Excessive Screen Use in Early Childhood: Impacts on the Holistic Development of Children in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Early childhood is a fundamental stage for the holistic development of children, marked by the importance of social interactions, play, movement, and everyday experiences. In this context, the increased use of digital devices, such as cell phones, tablets, and televisions, makes it necessary to reflect on the possible impacts of excessive screen exposure when these screens begin to replace experiences important for child development. Thus, this research aimed to analyze the impacts of excessive screen use on the holistic development of children in early childhood education, considering cognitive, communicative, emotional, social, physical, and motor aspects. The investigation began with the following research question: how can excessive screen use influence the holistic development of children in early childhood education? As a theoretical foundation, the study was based on Vygotsky's contributions on the importance of social interactions in development, the guidelines of the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP), the guidelines of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), as well as the contributions of Desmurget and data from the Early Childhood for Healthy Adults Project (PIPAS). Methodologically, this is a bibliographic research, with a qualitative approach, carried out through the analysis of scientific articles, institutional documents and data related to the use of screens in early childhood. The results indicated that excessive screen use can reduce opportunities to play, interact, talk, move and explore the environment, which can have repercussions on the cognitive, communicative, emotional, social, physical and motor dimensions, in addition to interfering with sleep quality. It is concluded that technology should not be considered harmful in itself, but used in a balanced, conscious way and with adult mediation, so that it does not replace the concrete, affective and social experiences essential to the integral development of the child.