Parental Mediation Strategies Research Articles

Subterfuge: a parental strategy for mediating young children’s digital media practices in Azerbaijan

ABSTRACT The present study introduces the ways in which parents mediate young children’s digital media practices in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet country. This study reveals a new parental mediation strategy – subterfuge, which refers to parents’ indirect communication about digital media restrictions with their children. With this approach, parents blame digital devices or internet connectivity for limiting children’s access. Using the strategy, parents prefer indirect interference with their children's digital practices to avoid upsetting or confronting them. The strategy is explained through parental ethnotheories – parents’ cultural beliefs and values about childrearing. The study calls for adding parental ethnotheories to research on parental mediation in digital environments. Findings presented here originated in a study involving five families with a five-year-old child through family visits and the living journals method developed specifically for this study.

Do parental control tools fulfil family expectations for child protection? A rapid evidence review of the contexts and outcomes of use

ABSTRACT Among the parental mediation strategies promoted by policymakers to ensure children’s safety in a digital age is the use of parental control tools. A rapid evidence review was conducted to identify which families use parental controls and why, and the outcomes of such use, beneficial or otherwise. Of 1,656 articles returned by a keyword search of five research databases, the full text of 40 studies was coded to answer the research questions. The available research revealed that the use of parental controls depends on the age of the parents and children, their digital skills, parental involvement, and the motivation to reduce exposure to online risk. However, the consequences of use were mixed, with evidence of parental controls having both beneficial and adverse outcomes, limiting other outcomes or simply having no outcomes. While the review found little support for advocating parental controls as a stand-alone strategy, parents valued them when embedded in a broader approach to parental mediation and parent – child relations. The conclusions highlight the importance of a child-centred approach that holistically evaluates the potential of parental controls.

Parenting the TikTok algorithm: An algorithm awareness as process approach to online risks and opportunities

Teens inhabit an algorithmically curated digital world. Thus, algorithm awareness has emerged as a critical digital skill for parents of teens to mitigate online risks and maximize online opportunities. This study explores how parents’ algorithm awareness of the TikTok “For You” feed relates to perceived online risks and opportunities as well as parental mediation strategies. A survey of U.S. parents found that greater algorithm awareness on TikTok was associated with more negative attitudes about the TikTok algorithm via the mediator of perceived TikTok risks. Parents with negative attitudes about algorithms on TikTok were more likely to prohibit their teenager from using TikTok, but algorithm awareness and attitudes were unassociated with other parental mediation strategies. This study contributes to research on digital parenting practices, suggesting that (a) perceptions of risks, not opportunities, frame the algorithm awareness process for parents and (b) algorithm awareness may operate differently than other digital skills.

Digital parenting divides: the role of parental capital and digital parenting readiness in parental digital mediation

Abstract This study investigates digital parenting divides, or how parents' strategies for regulating their children’s online activities differ based on their available resources and digital parenting readiness (i.e., digital parenting self-efficacy, attitudes, and knowledge). We conducted a survey of 530 parents that reflected the composition of the U.S. population to explore how parents’ resources and digital parenting readiness predict their digital mediation strategies. The results indicate that parents’ economic, social, and cultural resources, as well as their digital parenting readiness, play a significant role in how they approach digital mediation. Furthermore, digital parenting readiness has emerged as an underlying mechanism explaining the relationship between parental resources and parental mediation strategies. The presence of digital parenting divides highlights the need for tailored interventions to support parents in effectively using digital mediation strategies based on their family’s circumstances.

An Investigation of the Parental Mediation Situations of Preschool Children’s Parents

Developments in information and communication technologies caused an increase in the possession of digital tools and facilitated their use. The use of digital tools, especially the internet, now starts below the age of two. In this sense, during early childhood, parents have a great responsibility as they are primarily responsible for their children’s “digital exposure.” They need mediation strategies to determine their children’s use of digital tools. This study aims to examine the parental mediation situations of the parents of preschool children. This study, conducted as a survey model, adapted the Parental Mediation Scale to the preschool level as a data collection tool. The participants of the study consisted of 108 parents of preschool children. The results of the study determined that the parental role (mother‒father) and educational status of parents affected parental mediation strategies; whereas, the number of children, internet usage experience, income status, and the age of the parents or children did not affect said strategies. The qualitative analysis indicated that the parents have many concerns about the social‒emotional and physical problems that may occur due to internet use in children from an early age. It is among the other qualitative results that parents prefer more direct intervention techniques and technical solutions to protect their children from the risks of the internet. As a result of the research, this study presents suggestions to parents and researchers for future studies on children’s conscious use of digital tools.

Feasibility and Early Outcomes of a Parent Training Intervention to Engage Parents in Children's Media Education.

The importance of parents in mediating adolescents' Internet use is documented by many studies in the literature. Very few, however, regard interventions to support parents in this role. We wanted to assess the feasibility and the early outcomes of an Internet-based parent educational group course aimed to support parents in adolescents' media education. The intervention was conducted with two different groups of parents (N = 20, 75% women; mean age = 46.9 y; SD = 6.3) at different time-points. The intervention included five sessions, during which information about parental mediation strategies was provided and practical exercises based on the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach were proposed. The intervention generated greater awareness, openness and flexibility and increased parental familiarity with technological devices. Overall, the proposed web-based and group-based parent training model has shown good feasibility and promising early outcomes in supporting parents as Internet mediators.

A qualitative study on parental mediation of rural‐to‐urban migrant children's smartphone use in China: Concerns, strategies and challenges

AbstractThis study explores parental mediation of smartphone use by rural‐to‐urban migrant children in China. A total of 16 migrant parents participated in semi‐structured interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis is conducted to analyse the transcribed interviews. Findings indicate that migrant parents are highly concerned about the harmful impact of smartphone use on their children. Three parental mediation strategies mentioned in previous studies are confirmed, that is, restriction mediation, monitoring and active mediation, whereas a new mediation strategy, namely, activity substitution, is identified in this study. This study finds that the parents use a combination of different strategies for parental mediation. Furthermore, four themes identify the challenges in parental mediation: Lack of time, skills and helper for parenting and father's absence, inconsistency between parents' restrictive mediation and own overuse practices, the adverse effect of COVID‐19 and the need for professional help. Finally, implications for social work practice are discussed.

Parental mediation and preferences for regulation regarding children's digital media use: role of protection motivation and theory of planned behaviour

ABSTRACT The rapid growth of technology, such as smart devices, screens, and social media, has made parenting more complicated than it already is. The risks and harmful effects of digital media on children have forced parents to engage in several types of digital media mediation strategies. Applying the protection motivation theory and theory of planned behaviour in understanding the parental mediation strategy, this study explores parents’ perception of their own responsibilities and the development of appropriate policies and legislation to curve the risk of digital media in their children's lives. An online survey of 331 parents was conducted. The data was analyzed using structured equation modeling. Findings reveal that the fundamental variables of protection motivation theory and the theory of planned behaviour are mostly held to explain the psychological and external-environmental factors that impact parents’ digital media mediation strategy. This study also deduces that parents who apply restrictive and active mediation strategies prefer both governmental regulation and parent responsibility. In contrast, the parents who apply distant mediation prefer just government regulation. Policymakers can use the findings of this study to advance policies that help parents in managing their children's digital media use.

Problematic use of WhatsApp and adolescents: What educational role do parents play?

The goal of this study is to understand the relationship between the problematic use of WhatsApp among young adolescents and parental mediation. The rise of mobile phone use among young people is a cause for concern, especially among parents themselves. The literature suggests that parents have a certain amount of room for maneuver through different parental strategies (parental mediation) to maximize the benefits of technology and reduce its possible risks, although this has not been sufficiently analyzed in the case of problematic use of the mobile phone and its applications. This study therefore examined three different parental mediation strategies (restrictive, modeling and stimulation) and their possible impact on the problematic use of WhatsApp. The sample comprised 1,144 13- and 14-year-old students during three academic years (2015-2018) in 17 schools in 7 Spanish provinces. One of the novelties of the study was the use of adolescent voices to understand the parental mediation of their parents. The results showed a direct relationship between the level of restrictive mediation and a problematic use of WhatsApp. In addition, the number of mobile phones that students have enjoyed, as well as whether parents use their mobile phone during dinner, also has a positive relationship with the problematic use of WhatsApp. These results are useful for understanding a responsible use of the mobile phone, as well as to guide parents about the problematic use of WhatsApp among adolescents.

The Interactive Effects of Parental Mediation Strategies in Preventing Cyberbullying on Social Media.

Applying the parental mediation theory, this study investigates the main effects and interactive effects of three parental social media strategies, ie, active mediation, restrictive mediation, and non-intrusive inspection, on cyberbullying among teenagers. A matched child-parent survey was conducted with 642 secondary-school students aged 13-18 and their parents in China. The results showed that active mediation was negatively associated with both cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. Restrictive mediation was not significantly associated with cyberbullying. Non-intrusive inspection was positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration but not associated with cyberbullying victimization. Moreover, the two-way interaction between active and restrictive mediation as well as the three-way interaction between the three parental mediation strategies significantly affected cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Specifically, the combination of high-level active mediation and non-intrusive inspection with low-level restrictive mediation was the most effective strategy for preventing cyberbullying. This finding significantly contributes to the parental mediation literature and provide theoretical guidelines for parental intervention to prevent cyberbullying among teenager.

A Qualitative Analysis of Parental Mediation of Children’s Digital Technology Use in Croatia

ABSTRACT This research explores children’s and parents’ perceptions of parental mediation strategies of children’s digital technology (DT) use. The sample consists of 31 parents and 30 children (ages 9 to 14; average age is 11) who participated in focus groups. The results of focus groups with parents and children showed that they recognize four similar types of strategies with slight differences. Children often do not recognize clear rules about DT use. Active mediation is perceived by children as co-use, while parents usually talk about the consequences of DT use and highlight balancing with other activities. Without a prepared media plan, parents describe mediation as “a struggle.” The findings point to mediation being “a dynamic process” with children as active agents.

Parental mediation and problematic media use among U.S. children with disabilities and their non-disabled siblings during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT During the COVID-19 pandemic, caregivers of disabled children have faced adverse conditions complicating their media use management (i.e., parental mediation). Disabled children and non-disabled children in a household may also have distinct cognitive, emotional, and physical needs requiring different parental mediation strategies. In this exploratory study, we surveyed U.S. parents (N = 123) with a disabled and non-disabled child between the ages of 5 and 13 to explore child differences in average hours spent watching media and playing games, problematic media use, and parental mediation during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic (Spring 2020–Spring 2021). Results suggest higher problematic media use for children with disabilities compared to their siblings without disabilities during the pandemic, with rates of problematic use primarily increasing or staying the same for both, but significantly more parental mediation of children without disabilities compared to those with disabilities. In the wake of the pandemic and spikes in children’s media use, screen time advice from health providers to households with both disabled and non-disabled children requires unique considerations to support healthy child media use.

Characteristics of Parental Digital Mediation: Predictors, Strategies, and Differences among Children Experiencing Various Parental Mediation Strategies

The process of digitalization has become an integral part of the social situation of a child’s growth in the modern world. Child development in the digital environment demands the involvement of adults as mediators. This practice is called parental digital mediation. Previous studies have identified the significant parental and environmental aspects of parental mediation, but there has been little information about the relationships between the children’s characteristics and parental digital mediation. The current study aims to fill this gap by identifying the behavioral (social network and screen time) and emotional (social network addiction and happiness) predictors of the two dimensions of digital mediation: parental support and parental control. The study also examines the differences among children influenced by various parental mediation strategies. A total of 4011 students (42% male and 58% female) ranging in age from 13 to 15 years (M = 14.07; SD = 0.76) took part in the study. The parental mediation of their children’s internet use, social media addiction, social network time, screen time, and happiness were measured. According to the results, both the behavioral and emotional characteristics of the children served as predictors of parental mediation. A small amount of time spent on social networks or screens and low social media addiction and happiness were identified as the predictors of parental support, whereas a large amount of time spent on social networks and screens and low social media addiction were identified as the predictors of parental control. Three groups of children experiencing different parental mediation strategies were determined. The children with parents who enabled mediation were happier than the others. Children under instructive mediation demonstrated the highest tendency to social media addiction. Children under selective mediation spent the most time (of all groups) on gadgets, but they showed a low tendency towards social media addiction.

Ebeveynlerin Dijital Reklam Okuryazarlığı Becerilerinin Geliştirilmesine Yönelik Bir Eylem Araştırması

Parental mediation plays a leading role in the process of shaping children’s relations with and raising awareness about digital advertisements. This study aims to qualitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the digital-based education model created to develop digital advertising literacy skills that parents need in this process. For this purpose, the action research model, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was adopted in the study and a 12-hour digital-based training was conducted with the participation of seven parents with children between the ages of 7 and 13 living in Antalya. Semi-structured interview was used to collect research data. The qualitative data obtained through semi-structured interview and observation were qualitatively content-analyzed in the MAXQDA 2020 analysis program. The results obtained from the qualitative data showed that the education model contributed to the development of parents’ skills in terms of conceptual, attitudinal and performance dimensions of digital advertising literacy. It was determined that this improvement also reflected positively on parental mediation strategies. Based on the results of the research, suggestions were made to researchers, practitioners and policy makers working in this field.

What do parents know about children's risky online experiences? The role of parental mediation strategies

Parental knowledge of children's whereabouts is an important aspect of parenting that is associated to positive outcomes (e.g., less problem behaviors). In the current digital world, knowledge of children's online activities gains importance. Yet, little is known about its accuracy and associations to parental mediation, i.e., parenting strategies specifically targeted at children's usage of digital technologies, and other parenting factors. This study investigated parents' objective knowledge (comparisons of children's and parents' reports) and perceived knowledge (parents' subjective feelings) of online risky activities in a sample of 2946 parent-child dyads (67.5% mothers, adolescents' age 11–16, 50.2% males) representative of Czech households with children. The level of parental knowledge varied across online activities. Parents were well informed about adolescents' less risky and more frequent activities, e.g., gaming, but often underestimated the occurrence of more risky and potentially more harmful experiences, e.g., cyberhate victimization. Parental support and active mediation were associated with higher perceived, and objective knowledge, whereas restrictive mediation and the child's demographics were not related to either. Technical mediation and monitoring were associated with higher perceived knowledge but technical mediation was connected with lower objective knowledge and monitoring had no relation to it, suggesting that these strategies can provide a false sense of security rather than keeping parents informed about children's online experiences. The results underscore the importance of a positive family environment and highlight the differences between perceived and objective parental knowledge.

Layanan Konsultasi Melalui Parental Mediation untuk Meningkatkan Literasi Digital Siswa

This study aims to describe consulting services through parental mediation strategies as an effort to improve students’ digital literacy. This is achieved through the library method by reading relevant data sources related to the themes of consulting services, parental mediation, and digital literacy. The information obtained is analyzed, recorded, and processed by in-depth content analysis and written in a narrative manner into the research results. The results of the study show that consulting services with parental mediation can be used to help improve students’ understanding of digital literacy. Service implementation is carried out through: (1) introduction stage; (2) situation description/ problem identification and analysis of problems; (3) the selection of solutions and how to use them; (4) demonstration of the selected solution; (5) conducting training and feedback; (6) giving homework; (7) evaluating the process and results and (8) terminating the consulting relationship. The implications of the study are to strengthen the role of school collaboration with parents in children's education and increase positive internet skills in students when learning at home.

Parental mediation of adolescents’ technology use: Unequal parenting practices

This study explores parental mediation – its patterns, purpose and intention, the intentions behind it, and related social inequalities – from the perspective of the ideal of intensive parenting. Parental mediation in the form of restricting or monitoring teenagers’ technology use might mitigate the harm of the intensive or risky online behaviour. Moreover, active mediation strategies might improve the teenagers’ digital literacy by obtaining specific skills that foster appropriate online behaviour. Therefore, the paper argues that parental mediation has become a highly relevant aspect of contemporary parenting practices. The paper is based on thematic analyses of semi-structured interviews on children’s screen time and parental mediation strategies. The interviews were carried out with 29 parents of adolescents in Hungary in 2019. The findings show that restriction and active mediation primarily aimed at protecting children from risks, as a resource-intensive practice, form part of the contemporary parenting skill set. This study contributes to understanding how these skills constitute a digital cultural capital, and thereby how parenting can enhance the digital inequality.

Parental Mediation in Children’s Social Media Use

With the growing influence of social media in the country, this study aimed to discover the varying parental mediation strategies being implemented. It also highlighted the present beliefs and conception of the parents on mediating their children’s social media usage, as well as what they conceive as its long-term effects. The study utilized purposive sampling method, which enabled the researchers to conduct an in-depth interview with 8 informants, all of whom are residents of Barangays Acosta and Caunayan, of Batac City, Ilocos Norte, and are parents of children aging between 5 to 17 years old.The compiled and collated information revealed that restrictive mediation and active mediation are the two most-used common types of mediation strategies. In addition, the informants posed a positive outlook to parental mediation, backing their perception of it as beneficial, regardless of the lack of varying strategies. Withal, this study proved that parents perceive parental mediation as an avenue of life lessons in the form of time management, being aware of the threats of social media, and discerning what is right and wrong in social media. Ultimately, an infographic material was created for the sole purpose of entailing the necessary information embedded in the findings of the study.

Cyberbullying and cybervictimization on digital media platforms: the role of demographic variables and parental mediation strategies

This study aimed to investigate adolescents’ perspectives on different parental mediation strategies in adolescent cyberbullying and cybervictimization. It also investigated the roles of the adolescent’s age and gender as moderators. An online survey was conducted among 387 Saudi adolescents aged 12–17 years. The results show that decreases in active, restrictive, internet safety, and monitoring strategies were significantly associated with increases in cyberbullying. However, only restrictive and internet safety strategies were significant contributors to cybervictimization, both of which followed the same pattern of a negative relationship between the mediation strategy and cybervictimization. Furthermore, the internet safety strategy had a significant three-way interaction with age and gender in associating with cyberbullying, while the restrictive strategy had a significant three-way interaction with age and gender in associating with cybervictimization.

Unearthing Iranian mothers’ mediation strategies during their children’s home digital literacy practices in English

ABSTRACT Research has shown that the home digital literacy practices of children are shaped based on their parents’ mediation strategies. While there is extensive literature on parental mediation strategies for children’s digital media use as well as first language learning, this line of inquiry is not extensively explored in the context of second language learning. Driven by these points, in this study, I have used demographic profiles, semi-structured interviews, and video-recordings to discover the mediation strategies used by Iranian mothers based on sociocultural theory. Drawing on thematic analysis and deductive-inductive coding, I found that there were porous boundaries between the types of mediation strategies that were used by Iranian mothers to control or support the home digital literacy practices of their children. These differences and similarities were caused by the social, historical, cultural, economic, and political factors in the context of Iran. The findings of this study have extended the knowledge about how parents control or support their children’s second language learning (L2) through digital technologies in the home context. These findings can provide worthwhile insights to English Language Teaching (ELT) stakeholders in the context of Iran, particularly how to establish a nexus between children’s second language learning in the home and classroom context.