Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-04-28
Source: The Conversation – in French– By Nathalie Chapon, University Professor in Educational Sciences and Training, Marie and Louis Pasteur University (UMLP)
There is a lot of discussion about the effects of screens on children’s health. Less often do we question their early uses of digital technology in a hyperconnected world. What are their actual skills? An investigation based on observations and interviews sheds light on these daily practices and on the mechanisms of digital socialization of kindergarten students.
Over the course of fifty years, digital technologies have gradually become established in all areas of daily life and at all ages. From television to mobile phones, including computers and consoles, screens now hold a central place in households.
Scientific research, particularly developed over the past ten years, has mainly studied theeffects of screenson the health, sleep, and physical activity of children and adolescents. The results highlight significant impacts, regardless of the children’s age.
However, few studies have focused on the digital knowledge of toddlers. As part of adigital parenting research programand from a partnership with the TNE 25-Digital Educational Territory of Doubs, we wanted to explore this question. Do toddlers have digital knowledge? What skills do they actually possess?
This research explores thedigital knowledge of very young childrenof children barely 4 years old and allows questioning the idea that they are devoid of numerical knowledge and would only be able to use a phone within a specific context.
An early introduction to video games
The study was conducted with 59 students distributed across the small, medium, and large classes of a nursery school located in a town in eastern France.
Several methods were employed: filmed participant observations, individual interviews, focus groups, and children’s role-playing in the form of workshops. Data collection was organized over a two-month period to foster a climate of trust.
The first results concern children in the middle section of kindergarten, approximately four years old. They highlight the determining role of the family environment. Parental practices appear as the main factor in digital socialization. The influences of the father and mother, then those of siblings, shape children’s usage and contribute to an intergenerational and fraternal transmission of practices.
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A brief history of video games in the family, between concerns and cultural transmission
Among boys, initiation into video games is mostly associated with paternal and fraternal influence. Fathers, especially the younger ones, often play with their sons, sharing their own video gaming practices. This socialization is often gendered: boys are encouraged to play fighting or survival games or those featuring superheroes. When the father is not a player, older brothers most often take over.
This family transmission promotes the development of early digital skills in toddlers. Some four-year-old children have a detailed knowledge of video games for adults and also master searching and opening applications on smartphones, especially browsing YouTube.
A digital socialization differentiated by gender
Underlying this practical knowledge of the smartphone, it is observed that the content these children have access to is not always appropriate for their age. A majority of boys play games intended for teenagers or even adults. These games contain scenes of violence or are associated with conflicts, wars with scenes of killings where death can be redeemed depending on the game.
These exposures lead children to develop strategies of imitation and identification with heroic figures, thereby accelerating their socialization process towards preadolescent codes while they are still in childhood.Digital learningis essentially implicit, so children acquire experiential knowledge, that is to say skills built through direct practice, even before mastering reading.
Little girls are less involved with video games. They are more oriented towards watching cartoons or using applications related to photography and music. Mothers more frequently supervise phone usage in this case. They set screen time limits, allow certain applications, and accompany their daughters in discovering digital tools. The content used is generallymore suited to the age of the children.
Transmission between sisters is notably manifested in learning how to take photos, stage scenes in front of the camera, or listen to music. The girls thus developskills related to self-expressionand to the representation.
Unlike boys, no significant transmission regarding video games was observed between mothers and daughters or between sisters. This results in a digital socialization that is strongly differentiated according to gender, both in terms of content and modes of access.
Great technical dexterity
In order to more precisely identify children’s knowledge, the researchers organized reading workshops around a book dealing with the use of the telephone. These discussions highlighted the children’s knowledge regarding applications and their uses.
Taking photos and watching cartoons are the most frequently mentioned uses. When handling a phone, children easily recognize certain applications thanks to their symbols and colors. The camera icon is generally identified by most children encountered, and the YouTube icon is also the most widely known. Recognition is mainly based on the visual association between a pictogram, a color, and a function.
The observations also reveal great technical dexterity. The children know how to swipe the screens horizontally and vertically to access different pages and applications. This mastered gesture demonstrates real autonomy in the use of the device. At four years old, some children already have advanced digital skills, acquired experientially within a family setting.
These initial results highlight the importance of early parental and educational support. Because while digital technology promotes autonomy, creativity, and access to new forms of learning, it also exposes children to content that is inappropriate for their age and to gendered family education.
Nathalie Chapon received funding from the Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region.
Annie Lasne does not work for, advise, own shares in, receive funds from any organization that could benefit from this article, and has declared no other affiliation than her research institution.
–ref. Photos, video games, music: these digital skills that children develop even before learning to read –https://theconversation.com/photos-video-games-music-these-digital-skills-that-children-develop-even-before-learning-to-read-281245