EXCESSIVE USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND ITS IMPACTS ON PSYCHOSOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AT DIFFERENT PHASES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Technological advances have directly affected the lives of children, adolescents, adults and the elderly around the world. With this in mind, this article aimed to present the impacts of the excessive use of digital technologies on psychosocial relationships at different stages of development. A narrative literature review was conducted based on scientific articles available in the electronic databases Scielo, Pepsic, Google Scholar and books. It is understood that the excessive use of technologies by children and adolescents leads to harm in learning and also in social relationships, while in adulthood and old age, the harm is largely associated with non-virtual social relationships, resembling social isolation. In view of this, there is a need for more studies on the subject, especially in the adult and old age stages, as there is little bibliographic material and little empirical research aimed at this audience.