Literature Review: The Impact of Gadgets on Early Childhood Emotional Regulation

Abstract

The use of gadgets in early childhood continues to increase along with the rapid development of digital technology. Excessive screen exposure has the potential to inhibit the development of emotion regulation, which is a crucial foundation for a child's social-emotional intelligence and mental health in the future. Although the duration of screen time has been extensively researched, studies that integrate internal mechanisms such as parent-child relationship mediation factors and peer relationship moderation are still limited. The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize holistically the mechanistic pathways, mediating factors, and protective factors that link the duration of screen time with the ability to regulate early childhood emotions in the digital age. The research method used was a literature review using a systematic search on Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, IJM, and Proquest databases. A total of six articles were examined in depth after being selected using the PICO method according to the inclusion criteria: national and international journals with full texts in Indonesian or English published in the period of 2021 to 2026. The results of the review of the six articles consistently show that the intensity of gadget use or high screen time is significantly related to the low ability to regulate emotions in early childhood. This relationship is mediated by the quality of the parent-child relationship (co-regulatory failure due to technoference) and moderated by peer relationships as well as active parental supervision as protective factors. In conclusion, excessive and uncontrolled use of gadgets has been shown to worsen children's emotional regulation capacity which is characterized by increased tantrums, irritability, and decreased frustration tolerance. Children's socio-emotional development interventions must combine screen time restrictions (maximum 1 hour per day for ages 2–5 years according to WHO standards) with strengthening the quality of parent-child interpersonal relationships and direct social stimulation. Parents, educators, and policymakers are expected to collaborate in optimizing active mentoring, emotional validation, and the preparation of guidelines based on developmental suitability and quality of digital content.