The Impacts of Excessive Screen Use on Child Neurodevelopment: Systematic Review

Introduction: The increase in the use of devices with screens among children has raised significant concerns. Excessive use of screens such as smartphones and tablets is linked to a series of problems in child development. Studies reveal that excessive exposure to these screens can negatively impact learning, concentration, language and motor skills. Furthermore, exchanging social interactions and physical activities for long periods in front of screens can result in behavioral problems, hyperactivity, impulsivity, in addition to adversely influencing the quality of sleep and mental health. Objectives: to gather and analyze evidence on the repercussions of excessive use of screens on children’s neurodevelopment. Methodology: This is a systematic review, conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions guidelines and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The search strategy used the controlled descriptors contained in the Health Science Descriptors (DeCS) of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): “divorce”; “parents”; “children”; “emotional”; “behavioral” “mental disorder”, associated with the Boolean operators “AND” and “OR”. Results: A total of 6 articles were obtained in the final sample. Overall, the results highlighted the possible harmful impacts of excessive use of technology on ocular, mental, physical and social health as a result of this prolonged exposure. Conclusion: Thus, it is possible to state that the excessive use of devices with screens among children and adolescents is an issue that has been generating increasing concern in society.