A influência da utilização de mídias interativas (tablet e smartphone) no desenvolvimento cognitivo e de linguagem em crianças de 24 a 42 meses

Abstract

Introduction: The exposure of children to electronic media, especially to interactive devices, is a recent and increasingly common phenomenon in contemporary society. However, little is known about the influence of interactive media on child development. The literature approaches electronic media altogether, without distinguishing between elements of traditional media, such as television and radio, and new media, represented by interactive devices (tablets, smartphones, and videogames, among others). Given the importance of early childhood for the development of skills that last in adult life, it is considered necessary to know the effect of the new technologies on children. Objective: To evaluate whether the use of interactive media is associated with the cognitive and linguistic development of children aged 24 to 42 months in the county of Diamantina-MG. Methods: In order to achieve the proposed goal, two research methods were used: a comparative cross-sectional study and a systematic review, still in progress. Regarding the cross-sectional study, the sample consisted of 72 children aged 24 to 42 months, regularly enrolled in public or private childcare institutions in the municipality of Diamantina, located in the northern region of the state of Minas Gerais. The parents of the studied children answered a questionnaire containing information about the use of interactive media by their children, as well as sociodemographic data. Subsequently, children were evaluated on cognitive and expressive language aspects through the application of Bayley Child Development Scale, 3rd edition. Then, children were distributed into three groups, based on their daily time of use of interactive media, namely: Group 1 (does not use interactive media), Group 2 (interactive media use for up to 35 minutes/ day), Group 3 (interactive media use for more than 35 minutes/ day). At the end, the distribution of the sample was homogeneous and 24 children were allocated to each group. The value used in the separation of the groups (35 minutes) corresponds to the median time of use of the media. Results: The three groups did not differ in socioeconomic status, maternal schooling and gender. Concerning childrens interactive media use, most parents reported controlling their children's access to tablets and smartphones. More than half of the parents said they encourage children to access interactive media, limit the time of use and content accessed and believe in the beneficial effect of such resources. A positive association was observed between the use of interactive media and the performance in the aspects tested. The group that used the media for a greater daily time presented higher scores in the cognitive and expressive language domains, being the most significant result in this aspect. Conclusion: There was a significant association between the use of the media, especially the tablet, and children's development, which alludes to the potential of using interactive media as a resource for stimulating cognitive and language skills in pre-school children studied.