Maria Beatriz Martins Linhares
Psychologist
Senior Associate Professor at the Ribeirão Preto Faculty of Medicine, USP
Research Laboratory for Prevention of Child Development and Behavior Problems – LAPREDES
Member of the Scientific Committee of the Science for Childhood Center – NCPI
Member of the CpE Network
Marília Souza Silva Branco
Psychologist
Specialist in Developmental Psychology in the Health Area
Master in Mental Health from FMRP-USP
Research Laboratory for Prevention of Child Development and Behavior Problems – LAPREDES
Maria Thereza Costa Coelho de Souza
Psychologist
Full Professor at the Institute of Psychology, USP
Member of the Scientific Committee of the Center ofScience for Childhood – NCPI
Children exposed to more than one to two hours of screen time daily showed a higher risk of delays in cognitive and language development, including difficulties with comprehension, vocabulary, and problem-solving.
Parents and caregivers should mediate screen use, monitor screen time, select appropriate content, watch with children, and model healthy behaviors.
Maria Beatriz Martins Linhares
Psicóloga – Professora Associada Sênior da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da USP
Laboratório de Pesquisa em Prevenção de Problemas do Desenvolvimento e Comportamento da Criança – LAPREDES
Membro do Comitê Científico do Núcleo Ciência pela Infância – NCPI
Membro da Rede CpE
Marília Souza Silva Branco
Psicóloga – Especialista em Psicologia do Desenvolvimento na área da Saúde
Mestre em Saúde Mental pela FMRP-USP
Laboratório de Pesquisa em Prevenção de Problemas do Desenvolvimento e Comportamento da Criança – LAPREDES
Maria Thereza Costa Coelho de Souza
Psicóloga – Professora Titular do Instituto de Psicologia da USP
Membro do Comitê Científico do Núcleo de Ciência pela Infância – NCPI
APRIL/MAY 2026 | nº.6 | Conscious, mediated, and balanced use of screens and technologies, combined with the appreciation of face-to-face social interactions and play, can be a ‘vaccine’ to protect human development
PHOTO: ADOBESTOCK
Early childhood, understood as the period from birth to six years of age, constitutes a sensitive period for human development, in which the neurobiological, cognitive, emotional, and social foundations that support functioning throughout the entire life cycle are established. The experiences lived in this phase have a structuring and lasting character, being strongly influenced by the quality of environmental stimuli, social interactions, and affective bonds established with caregivers and peers. In recent decades, technological advances and the widespread dissemination of digital devices connected to the internet have profoundly transformed the contexts of socialization, learning, and leisure for children. We delved deeper into the topic in a document for the research coalition “Nucleus of Science for Childhood” (NCPI, in Portuguese)”, entitled “Early Childhood Protection Between Screens and Digital Media,” which was published in December 2025.
In the document, we show that, although such digital technologies offer relevant opportunities, their early, excessive, or unmediated and unsupervised use by adults has been associated with significant risks to child development, especially in early childhood, which is marked by intense and fundamental brain plasticity. At this stage, the brain is highly sensitive to lived environmental experiences.
Child Development and Social Interactions
Face-to-face social interactions are the main stimulus for child development. Two-way, synchronous, sensitive, and natural exchanges between children and their caregivers—involving verbal language, gestures, facial expressions, physical contact, and the demonstration of emotions—promote language acquisition, emotional regulation, social cognition, and the formation of secure emotional bonds.
Interactional synchrony, characterized by the “back and forth” of social exchanges between the adult and the child, is associated with neurobiological markers related to emotional regulation and affective bonding. Interactions with qualified social mediation, as proposed by the Belarusian psychologist and researcher Lev Vygotsky, expand the child’s potential development, allowing for learning that would not occur in isolation.
Use of Screens and Digital Media
The use of screens in early childhood exposes children to rapid, intense, and highly complex stimuli that differ substantially from the sensorimotor and social experiences of the real world. Evidence shows that young children have difficulty transferring learning from screens to real-life situations. And access to these technologies has been occurring earlier.
The TIC Kids Online Brasil survey, conducted through interviews with adults from 21,170 Brazilian households in 2024, indicated that 44% of children aged 0 to 2 and 71% of children aged 3 to 5 already have access to the internet. This phenomenon intensified from 2015 to 2024, being identified in families of different socioeconomic levels.
The use of screens in early childhood exposes children to rapid, intense, and highly complex stimuli that differ substantially from the sensorimotor and social experiences of the real world.
A pesquisa TIC Kids Online Brasil, realizada por meio de entrevistas com adultos de 21.170 domicílios brasileiros em 2024, indicou que 44% das crianças de 0 a 2 anos e 71% das crianças de 3 a 5 anos já têm acesso à internet. Esse fenômeno se intensificou de 2015 a 2024, sendo identificado em famílias de diferentes níveis socioeconômicos.
Brain Development
Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated an association between increased screen time and structural changes in brain regions related to visual processing, language, attention, and social cognition.
Excessive and passive screen use has also been associated with impairments in areas responsible for emotional regulation and inhibitory impulse control.
Children exposed to more than one to two hours of screen time daily showed a higher risk of delays in cognitive and language development, including difficulties with comprehension, vocabulary, and problem-solving. These effects were more pronounced in boys and in children living in family contexts where mothers had lower levels of education.
Children exposed to more than one to two hours of screen time daily showed a higher risk of delays in cognitive and language development, including difficulties with comprehension, vocabulary, and problem-solving.
Excessive screen use has also been associated with greater emotional reactivity, aggression, attention problems, and self-regulation difficulties in young children. Early and prolonged exposure compromises essential social skills developed by face-to-face interaction.
Screen use, especially at night, has also been associated with sleep disorders, reduced melatonin, delayed circadian rhythm, and impairments in emotional and brain development. Negative impacts on diet, physical activity, and eye health were also observed.
The quality of the content is another important component to be observed. Exposure to adult, violent, or age-inappropriate content has been associated with cognitive, behavioral, and emotional problems from the earliest years of development.
Violent content, even in “fun” video games, can desensitize children to violence and increase aggressive behaviors, anxiety, and fear, with alterations in brain circuits related to behavior regulation.
Guidelines for the use of digital media to protect children’s health are recommended and need to be followed. Today it is known that the effects of inappropriate screen use are not limited to early childhood. In middle childhood and adolescence, an association has been observed between increased screen time and mental health and academic performance problems, depressive symptoms, bullying, and cyberbullying.
Guidelines for the use of digital media to protect children’s health are recommended and need to be followed.
The Role of the Family and Alternative Strategies
However, balanced and high-quality adult-mediated use of digital technologies, with supervision and guidance, can offer several benefits. Video call interactions with family members, age-appropriate educational content, and adult-mediated interactive applications can promote language, early literacy, and executive functions.
In the educational context, well-structured pedagogical interventions using technology, conducted by qualified teachers, can promote specific learning, such as mathematics and reading. Assistive technologies also promote the inclusion of children with special educational needs.
Positive parenting is a central protective factor in children’s development. Parents and caregivers should mediate screen use, monitor screen time, select appropriate content, watch with children, and model healthy behaviors.
Excessive screen use by adults themselves can disrupt affective interactions and harm children’s socio-emotional development. The use of screens as a strategy to calm children compromises the development of emotional and behavioral self-regulation, a process that occurs in early childhood.
The negative phenomenon of “sharenting” is also noteworthy; this term, a combination of the English words “share” and “parenting”, defines the actions of parents who expose children on social media, risking their privacy, identity, and digital security, requiring ethical reflection and parental responsibility.
In early childhood, activities such as free play, shared reading, storytelling, outdoor activities, sports, and contact with nature should be encouraged, as they are fundamental to child development. Play, especially pretend play, promotes executive functions, language, creativity, and social skills. The use of screens restricts access to activities that stimulate children’s development, such as playing and social interaction.
Laws, Guidelines, and Public Policies
Brazil has a robust legal framework for child protection, including the Statute of Children and Adolescents (ECA), the Legal Framework for Early Childhood, the General Data Protection Law, legislation against cyberbullying, and regulations governing the use of cell phones in schools.
Guidelines from the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, and other national and international associations and organizations recommend avoiding screens before the age of two, limiting screen time at subsequent ages, and prioritizing adult mediation. The Guide on the Use of Digital Devices for Children and Adolescents, produced by the Brazilian Government, is noteworthy. Recently, considerable progress has been made with the Digital ECA, which proposes the effective regulation of digital platforms and strategies for monitoring and providing protective control for children and adolescents.
The focus of action should be on creating effective public policies with intersectoral approaches based on evidence, promoting digital education, protection of rights, professional training, awareness campaigns, and the creation of safe and community-based spaces for children to play.
Protecting early childhood from the challenges of the digital age is a human, ethical, and social imperative for guaranteeing children’s rights. The conscious, mediated, and balanced use of technology, combined with valuing face-to-face interactions and play, constitutes the most effective strategy for promoting healthy development. Early childhood is a phase that lasts a lifetime. Therefore, investing in early childhood is equivalent to a “vaccine” for human development, with lasting benefits for individuals and society. The complete NCPI material that supports these conclusions is available at this link.
The focus of action should be on creating effective public policies with intersectoral approaches based on evidence, promoting digital education, protection of rights, professional training, awareness campaigns, and the creation of safe and community-based spaces for children to play.
