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Use of Digital Devices and Child Development: Digital Tools or Digital Environment? A Cultural–Historical Perspective

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Child Development in Russia

Part of the book series: Early Childhood Research and Education: An Inter-theoretical Focus ((ECRE,volume 3))

Abstract

Digital gadgets are an important part of the socialization of children in contemporary society. In the context of the gadgets’ important role in the life of children, we have carried out a number of studies in order to understand the specifics of gadgets usage by modern preschoolers. In our research, we studied the relationship between the digital devices use (frequency and digital activity type) and the executive functions in preschoolers. The sample of our study consisted of 417 children (202 boys and 215 girls) aged 6–7 years who attended preparatory groups of Moscow kindergartens. To study how often, for what and in what context children use digital devices, a semi-structured interview was compiled, consisting of 9 questions that required a detailed answer from children. Our research has shown that the use of gadgets as a cultural tool compared to the use of gadgets as an entertainment (playing games and watching cartoons) is associated with a higher level of executive functions development. This is due to the fact that for digital device usage as a psychological means the participation of an adult is required, who shows a child various options for interacting with a gadget and also controls the screen time.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by RFBR grant 19-29-14088MK.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    Nikolay Veraksa, Daria Bukhalenkova, Elena Chichinina & Aleksander Veraksa

  2. Psychological Institute, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia

    Daria Bukhalenkova & Aleksander Veraksa

  3. Department of Education, Communication and Learning, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Roger Saljo

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  1. Nikolay Veraksa
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  2. Daria Bukhalenkova
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  4. Aleksander Veraksa
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Correspondence to Aleksander Veraksa .

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  1. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia

    Aleksander Veraksa

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Veraksa, N., Bukhalenkova, D., Chichinina, E., Veraksa, A., Saljo, R. (2022). Use of Digital Devices and Child Development: Digital Tools or Digital Environment? A Cultural–Historical Perspective. In: Veraksa, A. (eds) Child Development in Russia. Early Childhood Research and Education: An Inter-theoretical Focus, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05524-9_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05524-9_8

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