Authors: Dr Sabina Savadova and Professor Rosie Flewitt

Teaching Fellow in Childhood Studies and Practice/Professor of Early Childhood Communication

Most young children start interacting with digital technologies from birth as families’ daily practices have increasingly become mediated by digital technologies (Mascheroni & Siibak, 2021). Recent research across the world demonstrates increasing attention to children’s interactions with a diverse range of digital media in homes and beyond (Archer et al., 2021; Azevedo et al., 2022; Siibak & Nevski, 2019; Ziemer et al., 2021). Yet there is little attention paid to the digital activity at home of very young children aged from birth to 3 years.

The Toddlers, Tech & Talk study explored the ways in which children aged 0-3 interact with digital technology at home in the UK nations – England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Funded by ESRC (2022-2024), this research was led by Professor Rosie Flewitt at Manchester Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Co-Is and research teams at the Universities of Lancaster, Swansea, Strathclyde and Queen’s University Belfast. The study’s main aim was to develop a robust body of empirical evidence about how digital technologies intersect with very young children’s lives at home, how families mediate children’s tech use, and how to conceptualise the contemporary home literacy environment.

The research design included three phases: a nationwide online survey of parents of 0-3-year-olds (n=1444); online interviews with parents of 0-3-year-olds (n=40) and early childhood professionals (n=20); and in-depth case studies with families at home (n=40) using participatory methods and an innovative ‘Research Methods Palette’ co-designed with families (Flewitt et al., 2024).

Nearly all families surveyed (98%) reported having internet access and owning at least one smartphone (Flewitt et al., 2024), with tablets, smart TVs, and laptops being among the most common. However, access to technology is not evenly distributed – families with higher incomes tend to own a wider range of devices and a higher number of devices, which raises concerns about digital disparities and children’s rights to access and learn about digital technologies (Winter et al., 2025).

Shift in perspective

Discussions about children’s technology use have been frequently dominated by concerns over ‘screentime’. Many studies have noted an increase in very young children’s TV- and video-viewing on large screens, and associate this with a decrease in children’s language development (Martinot et al., 2021). However, some studies of the home literacy environment Sundqvist et al. (2022) have found positive associations between child language use and the quality and quantity of parental talk during TV-viewing, particularly if parents engage in turn-taking with their young child and prompt their child to notice aspects of the media they are jointly attending to.

Rather than focussing on the amount of ‘screentime’ children experience, it is important to take account of the diversity of digital experiences and variations in content, context, and interaction quality (Jewitt et al., 2021). Ribner and McHarg (2021) suggest that research is shifting towards understanding children’s engagement with digital media as a spectrum, rather than a binary concern, influenced by different factors which calls for more nuanced approaches to conceptualising screen time as purposeful and goal-oriented behaviour.

The Toddlers, Tech and Talk project problematises ‘screentime’ and discusses how current rigid ‘screentime’ guidelines for young children are unrealistic and unhelpful (El Gemayel et al., 2024). The study found that very young children engage actively with digital media in remarkably diverse ways that extend far beyond passive viewing, such as actively participating in interactive storytelling applications, building and maintaining socio-emotional connections through video calls with relatives, and developing language skills while engaging with songs and nursery rhymes via digital media. These findings illustrate how the traditional notion of ‘screentime’ oversimplifies the complexity of contemporary digital engagement and fails to account for interactions that involve active participation, creative expression, and meaningful social bonding. Drawing on these findings, the study provides parents with practical suggestions for diverse approaches to engaging with their young children during technology use with an emphasis on high quality interactions over quantitative limitations (Flewitt et al., 2024).

A Call for a New Approach

Rather than framing digital media as inherently harmful, the study suggests that we need to accept that digital devices are now integral to contemporary home life, so we should support families in making informed decisions about their children’s digital practices. This involves providing clear guidance, encouraging co-engagement by involving parents and carers in digital practices, selecting high-quality digital content tailored to their children’s individual needs and addressing digital inequalities that may limit access to necessary resources. These steps can contribute to enhancing digital media’s potential to enrich very young children’s experiences during their early years.

As technology continues to evolve, so too must our understanding of its presence and influence in early childhood. It is essential to move beyond outdated concerns about ‘screentime’ and adopt a more balanced, evidence-based approach to children’s use of digital technologies. This involves recognising the diverse ways digital media can support learning, creativity, and social interaction, while also addressing associated challenges, including potential risks to children’s safety and security. Our research emphasises that ‘one size does not fit all’ when it comes to children’s interactions with digital media, and we call for a focus on the nature and context of digital engagement rather than merely quantifying time spent with devices.

References

Archer, K., Wood, E., & De Pasquale, D. (2021). Examining joint parent-child interactions involving infants and toddlers when introducing mobile technology. Infant Behavior and Development, 63, 101568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101568

Azevedo, E. C., Riter, H. S., Pieta, M. A. M., & Frizzo, G. B. (2022). Digital media use on interactions between mother and child: Differences in infants’ early years. Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto), 32, e3210.

El Gemayel, S., Flewitt, R., & Arnott, L. (2024). Toddlers, Tech and Talk: What does research literature tell us? Early Years Educator, 24(6), 18-19.

Flewitt, R., El Gemayel, S., Arnott, L., Gillen, J., Goodall, J., Winter, K., Dalziell, A., Liu, M., Savadova, S., & Timmins, S. (2024). Toddlers, Tech and Talk: summary report.

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Winter, K., Flewitt, R., El Gemayel, S., Bunting, L., Arnott, L., Connolly, P., Dalziell, A., Gillen, J., Goodall, J., Liu, M. C., McLaughlin, K., Savadova, S., & Timmins, S. (2025). The rights of very young children in the digital environment of the family home: findings from a UK survey of children 0–36 months and their parents. Children & society.

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Beyond ‘Screentime’: Insights from Toddlers, Technology, and Talk project / Childhood and Youth Studies by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0