In recent years, the increase in cases of children with learning and concentration difficulties has generated growing concern between parents, educators and specialists. Many of them have found themselves by resorting to psychologists and psychiatrists to try to solve problems such as the inability to concentrate on complex tasks, impulsivity, anxiety and lack of motivation to deepen the study of certain topics. This situation has led to question whether the digital lifestyle to which children are currently exposed could be contributing significantly to these difficulties. The potential effects of excessive use of technology in the cognitive development of children are multiple and have begun to attract the attention of the scientific community and those responsible for education.
One of the aspects that are most indicated is the impact that platforms such as Tiktok, YouTube or Instagram have, where the contents are brief, stimulating and, often, aimed at providing instant gratification. Children are constantly exposed to 15 or 30 second videos, which can condition the way their brain processes information. This overexposure to fleeting content could be weakening sustained attention and deep processing capacity, fundamental aspects for school learning and daily life. In fact, many studies have begun to explore this relationship between digital consumption and cognitive skills of young people, showing that excessive use of fragmented content can affect memory, problem solving and critical thinking.
The studies and their conclusions
Research conducted by the University of California, Irvine, led by Gloria Mark, have shed light on how multitasking and constant digital interruptions affect the capacity for attention and concentration. Mark suggests that the constant change between tasks – which is usual when it alternates between social networks and other activities – can cause the brain to adapt to brief fragments of information, making it difficult to focus on tasks that require prolonged cognitive effort. Similarly, Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco, has explored how technology affects cognitive attention and control, highlighting how hyperstimulating environments generate a negative impact on the development of sustained care, memory and planning capacity. These studies suggest that the consumption of digital content, especially when it is constant and not regulated, could have a significant effect in the way children process and assimilate information.
Other studies, such as those carried out at the University of Nottingham, have shown how the use of subtitles in films can be an effective tool to improve reading and understanding. Exposure to subtitles forces viewers to process text quickly in an audiovisual context, which contributes to improving reading fluency and understanding information. This is particularly beneficial for children, since it encourages reading without feeling like a forced activity. In addition, studies highlight that constant exposure to subtitles can have a positive impact on reading speed and the ability to identify words, which in turn facilitates the understanding of more complex texts in the academic field.
It is also important to mention the studies conducted within the acquisition of second languages. Research has shown that the use of subtitles in the same language of the film or in a second language helps children improve their auditory understanding, their acquisition of vocabulary and pronunciation. This makes subtitles not only a tool to improve reading in the mother tongue, but also a valuable tool for learning new languages. This practice has additional benefits in contributing to a better cognitive development in areas related to working memory and the ability to integrate different types of information.
The influence of brief content on learning capacity
The brief and fragmented content of platforms such as Tiktok presents an immediate gratification that, although entertaining, has deep implications in how children develop their cognitive skills. This type of consumption encourages the search for rapid rewards and lack of patience, making children to tolerate activities that require more effort and dedication. Constant exposure to these rapid stimuli creates a context in which the brain is customary to receive instant gratifications, affecting the ability to postpone rewards and work towards long -term goals. This becomes especially evident when they face tasks that demand deep understanding or when they are presented with more dense academic content, such as reading complex texts or solving mathematical problems.
The effects of this type of content are also reflected in the emotional and behavioral field. Children accustomed to receiving constant stimuli tend to show less frustration tolerance and feel overwhelmed when they face tasks that do not provide immediate gratification. This, in turn, can lead to behavioral problems and a negative attitude towards learning in general. In addition, there is a growing concern about the impact of technology on children's sleep quality, since the use of electronic devices before sleep has been associated with a reduction in the quantity and quality of sleep, which directly affects learning capacity and emotional regulation.
A clear example of how to counteract these effects is the strategy of some parents, who since childhood expose their children to films in original version with subtitles. This forces them to read while enjoying the film, which facilitates the acquisition of vocabulary and improves reading comprehension without children perceiving it as an effort. In addition, when exposed to different languages, new brain connections are stimulated, enriching intercultural learning and understanding. This type of strategies not only improves reading capacity, but also encourages curiosity and interest in learning new things, something fundamental in the formation of a positive attitude towards learning throughout life.
Final reflections
The current challenge is not to demonize technology or social networks, but to learn to use them in a balanced and conscious way. Exposure to short content is not, by itself, something negative; However, excess can have considerable repercussions on cognitive abilities and the ability to concentrate. In the same way that a balanced diet is essential for physical development, a balanced content diet is key to the mental and emotional development of children. The objective should not be to eliminate the digital content, but to find a balance that allows to take advantage of its benefits without compromising the cognitive development of children.
Promoting habits that encourage reading, sustained attention and deep learning is essential to counteract possible negative effects of technology. Strategies such as watching subtitles films, promoting daily reading or reducing exposure time to short content and rapid stimuli can help balance the balance and prepare children for more complete and significant learning. In addition, the role of parents and educators in the establishment of healthy limits regarding screen time is essential, making sure that children have enough opportunities to carry out activities that promote concentration, critical thinking and creativity.
The use of technology is not something that must be eliminated, but something that needs to be properly managed to take advantage of its benefits and minimize its adverse effects. The key is in moderation, variety and active accompaniment of parents and educators in the children's learning process. This implies not only establishing time limits, but also encouraging alternative activities that enrich the integral development of children, such as sport, art, outdoor game and social interaction face to face. Only then can we ensure that technology is a tool that enhances learning and development, instead of being an obstacle to these objectives.
It is also important to continue investigating and monitoring the effects of technology on younger generations. Technology and social networks will continue to be an integral part of our lives, and better understand their effects will allow us to design better use strategies that favor the cognitive and emotional development of children. The collaboration between the scientific community, educators, parents and technology developers will be essential to find solutions that allow healthy and balanced use of digital tools. Ultimately, the objective must be to prepare our children not only to be consumers of technology, but to be individuals