In Saudi Arabia, there is a lack of research into the educational use of touch technologies. The literature focuses on how children use these technologies and how they support learning, but little is known about the impact of these devices on children's socio-emotional outcomes. This study examines how children relate emotionally to both iPads and each other when they are introduced into educational settings in Saudi Arabia, where no tradition for their use exists. Data (80 hours of video observations and interviews) were collected from a grade one class in a Saudi school. The cultural-historical concept of perezhivanie was used to analyse how iPads affect children's interaction within the classroom, and it was found that the initial introduction of the iPad acted as a tool for both explicit self-regulation and implicit self-regulation. This study contributes to understanding how the use of touch technologies in Saudi Arabia affects children's emotional development.