How do smart devices and media affect the mental health of pre-school children?

The article is based on a literature review carried out as a thesis by health care. The purpose of the thesis was to describe the effects of the use of smart devices on the mental health of children under school age. The aim was to gather information on the effects of the use of smart devices on the training of professionals working with pre-school children, and to support the preventive activities of the clinic's nurses to promote the mental health of children and families. Supporting children's well-being and mental health is one of the key contents of nursing education.

Smart devices and media are increasingly involved in everyday life and their uses are diverse. Attention must be paid to the balanced use of smart devices, as smart devices and technology have come to stay. Box habits formed from an early age have far-reaching implications for a child™s well-being and everyday management. Media literacy refers to the ability to read a mixture of texts, images and sounds. The media includes the Internet, books, movies, digital games, televisions, photographs, and cell phones. Nurses and those working with children increasingly need an understanding of the impact of the use of smart devices and media on the determinants of mental health.

Under school age as a smart device and media user

A child can be called digital, during which the internet has always existed and the child has used smart devices since he was a child. The (2008, 7) defines that children born in the 21st and late 1990s grow up in an environment saturated with the Internet, media, and smart devices. Children may be active or passive users of a smart device, and illiteracy does not prevent children from using smart devices.

Based on the analysis of the literature review, three main categories affecting children™s mental health were identified: effects on overall well-being and development, factors influencing interaction and sociality, and factors influencing learning development.

The use of smart devices and media seems to have an impact on the overall well-being of children. For example, their use may impair a child's social, physical and cognitive development and well-being. Excessive use can also predispose to being overweight and increase the risk of cardio logical factors and metabolic syndrome. Nurses should consider the use of smart devices as a passive activity and guide families to appropriate screen time habits, and that smart devices do not take too much time from exercise, outdoor activities, and common hobbies.

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Screen time and passive television viewing were found to have a detrimental association with sleep quality. The use of smart devices and media can cause lack of sleep as well as sleep problems such as nightmares and talking in dreams. Because of the sleep-disrupting effects, families should pay attention to screen time and shutting down SD well in advance of going to bed.

Interaction and time spent together form an important growth platform for the development of emotional regulation and empathy skills. The use of SD and media can disrupt and disrupt both the parent-child relationship as well as children™s relationships with their peers. Their use does not appear to affect the level of social skills, but they may be detrimental to children™s sociality. In addition, excessive and uncontrolled use of smart devices can isolate other children and cause loneliness. Abundant use has also been shown to be associated with linguistic delay, which affects children™s interaction.

Smart devices and media use have a variety of effects on a child™s cognitive development and learning. The effects of use may include impaired self-regulation and ERP (Enterprise resource planning), as well as impaired concentration, which may reduce the child's learning. Passive use, such as background television, interfered with the child's important and educational, exploratory, play. Also, the use of a child's smart devices on a daily basis for long periods of time alone, may jeopardize the child's emotional as well as emotional development.

The studies also highlighted the positive effects of smart devices on development and learning when used correctly. Using smart devices and the right kind of media content with parents can have a positive impact on children, as children can learn important concepts through them and they can support audiovisual memory.

Utilization in the work and training of a nurse

In preventive work, it is important for nurses to be able to apply evidence-based information about the harms and effects of the use of on children's development and on mental health and well-being. Nurses should discuss with families how are used and what the content of the use is. Parents should note that the use of SD should not reduce the interaction that is important for the child's well-being or replace other activities that are important to the child, such as exercise, hobbies or play. It is good to be aware that the effects of passive use begin as early as infancy. With the increasing use of smart devices and media, it is becoming increasingly important to pay attention to supporting families in media education and in shaping screen habits that are important for well-being. It is important for professionals to tell parents that children under school age do not have the capacity to restrict use but parents are needed here. Families could be encouraged to enter into a joint screen time and media usage agreement to direct the exclusion of SD for moments of dining, socializing and playing.