Revisiting the Early Use of Technology: A Critical Shift from “How Young is Too Young?” to “How Much is ‘Just Right’?”

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dhado

The text examines how early childhood education discourse on technology use has shifted from asking “How young is too young?” to determining what amount is “just right.” It reviews evolving guidance from early education organizations and summarizes research on both benefits and risks. The discussion highlights evidence that technology can support development, including emergent literacy, mathematical learning, and interactive formats such as tablets and touchpads, while emphasizing the need for developmentally appropriate integration and balanced educator decision-making.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Positive Effects of Early Technology Use

Emergent Literacy

Mathematical Learning

Revisiting the Early Use of Technology: A Critical Shift from “How Young is Too Young?” to “How Much is‘Just Right’?” | How young is too young? How much is just right? This article will give you insights into using technology appropriately with young children. | C. Lorelle Lentz, Kay Kyeong-Ju Seo, and Bridget Gruner | | --- | --- | Introduction The conversation about young children and their use of technology has dramatically changed over the past ten years in the early childhood education community and in the general public. It appears the debate has moved forward from the question posed by Vail (2001) in her article titled,“How Young Is Too Young? When It Comes to Computer Use, Reasonable People Disagree.”Cautions about technology use with our young children provide important guidance (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011), but it is also evident that technology use with young children is expanding rapidly (Kaiser Foundation, 2010) . Therefore, the more important question for educators to ask and answer should be,“How much technology use by young children is ‘just right’?”Much as Goldilocks went through trial and error finding the porridge, chair, and bed that was “just right,” it may be some time before the answer to this question is clearly agreed upon. Using knowledge about appropriate practices with young children will help guide the search for these important answers. Reflecting the changing conversation, the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has recently expanded the age range of their technology position paper to include children from birth (NAEYC, 2012). The previous position paper did not include advice about children younger than three, as technology use was not seen as relevant for that age group. However, current research shows that up to 70% of children ages birth through two years old are using electronic media in their daily lives (Vandewater, Rideout, Wartella, Huang, Lee, & Shim, 2007). Therefore, early childhood professionals must use their expertise and knowledge about the healthy development of young children to create environments that support the integration of technology use in ways that are developmentally appropriate (Rosen & Jaruszewicz, 2009) . Understand both the positive and negative effects of technology. In order to support educators as they debate how much technology use is appropriate for young children, it is helpful to build an understanding of both positive characteristics of computer use as well as negative aspects currently described in the literature. Following is a review of research which considers both positive uses with young children and cautions about technology use to provide a balanced perspective on how technology can detract from learning and development as well as enhance them. Dimensions of Early Childhood Vol 42, No 1, 2014 15 Revisiting the Early Use of Technology: A Critical Shift from “How Young is Too Young?” to “How Much is ‘Just Right’?” Positive Effects of Early Technology Use Currently, a growing body of literature is providing examples of effective uses of technology to enhance children’s early learning in a variety of subjects. Computers were used successfully with preschool age children in emergent literacy (McKenney & Voogt, 2009; Saine, Lerkkanen, Ahonen, Tolvanen, & Lyytinen, 2011; Shamir, Korat, & Fellah, 2012) and geometry (Clements & Sarama, 2011) as well as for Internet searches (Spink, Danby, Mallan, & Butler, 2009) . We discuss children’s use of technology related to emergent literacy, mathematical learning, touchpads and tablets, and computer gaming more in detail below to provide guidance on integrating technology into early childhood classrooms. Emergent Literacy The use of technology to teach emergent literacy has been supported through several studies. One study utilized computer-assisted instruction to empower at-risk readers from Finland to overcome reading problems and catch up to their peer

FAQs

How has the focus of debates about technology and young children changed?

The text explains that discussion has shifted from “How young is too young?” to “How much technology use … is ‘just right’?” It notes the growing need for educators to define appropriate amounts rather than only restrict use.

What positive effects does early technology use have according to the review?

The review describes growing research showing technology can enhance early learning, including emergent literacy and mathematical learning, using approaches such as computer-assisted instruction and educational e-books.

Why must educators consider both benefits and cautions?

The text states that balanced guidance requires understanding both positive characteristics and cautions described in the literature, so technology can be used in ways that support learning and development rather than detract from them.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dhado