CHILDREN'S EXPOSURE TO DIGITAL SCREENS AND ITS IMPACTS ON ATTENTION, MEMORY, LANGUAGE, AND BEHAVIOR: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

This article sought to analyze the frequent use of digital devices during childhood, an essential period for brain development and cognitive, linguistic, and behavioral skills. Inappropriate exposure can compromise fundamental experiences for child development. The study evaluates scientific evidence on the relationship between digital screen use and child cognitive development, considering attention, memory, language, learning, and behavior. This is a descriptive,qualitative, and integrative literature review conducted in PubMed and the Virtual Health Library (VHL) databases.DeCS/MeSH descriptors were used and combined with the operators AND and OR. Studies published between 2021 and 2026 in Portuguese, English, and Spanish were included. After selection, 14 studies were analyzed. Excessive, passive,and unsupervised exposure was associated with difficulties in attention, memory, language, executive functions, and behavior. However, the effects varied depending on exposure time, content, age, context, and parental mediation.Educational and supervised use showed neutral or potentially positive results. Sleep alterations and the replacement of face-to-face interactions were also identified. Thus, excessive screen use may be associated with impairments to child development, although there is no definitive proof of causality. Balanced use is recommended, with parental supervision and the preservation of essential developmental activities.