O impacto do uso de telas por crianças na idade pré-escolar: revisão integrativa da literatura e recomendações para proteção do desenvolvimento infantil pela perspectiva da terapia ocupacional

Abstract

Digital technologies can negatively affect the motor, cognitive, emotional, and social development of children, which may impact their engagement in meaningful occupations — a key focus of Occupational Therapy. Consequently, researchers from various fields, concerned about the developmental impacts of excessive screen time, have sought to understand how this practice occurs in different daily life contexts. This highlights the need to find a balance between technological exposure and the promotion of activities that foster healthy and holistic child development. Objective: To conduct an integrative literature review on the topic of screen use by preschool-aged children over the last five years and, based on it, to systematize recommendations for the protection of child development. Method: This study adopted an integrative literature review methodology, using the CAPES Journal Portal as the search source. Inclusion criteria comprised articles published in the last five years, in Portuguese and English, addressing preschool-aged children. The selected descriptors, combined with the logical operator "AND," were: "Screen Time"; "Smartphone"; and "Child Development." A total of 88 articles were selected, and after reading them, each was summarized. Finally, they were interpreted through a comparison between the publications to be grouped into thematic categories. Results: The analysis of 88 articles (63.64% in English, 36.36% in Portuguese) revealed that the main themes addressed in the literature regarding the impacts of screen time on child development are psychomotor and physical health (50% of articles), followed by risk factors and factors influencing screen use (32.95%), impact on language and cognition (30.68%), socio-emotional and mental health impacts (19.32%), and finally, recommendations and parental mediation strategies for screen use (17.05%). Based on these findings, an educational booklet was created to propose recommendations to protect child development. Final Considerations: Excessive and inappropriate exposure to electronic devices can lead to significant challenges in various areas of child development. Multiple risk factors and influencing factors that modulate these impacts were identified, ranging from the age of initial exposure and the type of content to parental involvement and the family context.