A UNR investigation investigates the time of exposure to screens and the use of neutral language by young children.

Strawberries, potatoes, popcorn, ball, car, basket, trash, refrigerator or expressions such as “oh, it can't be”, “damn”, “damn” are part of the oral language of many young children as a result of the hours spent They pass in front of the screens.

The Graduates in Speech Therapy of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario Melisa Rolón and Agustina Saint Martin conducted an investigation on the time of exposure to devices and use of language with characteristics not typical of their community in 4-year-old children who attend kindergarten No. 85 Rosa Berra de Gigli in the city of San Carlos. Center.

The work consisted of reading stories, observations of the drawings, games and dialogic interaction of the children, and a survey of families. It emerged that all children watch screens, 70% between half an hour and three hours and 15% three hours or more per day. These data would exceed what is recommended by the American Pediatric Association, which is one hour per day for educational purposes for children from two to five years old.

The research also shows that 34% of children use oral language with characteristics not typical of their community while 66% do not. Of those who express it, 75% use neutral Spanish words, 17% show an absence of yeismo typical of our region, 8% use the personal pronoun tú/ti and none of them manifest atypical intonation. It should be noted that of all children who use this type of language, 75% are exposed to screens between half an hour and three hours per day.

The professionals explain that in front of the devices, the children find themselves in a bidirectional relationship only with the screen and the content they are observing, they see their reflected gaze and very little of other people's faces to share, play and talk. During that time, “the dialogic instance that invites communication and language is excluded.”

They consider that the problem is that children spend long hours without being spoken to and without thinking taking place, there are no silences, there are no mysteries, pauses and some even choose what to see and what not to see. That is to say, exposure to screens is seen as an obstacle to bonding with other people, preventing a genuine encounter, mediated by looks, gestures and words.

Taking into account the accompaniment provided by the adult at those moments, 37,50% previously supervise the content, 33% are with the child in the same room but carrying out another activity and 29% are next to the child interacting with him while looking at the content.

Regarding the type of consumption, 40% mentioned cartoons, 22% YouTube, 14% games, 8% videos, 5% YouTube Kids and in smaller percentages children's music, movies, television and playing Play appear. Station.

Although the use of devices is of great convenience for the adults responsible for the child since it facilitates their care while they carry out other tasks, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends controlling the content, accompanying them during screen consumption and prioritizing educational activities adapted to the child. age. It also suggests that the family encourage the child to carry out other types of artistic or sports activities.

Speech therapists consider that there are many useful and educational things on the networks and even virtuality made it possible for the school year to continue in times of pandemic, but there is a lack of more information, guidelines, advice for responsible adults and also for medical professionals who care for patients. families.

The data obtained show that the use of neutral Spanish by the child population is increasingly visible, replacing the River Plate Castilian in most cases. “It is essential to teach boys and girls which Spanish terms belong to the region and which do not, given that they are in the process of acquiring and constructing their language,” they maintain.

The Graduates in Speech Therapy made reference to different positions on the use of this type of language. From one perspective, it is a tool to understand each other among users of all varieties of the language and as the world is increasingly globalized, it would be very useful in the commercial, media and entertainment fields. From another perspective, and the one they adhere to, it is a Central American language with which we do not identify and involves idioms different from our River Plate Spanish.

“It is not only a question of language but also of culture, of roots. It is one thing for the boy to know that he can say strawberry and strawberry because that would be expanding his vocabulary. But another thing is that he doesn't know what a strawberry is and what a strawberry is,” he explains.

The professionals comment that these problems are observed in speech therapy clinics along with others such as the lack of speech in 3-year-old children, for example. They attribute this delay in language development to multiple factors, including a lack of interaction and communication with parents and caregivers and greater access to screens. Added to this is the fact that there are children who attended kindergarten through Meet.

The data collected in this research seeks to provide information on the subject and serve as a starting point for subsequent research, in order to expand the knowledge that pertains to the speech therapy discipline and pay special attention to the characteristics presented, both at an academic level and in the professional practice.

For the authors, these contributions could be very useful in the language and communication clinic, in the approach of children with language disorders. At the same time, it could be enriching to work in the community, promoting healthy communication habits, and being able to provide tools to the children's families.

Journalist: Victoria Arrabal/Photographer: Camila Casero