How does excessive screen use affect language?

How does excessive screen use affect language?

In recent years, electronic devices have become very important and play an important role in our lives since we are born. Electronic devices or screens are understood as television, mobile devices, computers, tablets, etc.

Screens are a very attractive resource for both children and adults. They are a mean of entertainment, study, work, etc. It is important to know how to use this resource in a way that does not have a negative impact on our child’s development.

Currently, children start using these devices between 12 and 24 months of age. However, the American Association of Paediatrics does not recommend the use of screens before the age of 2 years. Between the ages of 2 and 5, this association does not recommend using screens for more than 2 hours a day. On the other hand, the Spanish Association of Paediatrics does not recommend the use of screens for more than half an hour for children under 3 years of age and up to 2 hours for older children. Finally, the WHO recommends that the use of screens in children under 2 years of age should not be exposed to screens, in children between 2 and 4 years of age, they recommend that the exposure time does not exceed 1 hour and, in children between 5 and 7 years of age, it should not exceed 2 hours of use.

All organisations recommend that the use of screens during childhood should be very limited. This is because, at this stage, the brain is still developing and the use of these devices limits opportunities for learning and interaction with the environment. Interacting with the environment and the people that surrounds the baby is the main source of learning.

 

Age Number of Hours of Exposure
0-2 years Screen exposure not recommended
3-4 years 1 hour of use
5-7 years Maximum 2 hours of use

¿Cómo afecta un uso excesivo de las pantallas al lenguaje? 2

Several studies correlate that early and prolonged exposure to screens is linked with poorer language and cognitive development. In addition, they link excessive screen use with language delay, as well as poorer vocabulary and expression difficulties.

The impact of screens on children's development

Excessive exposure to screens can lead to:

  • Negative impact on neuroplasticity.
  • Disruption of communication with their environment.
  • Impact on the development of executive functions (attention, inhibition, memory).
  • Sleep disorders.
  • Sedentary lifestyle.

An abusive use of screens can affect concentration, empathy, frustration management and impulse control, among others. These skills are very important for social interaction. This social interaction is the basis for language learning. Furthermore, prolonged use of screens can replace moments of physical activity or play shared with others. They also limit the number of interactions with peers or elders, these interactions are great learning opportunities where they acquire requirements to develop language or, to acquire more complex structures following an adult model.

In addition, excessive use of electronic devices can affect the development of executive functions such as attention, memory or inhibition. If children’s attention is focused on a screen, they ignore other stimuli in the surrounding environment.

Use of screens and language

The first three years of life are of great importance in the development of communication and language. These years are the critical period for language learning, and if it is exceeded, language acquisition may be delayed in relation to normal language development.

Communication consists of transmitting and receiving a message by sharing a common code. It can be communicated through gestures, body and facial expressions, etc. Even before they can imitate words, babies communicate with their environment. Language is acquired through interaction with the environment and with other people, thus integrating the requirements of language implicitly, through imitation of the models offered by adults.

Babies babble, vocalise, make gestures, etc. These are ways for them to communicate and to begin to learn some of the prerequisites for language. Among these prerequisites are turn-taking, joint attention. In addition, before saying words, babies begin to explore the different sounds they can make with their orofacial structures. These are moments when babies interact with their environment. With excessive use of screens, these opportunities for interaction and stimulation are lost, as electronic devices do not respond to their interactions. Thus, early screen use limits children’s communicative intent.

¿Cómo afecta un uso excesivo de las pantallas al lenguaje? 3

As mentioned, interaction with others is the way in which language is learned and developed. Generally, this takes place through play, either with peers or with adults. During the 2-6 years stage, symbolic play and functional play take place. These are two types of play in which children give a different use to the object they are playing with (playing with a banana as if it were a telephone) or play where children use objects in the way they are intended to be used (playing doctors or superheroes). Excessive use of electronic devices will reduce the opportunities for these games to occur, as for them to occur, the child must be present in the environment to replicate everyday situations. On the other hand, the games that electronic devices can offer do not offer this type of interaction, as the games they offer have pre-established dialogues that do not encourage children’s creativity or imagination.

Screens reduce opportunities for interaction. Can impact on language by generating:

  • Poor vocabulary.
  • Difficulty in comprehension.
  • Difficulty in initiating or maintaining a conversation.
  • Difficulty in taking turns to speak.
  • Decreased verbal fluency.

Impact of screens on language development

In the early stages of life, children need to explore and interact with their environment, touching, shaking and throwing objects. It is very important that technology should not replace social activities and outdoor play. These are great opportunities for children to acquire and develop interpersonal, motor and communication skills. Excessive use of electronic devices is associated with delayed motor skills, delayed cognitive and language development and poorer academic performance.

In addition, face-to-face interaction between adult and infant, as well as interaction with peers, is of great importance for language development. There are several ways in which screens impact on language development:

Overexposure to screens reduces situations of interaction between children and their parents or between peers, as well as opportunities for play involving social interaction. These interaction situations are critical for language development.

Children learn words within the interaction with adults, where the latter reward and respond quickly to the child’s communicative intention. Thus, when adults do not participate in this exchange, an important pragmatic premise for communication is broken. It should be added that when adults also overuse screens, the number of dialogues the child can listen to is reduced.

Most content on devices does not encourage language development. This limits children’s exposure to complex words and structures. Their vocabulary and ability to express their ideas is affected.

It replaces other important activities, such as symbolic play or reading.

¿Cómo afecta un uso excesivo de las pantallas al lenguaje? 5

Despite this, screens not only have negative effects, they can also offer some benefits:

  • Exposure to new ideas.
  • They encourage creativity and imagination.
  • Great source of knowledge.

What can be done to stop the misuse of screens?

Electronic devices and screens are a reality that we live with. Moreover, it is a field that is at its peak and will continue to gain prominence in our lives. That is why eliminating them completely from our children’s lives is not a realistic goal. Instead, they should be used responsibly and supervised by an adult.

    • Establish an appropriate time for the use of screens. Specialists do not recommend their use for children under 2 years of age. For children between 2 and 5 years of age, it is recommended that use should not exceed 2 hours.
    • Control the content they access. Ensure that the content they consume allows interaction with the child. As far as possible, look for games that are not solitary.
    • Try that the access content that promote their learning.
    • Set aside time for other games or activities that do not involve screens.
    • Set an example. Adults should use screens consciously and do activities that do not involve these devices. In this way, children will have role models to imitate.
¿Cómo afecta un uso excesivo de las pantallas al lenguaje? 4

As mentioned in this article, there are studies that correlate early and prolonged exposure with language delay. Furthermore, they describe the language of children who are overexposed to these devices as poor and with simple grammatical structures. Furthermore, it can be seen that screen use affects not only language development and acquisition, but also cognitive development.

Despite this, screens are a reality that we live with and will continue to gain prominence. This is why we adults must ensure that we make good use of them and guarantee that our children have time for play and activities without screens being present.

About the author

Mariló Martínez is a Speech and Language Therapist at Sinews. She has a master’s degree in early intervention, this means she is a specialist in working with children from 0 to 6 years. However, she can treat other pathologies that are speech, language or learning related.

Mariló Martínez Zamora
Division of Speech Therapy
Mariló Martínez Zamora
Speech Therapist
Children, adolescents and adults
Languages: English and Spanish
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by Mariló Martínez

Is dyslexia affected by bilingualism?

Is dyslexia affected by bilingualism?

Question:

My child is bilingual, and we have just detected that he presents dyslexia, should we remove one language?

Answer:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder of neurobiological origin. It is not related to low intellectual abilities, poor schooling, laziness, or the number of languages that your child speaks. Dyslexia is not related to oral language, so your child will be able to speak as many languages as he/she wishes.

Within dyslexia, we can differentiate between decoding difficulties and comprehension difficulties. The first ones stem from phonological deficits and it is related to being able to associate sounds and letters. In contrast, comprehension difficulties are associated with vocabulary, morphological and pragmatic skills.

We can find two types of orthographies when writing and reading a language: transparent orthography, the grapheme-phoneme correspondence is clear (like Spanish) or opaque orthographies, the correspondence between grapheme-phoneme is not as straightforward (like English). Some authors suggest that learning to read in both, opaque and transparent languages, would help people with dyslexia compensate for their deficits in phonological decoding by transferring phonological awareness and sublexical decoding abilities from consistent to inconsistent orthography.

I would like to stress the need to receive therapy in both languages because the needs will be specific to each language.

All in all, bilingualism doesn’t cause dyslexia nor does it increase the risk of presenting it, so there wouldn’t be a need to stop using one language. Some authors even say that bilingualism may have some benefits for dyslexia. The only thing is that your child will need to have therapy sessions in both languages because each language is different, and he/she will have different needs in each one.

Although it will take some effort, it will be possible for your child to achieve a good reading and writing level with the right approach. If they find it very difficult to keep up with one of the languages and you chose to remove one of them, I would remove the one they use the least in reading and writing form. But that doesn’t have to be a choice as they will be able to read and write in both of them.

If you need more help regarding this topic you can click here to get your online appointment with us.

References:

by Mariló Martínez

Es normal el desarrollo del lenguaje de mi hij@?

Is my child’s language development normal?

Language is the main form of communication between people. This article will focus on spoken language.

The first three years of life are fundamental for its development as the brain is in the process of maturing and is when it is in an optimal state for the acquisition of these skills.

Among language disorders, we can differentiate between receptive (comprehension difficulties), expressive (production difficulties), and processing disorders.

Regular development of oral language in a kid:

Between zero and four months, babies are usually calmed by their mother’s voice and show a clear interest in other people’s faces. On the other hand, they can express different things through crying, such as for food or comfort. Crying is one of the first acts of communication because through it they learn that they can alter their environment. In addition to crying, they begin to smile socially and laugh.

At six months, they can respond to their name, follow auditory stimuli with their eyes and begin to babble and vocalize. This is followed by the understanding of verbal routines, such as «bye-bye» and pointing and saying first words, which usually happens around nine months. At around twelve months, infants can follow a verbal command and produce three meaningful words (e.g. «mommy», «daddy», «water»).

At fifteen months, children can identify their body parts when asked about them (asked «where are your legs?» the child will be able to point at them). In terms of expression, they acquire more vocabulary.

Between eighteen and twenty-four months, they will be able to recognize their body parts, as well as to follow simple verbal commands. Production is characterized by an increase in the number of words they use, they have a vocabulary of around 50 words and can make two-word combinations («more bread»). In addition, they know their name and can use it.

From twenty-four to thirty-six months, children understand and carry out complex verbal commands and can make three-word sentences. In addition to this, they can use the interrogative particle «what» to formulate questions. They also begin to use pronouns such as «you» or «I», understand «you», «me» or «she», and respond to simple questions.

Between 36-48 months, understanding of actions and the use of the question «why?». Between 48-60 months, children can understand everything that is said to them, as well as generate complete sentences and tell stories. At this stage, they understand spatial terms such as «behind» or «beside». Errors in long and complex words such as «hippopotamus» are considered typical, but a person outside the child’s immediate family can understand and carry on a conversation with the child.

Finally, by the age of six, they can understand and carry out commands of all complexity and have the ability to express themselves without making errors related to the articulation of sounds as well as narrate events and make-up stories.

The typical development of a child’s language in the different stages of childhood has been described above.

Red flags:

There are a series of red flags that will allow us to identify whether the child’s language is as expected for his or her age or if, on the other hand, a specialist should be consulted.

Between the first and fourth months, the presence of a bizarre cry and the absence of a social smile should draw attention.

On the other hand, between the sixth and ninth months, one should pay attention to the lack of vocalizations and babbling, as well as frequent bisyllabic words such as «mummy/daddy». 

At twelve months, the loss of already acquired skills is a warning sign.

On the other hand, at fifteen months the child should be able to point and use three-word combinations, if not, a specialist should be consulted. Another warning sign is the failure to follow simple instructions, recognize body parts, and say at least 25 words between eighteen and twenty-four months. After that, at thirty-six months, they should be using two-word sentences and following two-command instructions.

From thirty-six to forty-eight months, the use of incorrect words or the replacement of one word with another should be brought to our attention. Finally, from forty-eight months to six years, inappropriate use of speech, i.e. the presence of speech with errors in the production of sounds, as well as the inability to tell a story or follow a conversation, is considered alarming.

In conclusion, although each child’s development is unique, a certain age must correspond to the achievement of defined milestones. If this is not the case, it would be advisable to consult a speech therapist who will be able to resolve any doubts or concerns.

AGE

RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE

EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE

RED FLAGS

0-4m

Are calmed by the mother’s voice.

Crying, social smile, and laugh.

Bizarre cry.

Absence of social smile.

6m

Respond to their name.

Follow auditory stimuli with their eyes.

Babbles.

Lack of vocalizations and babbling.

9m

Verbal routines like “bye-bye”.

First words.

Lack of bisyllabic words like “mummy/daddy”.

12m

Follow verbal commands.

Produce three meaningful words.

Loss of already acquired skills.

15m

Identification of body parts.

More vocabulary.

Not pointing and using the three-word combination.

18-24m

Recognize body parts, follow simple verbal commands, and recognize their name

Increase in the number of words (around 50).

Use their name and make two-word combinations

Failure to follow simple instructions, recognize body parts, and have a vocabulary of 25 words.

24-36m

Understand complex verbal commands.

Understand pronouns (“you”, “me”, or “she”).

Make three-word sentences.

Questions with “what”.

Use pronouns (“you” or “I”).

Respond to simple questions.

Failure to use two-word sentences and following two-command instructions.

36-48m

Comprehension of actions.

Questions with “why”.

Use of incorrect words.

48-60m

They understand everything.

Produce complete sentences and tell stories.

Presence of sound errors.

Inability to tell a story or follow a conversation.

by Mariló Martínez