¹Prof. Dr. Pamir DİRİL, ²Hülya KARACA

¹St. Clements University/Department of Psychology Lecturer/Turkey
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8913-343X

²PhD Student St. Clements University, Psychology
ORCID ID: 0009-0002-0260-6607

DOI : https://doi.org/10.58806/ijsshmr.2025.v4i12n12

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ABSTRACT

Early childhood is a critical stage that forms the cornerstones of cognitive development and is therefore of great importance. During this crucial period, children shape their minds and develop their cognitive skills through experiences gained from their environment. In particular, the cognitive skills acquired during this period lay an important foundation for the individual's future life. This process plays a decisive role in the effectiveness of fundamental processes such as long-term learning, attention, and memory, and the healthy functioning of these processes is critically important for an individual's future learning abilities. In recent years, with the increase in access to digital technologies, children's screen exposure has increased significantly. Taking this situation into account, research aimed at understanding its effects on cognitive development has gained momentum. The duration of children's exposure to screens in their environment and the nature of the content can affect memory development, which is related to attention processes, both directly and indirectly. At this point, important issues that parents and educators need to pay attention to come to the fore. Parents and educators must carefully evaluate the amount of time children spend in front of screens and the content they are exposed to during this time. In this context, thoroughly examining the effects of early screen exposure on children's attention and memory development aims to provide valuable insights into children's cognitive development.

KEYWORDS:

Early childhood, mental and cognitive skills, exposure, attention processes

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VOlUME 04 ISSUE 12 December 2025