<p>Interview method and sampling.</p>

Data were collected through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, which were conducted with parents, teachers, and students to capture the perspectives of each stakeholder group. A thematic analysis was conducted in which themes were initially identified inductively from the data and subsequently organized and interpreted using the socio-ecological model as an analytical framework.</p> <p>Results</p><p>We included 25 students who attended classes six and ten, of whom 56% were male.

The key parental challenges identified in this study, including monitoring children’s screen viewing, supervising age appropriate online content, balancing educational and recreational device use, promoting alternative offline activities and lack of digital literacy among parents. Participants’ recommendations included school-based awareness. interventions, national-level guidelines regarding the use of digital devices, development of self-regulatory behavior in students, provision of secure recreational infrastructures, creating scope for outdoor recreational activities among students, enhancing the parent-child bond, and offering interesting options to divert the students from screens.</p> <p>Conclusions</p><p>The study findings provide a better understanding of the parental challenges of the overuse of devices and recommendations among the population.

Effective guidelines for managing students’ screen use require participation from schools, parents, legislators, and students themselves. Further research is required to determine the most effective interventions.</p></div>