EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE SCREEN TIME EXPOSURE ON NEUROPSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT: A SCOPING REVIEW

Modernity and the technological advance present in the 21st century, are characterized by the constant kids´ use of screens, through smartphones, tablets, televisions or computers, a situation that increases the infants´ exposure to these digital media. Therefore, the objective of the present study is comprehending the effect of the use of screens in the childhood and the impacts caused on the child neuropsychomotor development. Regarding the methodology, it is an integrative literature review, elaborated through researches in May 2022, utilizing the virtual database U.S National Library of Medicine (PUBMED), with the following keywords: “screen time” AND “child performance” AND “development”, in the time range from 2010 to 2022. From 371 found articles, 42 were relevant for the present study and were selected according to the title, authorship/ publishing year, publishing journal and method utilized in the study. Literature review was executed regarding the association between screen exposure and the damage of the language, communication skills, sleep disturbances, cognitive deficits, higher risk of obesity, sedentary lifestyle and psychological difficulties. It was verified that not every child is influenced in the same way by the time spent in front of screens, since the social and the family context have great relevance in this aspect. It is of extreme importance that the recommendations about the adequate time of screen use by the children are followed and that this usage is, predominantly, executed with interactive and supervised content, to guarantee that the accessed content is compatible with the age group of the child in question.