Důsledek nadužívání digitálních "screen" technologií v raném věku. Virtuální autismus v kontextu postnatálního vývoje mozku

Warning

This publication doesn't include Faculty of Education. It includes Faculty of Medicine. Official publication website can be found on muni.cz.

Title in English	Virtual autism. The consequence of overusing digital "screen" technologies at an early age
Authors	OŠLEJŠKOVÁ Hana BYTEŠNÍKOVÁ Ilona
Year of publication	2024
Type	Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source	Pediatrie pro Praxi
MU Faculty or unit	Faculty of Medicine
Citation
Doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.36290/ped.2024.044
Keywords	virtual autism, pseudo-autism, autism, inappropriate use of digital technologies, Intensive Early Screen Exposure, screen technologies, gadget
Description	Over the past few decades, we have experienced a digital revolution. Digital media are now part of our lives. The amount of time children spend in front of various "screens" has dramatically increased, including televisions, video games, video portals like YouTube, smartphones, computers, and other gadgets. This has been a societal trend for the past 15-20 years, which has further escalated dramatically due to the COVID pandemic (1, 2). The results of many studies agree that excessive exposure of children to digital screen technologies has significantly negative impacts on both the mental and physical development of children and adolescents. The term "virtual autism" or "pseudo-autism" describes a condition that results from extreme exposure of very young children to screen technologies without proper balance with normal face-to-face social interactions, sleep, physical activity, and complex interactions with the real world. Virtual autism involves symptoms in the mental domain, including abnormal cognitive, behavioral, language, social, and emotional development of the child, delaying or even halting it. The child's overall cognitive-behavioral manifestation not only "imitates" but is an acquired disorder of the autistic spectrum (autism). The article highlights the risks of inappropriate use of screen technologies in young children from the perspective of a pediatric neurologist and speech therapist.