Introduction:

for several months the world has been facing a confinement situation to fight an intense battle related to COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2. As a result of what this social isolation has represented, the damage to the mental health of those who face it, mainly children and adolescents, is beginning to become visible. The use of technology has been an option for many and those who have abused it today suffer the psychological repercussions that any addiction can generate.

Objective:

to describe the psychological alterations of children and adolescents related to the abuse of technology in times of COVID-19.

Methods:

a bibliographic search was carried out in Medline / Pubmed, Elseiver, Scielo and academic Google databases. Descriptors such as pandemic, confinement, technology, addictions, mental health were used.

Results:

the confinement measure in the world has proven to be the most effective action against SARS-CoV-2. Children and adolescents are the ones who can present the most psychological problems as a result of this measure. The use and abuse of technology during confinement exacerbates psychopathological manifestations due to loss of impulse control and poor ability to adhere to healthier and more enjoyable activities.

Conclusions:

confinement generates stress, this leads to the abuse of technology in the youngest. Sleep disorders, aggressiveness, anger, poor impulse control, eating disorders, anxiety, hyperactivity that appear are related to the loss of control of these risky behaviors.

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