Digital media DM , such as cellphones and tablets, are a common part of our daily lives and their usage has changed the communication structure within families. Thus, there is a risk that the use of DM might result in fewer opportunities for interactions between children and their parents leading to fewer language learning moments for young children.
Results: Through correlations and stepwise regressions three aspects of language were analyzed. More TV content, whether it is viewed on a big screen or tablet, is negatively associated with language development.
Living in a digital world is changing the way we interact with each other, for children and adults alike. This may consequently change the way young children, growing up today, acquire language, as language development is dependent on the linguistic input achieved through the interactions that occur during child-adult conversations e.
The limited empirical research has, thus far, investigated associations between television exposure and conversational turns in language input and shown a negative association Christakis et al. Despite rapid changes in the availability of digital media DM in the home, including Smartphones, television, gaming consoles, and tablets, as well as a number of digital services like streaming television and social media, little research has examined whether DM in the home is associated with child-adult conversations.
The child-adult conversations may, in turn, be associated with child language, and foremost vocabulary. The present study focuses on the importance of child-adult interactions to language development and how this development may be associated with the use of DM and digital devices in the home environment.
