The influence of digital technology on speech, sensorimotor development and socio-emotional behavior in pre-school children

Abstract

Smartphones and tablets are part of everyday family life. Experts who work with children or deal with various aspects of early childhood development warn of the resulting harmful consequences. It is also feared that research on the impact of the use of smartphones and tablets on children's development cannot keep up with rapid technological development. Bearing these facts in mind, in this research we tried to evaluate the quality of speech, sensorimotor development and socio-emotional behavior in children in the most sensitive period of their growth, preschool age. The research sample consisted of 40 participants, 28 boys and 12 girls, aged 5 to 6 years. Only children whose parents declared that their child spends more than three hours a day in front of the screen were included in the sample. The research used an adapted test for assessing the articulation abilities of children, the Global Articulation Test and the Scale for assessing the psychophysiological abilities of children from 0 to 7 years of age. The results of this research show that there are differences in the quality of speech in preschool children. Statistically significant differences in sensorimotor development and socioemotional behavior in preschool children were obtained by applying one-factor multivariate ANOVA. Knowledge and understanding of the harmful effects of screens on the functioning and development of children in the immediate environment is essential for taking measures to control screen exposure by parents and educators in order to prevent further regressions in the development of speech, language, sensorimotor and socio-emotional maturity and thereby stimulate optimal early development.

Keywords

• digital technology
• speech quality
• sensorimotor development
• socioemotional behavior
• preschool age