Digital devices and socio-emotional development in early childhood: A reflection on their implications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24054/hutecedu.v2i2.4649Keywords:
Mobile devices, emotional regulation, interpersonal interaction, early childhood education and care, technology mediation. (Source: DECS)Abstract
Digital technologies have become a normal part of children's lives from an early age, which raises a lot of concerns about how they can affect the overall development of this age group. Therefore, the aim of this work is to analyze the consequences of intensive and improper use of these tools on the development of emotional, communicative, linguistic, relational, and behavioral abilities in young children. Some outcomes of frequent, prolonged, and uncontrolled use of technology in early childhood could be lack of attention, delayed language development, or even behavioral and personality disorders if this type of activity isn't monitored. However, it should be noted that these results only occur in cases of excessive exposure to negative content through these media, without adult interaction or supervision. The main people responsible for making sure kids keep up a decent level of social interaction, emotional, and intellectual independence should be schools and families. So, to wrap up everything said before, digital technologies can be risky if not properly controlled, but they aren't harmful to kids' emotional, social, communication, or psychological development as long as they're limited in both time and quality and balanced with other activities that are less depressing and more enriching.
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