Implications of the use of digital technologies in child development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37914/riis.v9i1.505Keywords:
child, digital technology, child developmentAbstract
Background: digital technology plays a central role in society and is deeply integrated into everyday life. Children are increasingly exposed to these resources. Objectives: to analyze the implications of digital technology use on children's development in scientific literature. Methodology: the question asked, "What are the implications of digital technology use on child development?". A critical literature review was conducted between March and June 2025, searching for articles on EBSCOhost that included parents and/or children aged 0-18 years, published between 2020 and 2025, in Portuguese, English, or Spanish, with open access and fully available. Review articles and studies with participants with neurodevelopmental disorders were excluded. Results: eleven studies were included. Moderate and appropriate use of digital technology can have positive effects—promoting autonomy, life satisfaction, and some communication skills. Excessive and unsupervised use is associated with difficulties in cognitive, emotional, social, and motor development, especially when it occurs early and prolonged. Delays in expressive and receptive language, poorer performance on cognitive tasks, attention difficulties, and deficits in social and emotional skills have been identified. Conclusion: the use of digital technology in childhood must be carefully mediated and supervised to produce benefits.
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