THE IMPACT OF SCREEN EXPOSURE IN THE LEARNING PROCESS OF CHILDREN

Abstract

The modern way of life involves the use of information technology in everyday life, but when digitalization replaces natural stimuli for growth and development, it is certainly reflected in all stages of learning in children, especially in the first three years of life. Speech, communication, language, sensorimotor and mental development, research, experiential learning, play, interaction with the environment, functional child development in all spheres are not only conditioned by biological predispositions but also by stimuli from the environment in which the child lives. If parents, the closest relatives, friends and educators are being replaced in children's communication with smartphones, tablets, laptops, computers, televisions and other digital devices, then ripe conditions are created for the emergence of a functional disorder in children - screen addiction.
To highlight the danger of the seemingly modern harmless habit of using information technology in everyday life from an early age for unproductive purposes and with a negative impact and enormous consequences on the growth, development and quality of life of modern human from infancy to adulthood.
The research is qualitative and longitudinal with an epistemological-ontological and positivist concept. The methods used were theoretical analysis, focus groups, observation and case studies. The data is secondary, researched using ethnography and archival research as techniques.
The results are devastating and directly proportional – the use of more technological devices, the more screen time. More screen time reflects learning difficulties, and often the confusion of screen time with autism. Not only is learning impaired, but the characteristics and behavior of the child are also changed the child: less creativity, inattention, lack of patience, poor concentration, anxiety, disturbed sleep and memory, mood swings, addiction, problems with communication, language, mental development, speech, motor skills, asociality, apathy, escape from reality, need for greater sensory stimulation, etc.
Care of the family, kindergarten/school, society as a whole for the feeling and gradation of value systems, growth of systematic and collective awareness for the youngest, programmatic sustainability in meeting children's needs and interests, development of media culture and inclusion in useful and dosed digital activities.
A practice should be created for children to spend more time with their parents and peers, to be stimulated for physical activities, direct communication, play, experiential learning, to respect rules and to be institutionally recognized and guided to overcome this phenomenon from which Not only children but also adults are equally affected because of the fact that no living word, content, or action can be as colorful, dynamic, diverse, and fast as digital content, especially computer games.
Actualizing screenism as a contemporary phenomenon and introducing it to its consequences at all social levels. Developing awareness and strategies for overcoming the challenges and consequences of screenism. Using efficient methods, techniques, forms of work, activities and content in the teaching of educators/teachers, cooperation with parents and professional services, replacement of the traditional autocratic approach with a modern, democratic one