The Impact of Gadget Use on the Development of Early Childhood
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54150/altahdzib.v4i1.622Keywords:
Religion, Morality, Early Childhood, LearningAbstract
Digital devices support early childhood learning; however, excessive use may hinder social-emotional development, making supervision and wise use by parents and teachers crucial. This study aims to understand the positive and negative impacts of digital device use in learning on young children's social and emotional behavior. A correlational quantitative method was used by distributing survey instruments to 100 respondents. The results support four hypotheses about device use and children's social-emotional development. Excessive device use negatively affects social interaction skills (coefficient -0.45; P = 0.002) and emotional regulation (coefficient -0.50; P = 0.003). In contrast, supervised device use positively influences empathy and communication skills (coefficient 0.60; P = 0.000). Children guided by parents or teachers show better social-emotional development than those without supervision (coefficient 0.55; P = 0.000). All hypotheses are supported, emphasizing the importance of supervised device use.
References
Akour, M., & Alenezi, M. (2022). Higher education future in the era of digital transformation. Education Sciences, 12(11), Article 784. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110784
Asmayawati, Y., Yufiarti, & Yetti, E. (2024). Pedagogical innovation and curricular adaptation in enhancing digital literacy: A local wisdom approach for sustainable development in Indonesia context. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 10(1), 100233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2024.100233
Aurora, N. S. I. I., Meiranny, A., & Susilowati, E. (2024). Factors affecting early childhood social-emotional well-being: Literature review [Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Sosial-Emosional Anak Usia Dini: Literature Review]. Media Publikasi Promosi Kesehatan Indonesia, 7(4), 768–777. https://doi.org/10.56338/mppki.v7i4.4940
Badri, M., Alnuaimi, A., Al Rashedi, A., Yang, G., & Temsah, K. (2017). School children’s use of digital devices, social media and parental knowledge and involvement–The case of Abu Dhabi. Education and Information Technologies, 22, 2645–2664. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-016-9567-8
Bigelow, K. M., Schnitz, A. G., & Carta, J. J. (2025). Interventions promoting early social-emotional development. Education and Treatment of Children, 48(2), xx–xx. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43494-024-00148-7
Blanc, N. G., García, C. M., Cortasa, M., Ros-Morente, A., & Filella, G. (2024). Emotional vocabulary and sadness: Differences by grade and gender in primary and secondary education. Interdisciplinaria, 41(2). https://doi.org/10.16888/interd.2024.41.2.16
Blewitt, C., Morris, H., Nolan, A., Jackson, K., Barrett, H., & Skouteris, H. (2020). Strengthening the quality of educator-child interactions in early childhood education and care settings: A conceptual model to improve mental health outcomes for preschoolers. Early Child Development and Care, 190(7), 991–1004. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2018.1507028
Blewitt, C., O’Connor, A., May, T., Morris, H., Mousa, A., Bergmeier, H., Jackson, K., Barrett, H., & Skouteris, H. (2021). Strengthening the social and emotional skills of pre-schoolers with mental health and developmental challenges in inclusive early childhood education and care settings: A narrative review of educator-led interventions. Early Child Development and Care, 191(15), 2311–2332. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1702034
Chiang, C.-C. (2024). Knowledge mapping of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on trends in research regarding early childhood social-emotional development. Journal of Research in Education Sciences, 69(2), 1–41. https://doi.org/10.6209/JORIES.202406_69(2).0001
Clemente-Suárez, V. J., Beltrán-Velasco, A. I., Herrero-Roldán, S., Rodriguez-Besteiro, S., Martínez-Guardado, I., Martín-Rodríguez, A., & Tornero-Aguilera, J. F. (2024). Digital device usage and childhood cognitive development: Exploring effects on cognitive abilities. Children, 11(11), 1299. https://doi.org/10.3390/children11111299
Cui, X.-L., Jong, J.-T., Liang, J.-L., & Wu, H.-T. (2023). Relationship between the family environment and social competence among young children in Taiwan: The moderating role of temperament. Bulletin of Educational Psychology, 55(1), 47–74. https://doi.org/10.6251/BEP.202309_55(1).0003
Domitrovich, C. E., Durlak, J. A., Staley, K. C., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Social?emotional competence: An essential factor for promoting positive adjustment and reducing risk in school children. Child Development, 88(2), 408–416. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12739
Ellwood, R., & Abrams, E. (2018). Student’s social interaction in inquiry-based science education: How experiences of flow can increase motivation and achievement. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 13, 395–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-017-9811-0
Erbay, F. (2021). An examination of adaptation levels of children in terms of the variable of teacher-child communication. Early Child Development and Care, 191(13), 2057–2066. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1683006
Faqihuddin, A., Firmansyah, M. I., & Muflih, A. (2024). Multisensory approach in memorizing the Al-Quran for early childhood: Integration of the tradition of memorizing the Al-Quran with digital technology. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 16(2), 1289–1302. https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v16i2.6112
Gaete, J., Ramírez, S., Rojas-Barahona, C. A., Romo, V., Ríos, N., & Araya, R. (2025). Japi 2.0, a gaming platform to stimulate cognitive and non-cognitive skills in early childhood: Protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 11(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-025-01593-w
Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Qadri, M. A., & Suman, R. (2022). Understanding the role of digital technologies in education: A review. Sustainable Operations and Computers, 3, 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susoc.2022.05.004
Harrington, E. M., Trevino, S. D., Lopez, S., & Giuliani, N. R. (2020). Emotion regulation in early childhood: Implications for socioemotional and academic components of school readiness. Emotion, 20(1), 48–53. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000667
Henderson, M., Bould, H., Flouri, E., Harrison, A., Lewis, G., Srinivasan, R., Stafford, J., Warne, N., & Solmi, F. (2021). Association of emotion regulation trajectories in childhood with anorexia nervosa and atypical anorexia nervosa in early adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry, 78(11), 1249–1257. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1599
Herrera, L., & Lorenzo, A. (2024). Socio-emotional development in early childhood education classrooms: Contributions from positive psychology. In Modern Early Childhood Teacher Education: Theories and Practice (pp. 217–241). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-0956-8.ch010
Hirsh-Pasek, K., Zosh, J. M., Golinkoff, R. M., Gray, J. H., Robb, M. B., & Kaufman, J. (2015). Putting education in “educational” apps: Lessons from the science of learning. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 16(1), 3–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100615569721
Hodgkins, A. (2024). Exploring early childhood practitioners’ perceptions of empathy with children and families: Initial findings. Educational Review, 76(2), 223–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2021.2023471
Jin, X., Kim, E., Kim, K., & Chen, S. (2024). Innovative knowledge generation: Exploring trends in the use of early childhood education apps in Chinese families. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 15(3), 12253–12292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01960-0
Johnstone, A., Martin, A., Cordovil, R., Fjortoft, I., Iivonen, S., Jidovtseff, B., Lopes, F., Reilly, J. J., Thomson, H., Wells, V., & McCrorie, P. (2022). Nature-based early childhood education and children's social, emotional and cognitive development: A mixed-methods systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(10), 5967. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19105967
Kristina, L., & Sampurna, A. (2025). Overcoming gadget addiction among rural adolescents through traditional games: A case study in Langkat Regency, North Sumatra. TEMALI: Jurnal Pembangunan Sosial, 8(1), 133–145. https://doi.org/10.15575/jts.v8i1.27164
Kuutti, T., Sajaniemi, N., Björn, P. M., Heiskanen, N., & Reunamo, J. (2022). Participation, involvement and peer relationships in children with special educational needs in early childhood education. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 37(4), 587–602. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2021.1920214
Law, E. L.-C., Vostanis, P., & O’Reilly, M. J. (2023). Insights from impacts of the digital divide on children in five majority world countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Behaviour & Information Technology, 42(15), 2696–2715. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2023.2179645
Lestari, T., Herawati, N. I., Permatasari, E., & Ariningrum, P. R. (2020). Developmentally appropriate digital practice (DADP): Integration of ICT with game-based self-care learning in early childhood education. In Borderless education as a challenge in the 5.0 society (pp. 173–181). Routledge.
Levantini, V., Muratori, P., Bertacchi, I., Grilli, V., Marzano, A., Masi, G., Milone, A., & Kimonis, E. R. (2024). The “Measure of Empathy in Early Childhood”: Psychometric properties and associations with externalizing problems and callous unemotional traits. Child Psychiatry and Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01673-7
Li, Z., Li, B., Tsou, Y.-T., & Rieffe, C. (2025). Validation of the Chinese Empathy Questionnaire for pre-school children. Early Education and Development, 36(1), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2024.2372938
Masfufah, M., & Darmawan, D. (2023). The role of parents in preventing gadget addiction in early childhood. International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology, 3(3), 47–51.
McCollow, M. M., & Hoffman, H. H. (2019). Supporting social development in young children with disabilities: Building a practitioner’s toolkit. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(3), 309–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00930-y
Najiha, N., Zulfina, I., Elvia, F., & Cahyadi, A. (2023). The role of parents in stimulating early children’s language development through smartphone use. JOYCED: Journal of Early Childhood Education, 3(1), 10–18.
Napal Fraile, M., Peñalva-Vélez, A., & Mendióroz Lacambra, A. M. (2018). Development of digital competence in secondary education teachers’ training. Education Sciences, 8(3), 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8030104
Nathanson, A. I. (2015). Media and the family: Reflections and future directions. Journal of Children and Media, 9(1), 133–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2015.997145
Nikken, P., & Schols, M. (2015). How and why parents guide the media use of young children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(11), 3423–3435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0144-4
Novilia, S. A., Widyarti, A. K., Arrohman, A. Y., & Isbah, F. (2024). Parenting strategies to overcome gadget addiction in children: A case study at TK Negeri Pembina Bantarbolang, Peguyangan Village. Dharmahita: Journal of Community Service and Development, 95–102. https://doi.org/10.5678/dharmahita.v1i1.1234
Pardo-Patiño, K. V., Cuervo, L. C., & Villanueva-Bonilla, C. (2023). Cognitive, emotional and educational interventions for children in early childhood: Systematic review. Revista Ecuatoriana de Neurología, 32(2), 86–97. https://doi.org/10.46997/revecuatneurol32200086
Park, M. N., Moulton, E. E., & Laugeson, E. A. (2023). Parent-assisted social skills training for children with autism spectrum disorder: PEERS for preschoolers. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 38(2), 80–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/10883576221110158
Peck, N. F., Maude, S. P., & Brotherson, M. J. (2015). Understanding preschool teachers’ perspectives on empathy: A qualitative inquiry. Early Childhood Education Journal, 43(3), 169–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-014-0648-3
Perry, N. B., Dollar, J. M., Calkins, S. D., Keane, S. P., & Shanahan, L. (2020). Maternal socialization of child emotion and adolescent adjustment: Indirect effects through emotion regulation. Developmental Psychology, 56(3), 541–552. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000815
Plowman, L., McPake, J., & Stephen, C. (2010). The technologisation of childhood? Young children and technology in the home. Children & Society, 24(1), 63–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1099-0860.2008.00180.x
Purnamasari, I., & Wahyuni, S. (2020). Teacher partnership controlling as a model to manage beneficial gadget use for elementary school-age children. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Education & Social Science Research (ICESRE).
Radesky, J. S., & Christakis, D. A. (2016). Increased screen time: Implications for early childhood development and behavior. Pediatric Clinics, 63(5), 827–839. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2016.06.006
Rafiyya, A., Kraiwanit, T., Limna, P., Sonsuphap, R., Kasrisom, A., & Snongtaweeporn, T. (2024). Early childhood social-emotional development: An impact on a developing country. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 13(5), 3081–3089. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v13i5.29462
Rideout, V. (2017). The common sense census: Media use by kids age zero to eight. Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research/csm_zerotoeight_fullreport_release_2.pdf
Shulman, C. (2016). Social and emotional development in infant and early childhood mental health. In Children's Well-Being: Indicators and Research (Vol. 13, pp. 23–42). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31181-4_2
Simon, P., & Nader-Grosbois, N. (2023). Empathy in preschoolers: Exploring profiles and age- and gender-related differences. Children, 10(12), 1869. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10121869
Soliman, D., Frydenberg, E., Liang, R., & Deans, J. (2021). Enhancing empathy in preschoolers: A comparison of social and emotional learning approaches. Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 38(1), 64–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/20590776.2020.1839883
Spence, S. H. (2023). Social skills training for children and adolescents: Practical techniques and considerations. In Handbook of child and adolescent psychology treatment modules: Personalized care in behavior and emotion (pp. 169–202). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-99613-6.00014-4
Susman-Stillman, A., Englund, M., Webb, C., & Grenell, A. (2018). Reliability and validity of a measure of preschool children's theatre arts skills: The Preschool Theatre Arts Rubric. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 45, 249–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.12.001
Swider-Cios, E., Vermeij, A., & Sitskoorn, M. M. (2023). Young children and screen-based media: The impact on cognitive and socioemotional development and the importance of parental mediation. Cognitive Development, 66, 101319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2023.101319
Tripathi, M., & Mishra, S. K. (2022). An exploratory investigation on exposure, perception and patterns of usage of digital technology among children in a north Indian city. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 42(3), 74–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/02704676221097690
Tuuling, L., Õun, T., & Ugaste, A. (2019). Teachers’ opinions on utilizing outdoor learning in the preschools of Estonia. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 19(4), 358–370. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2018.1507837
Vogel, D., Meyer, M., & Harendza, S. (2018). Verbal and non-verbal communication skills including empathy during history taking of undergraduate medical students. BMC Medical Education, 18(13), 157. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1260-9
Wijaya, R. P. C., Bunga, B. N., & Kiling, I. Y. (2022). Socio-emotional struggles of young children during COVID-19 pandemic: Social isolation and increased use of technologies. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 20(1), 113–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X211064654
Xu, M., Zhang, H., Liu, A., Zhao, C., Huang, X., Berman, S., Fang, H., & Guan, H. (2023). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a group-based intervention to improve social-emotional development of young children in poverty-stricken areas: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Journal of Global Health, 13, 04017. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.13.04017
Xu, Y., Cage, J., Chen, C.-C., Zhang, F., & Xia, Y. (2025). Assessing young children’s social-emotional development through the lens of social-cultural ecological systems. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-01857-3
Xu, Z., Ni, Y., Xu, X., Gu, Q., Jiang, C., Wang, F., & He, L. (2023). The effect of maternal anxiety during pregnancy on the social-emotional development among toddlers [?????????????????????]. Chinese Journal of School Health, 44(9), 1370–1372. https://doi.org/10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2023.09.020
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Asmayawati, Tati Masliati, Hasnida
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
