The Impact of Gadget Use on the Development of Early Childhood

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.