Exploring Family Supervision Effects on Adolescents’ Internet Usage and Anxiety

Abstract

ABSTRACT Parental responses to concerns about excessive internet use often involve monitoring online activity. Drawing on developmental psychology, we theorize that such monitoring, perceived as control, increases adolescent anxiety. Attachment theory informs our exploration of elder siblings’ influence. We collected quantitative data through a survey of 387 adolescents studying in grade 9 and 11. The results of our model showed that parental monitoring, while associated with reduced online time spent by adolescents, is also linked to higher internet anxiety. Further, the presence of an elder sibling amplifies the direct effect of parental monitoring on online time spent. Additionally, even in the absence of parental monitoring, the involved elder sibling enhances the internet anxiety in adolescents. Overall, this work provides evidence for the adverse outcomes of both parental monitoring and sibling involvement, along with the amplifying effect of sibling presence on the relationship between parental monitoring and online time spent.