her research will inform evidence-based recommendations for families, clinicians and educators in optimising healthy technology use by young children. Her vision is for children to be able to engage with digital technology in such a way that it complements their wellbeing and development, minimising the potential risks.

Earliest digital memory
I used to think barbie.com was all there was to Internet! I would get so excited for my monthly visit to my mum’s workplace to use the internet (i.e., barbie.com).