Dominika Łowkajtis

2.35 Social Media and the Social and Emotional Development of Children. The Effectiveness of Artistic and Creative Activities in Combating the Dangers of Technological Overload. (Paper)

Dominika Łowkajtis – Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland

Abstract:

The widespread access to new technologies, primarily smartphones serving as a connection to the internet, influences changes in the functioning of children in the realm of social and emotional development. The frequency and dynamism of visual and audio-visual messages, found notably in social media, maintaining peer relationships in virtual reality contribute to a decrease in psychological well-being, stemming from distinct structural and functional changes in the brain. The aim of the article is to draw attention to the role of visual arts understood as creative activities in areas crucial for the socio-emotional development of children immersed in the world of new technologies. The study refers to current reports on the quality of life of children in Poland, research on the impact of technology on the development of emotional-social competencies from a pedagogical and neurobiological perspective. The defined role of visual arts in perception and expression is combined with selected strategies of creative activities. Based on a review of existing research, a direction for supporting the emotional-social development of children has been determined as a hybrid model based on the creative and artistic-educational workshop method, combining acts of perception, expression, verbal activity, visualization understood as activating imagination, along with selected relaxation techniques aimed at children in the early school years.