The Effect of Digital Technologies on Kids

Children are immersed in technology from a very young age, often before they can read and write, kids are handed an ipad and begin to navigate the digital world.

The age at which children start regularly engaging with these screens has shifted from 4 years to 4 months over the past few decades. National data from 2017 showed that 75% children under the age of 6 years use mobile touchscreen devices regularly, and over a third of pre-schoolers owned their own device. Not only are children starting screen use earlier, but most Australian children were found to exceed the national recommended guidelines for screen use.

There has been very little investigation into how this affects them and Digital Child Chief Investigator Dr Juliana Zabatiero, from Curtin’s School of Allied Health, is among the early movers on research into the effects of digital technologies on kids.

“There is currently a lack of clarity around the role of digital technologies in supporting young children as they learn and grow. Parents, carers, and professionals caring for young children are unsure of how best to support children using digital technology,” Zabatiero says.

The Australian Children of the Digital Age (ACODA) study will investigate children’s digital engagement and explore the profound impact of digital technologies on young children in a four-year study involving more than 3000 Australian families. In the first year, families with children aged between six months and five years of age are invited to participate and complete a 20-30 min online survey.

“This study will empower children and their families by providing insight into how technology can affect different aspects of a child’s life. The findings will help us identify not just those at risk of poor outcomes, but also determine ways to reduce potential negative impacts of technology use.”

Australian and international evidence shows a steady increase in technology use over the last decades, particularly for young children, due mainly to the accessibility to mobile touchscreen devices.

There are both good and bad aspects to early technology use, research has typically focused on the downsides of technology use, and there is evidence to suggest that technology use by children may be associated with poorer cognitive, physical and socio-emotional development.

“One of the most common explanations for these associations is that technology use displaces time that children could spend in other activities that are important to their development, including outdoor and imaginative free play. However, there is some evidence on positive outcomes in the same development areas and around children’s learning.

“A proposed mechanism for these associations is that the interactive features of mobile touch screen devices may serve to engage the attention of young children by stimulating multiple senses, which may lead to improved learning experiences and motivation when used appropriately. Combining this multi-sensory engagement with high quality content and co-use with an adult has been purported as providing benefits to young children,” Dr Zabatiero says.

Given the positive effects of technology children experiencing digital exclusion might well miss out on access to knowledge and important social connections.

“By collecting population-level data on technology use as well as socio-economic status, gender, social, cultural, language and age characteristics, ACODA will inform evidence-based advice for policy makers on how and where access should be improved,” she says. 

Image by Helena Lopes