| Title: |
Videos and Vocabulary: How Digital Media Use Impacts the Types of Words Children Know |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Sarah C. Kucker (ORCID 0000-0003-2210-3599); Rachel F. Barr (ORCID 0000-0002-5855-9718); Lynn K. Perry (ORCID 0000-0001-6976-3741) |
| Source: |
Developmental Science. 2026 29(1). |
| Availability: |
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
10 |
| Publication Date: |
2026 |
| Sponsoring Agency: |
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH) |
| Contract Number: |
R15HD101841 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: |
Toddlers; Child Language; Language Acquisition; Vocabulary Development; Social Media; Semantics; Video Technology; Television Viewing; Nouns; Age; Income |
| DOI: |
10.1111/desc.70091 |
| ISSN: |
1363-755X; 1467-7687 |
| Abstract: |
The last decade has seen an exponential rise in children's digital media use, as well as growing evidence that it is associated with changes in children's vocabulary. However, while high rates of low-quality digital media have been associated with lower "amounts" of words a child says, little work has examined whether digital media alters "the types" of words a child knows. Here, we explore whether differences in the amount of digital media exposure are associated with differences in the composition of children's vocabulary. The current study surveyed 388 caregivers of children 17-30 months (M = 23.9 months) on their children's productive vocabulary and technology use. Multiple regression models predicted the proportion of words children knew in different semantic categories based on the time they spent watching videos/TV, controlling for total noun vocabulary size, age, and income. Increased video watching was associated with producing a smaller proportion of body part words and more people and furniture words, but not other semantic categories. Increased video watching was not associated with differences in shape- or material-based nouns. The results suggest that differences in children's video watching are associated with differences in overall vocabulary size, but also with the particular types of words children know. This may have implications for supporting children's future language in a technology-filled world. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Notes: |
https://osf.io/zyr4f/?view_only=d5b0e7bd0f004b3ea821ac78a55deb56 |
| Entry Date: |
2026 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1492074 |
| Database: |
ERIC |