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Parent Perspectives on Their Mobile Technology Use: The Excitement and Exhaustion of Parenting While Connected
Abstract
Objective:
Parent use of mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets) while around their young children may be associated with fewer or more negative parent-child interactions, but parent perspectives regarding this issue have not been explored. We aimed to understand parent views regarding their mobile device use to identify actionable targets of potential intervention.
Method:
We conducted 35 in-depth semi-structured group and individual interviews with English-speaking caregivers of children 0 to 8 years old, purposively sampled from diverse ethnic backgrounds, educational levels, and employment statuses. Following thematic saturation, results were validated through expert triangulation and member checking.
Results:
Participants included 22 mothers, 9 fathers, and 4 grandmothers; 31% were single parents, 43% nonwhite race/ethnicity, and 40% completed high school or less. Participants consistently expressed a high degree of internal tension regarding their own mobile technology use, which centered around 3 themes relevant to intervention planning: (1) Cognitive tensions (multitasking between work and children, leading to information/role overload), (2) emotional tensions (stress-inducing and reducing effects), and (3) tensions around the parent-child dyad (disrupting family routines vs serving as a tool to keep the peace).
Conclusion:
Caregivers of young children describe many internal conflicts regarding their use of mobile technology, which may be windows for intervention. Helping caregivers understand such emotional and cognitive responses may help them balance family time with technology-based demands.
... Of concern is the possibility of absorption in mobile devices where the parent is physically present, but mentally and emotionally unresponsive to their partner's and/or children's needs and bids for connection (Oduor et al., 2016). Indeed, many parents report feeling distracted by mobile devices when with their children (Auxier et al., 2020;Radesky et al., 2016). A growing body of research suggests that parent distraction by mobile devices may indeed disrupt key interactional components of parent responsiveness. ...
... Finally, prior research has shown that many parents turn to phones when feeling stressed or needing to regulate negative emotions (Radesky et al., 2016), and greater parenting stress has been linked with greater technoference or problematic phone use during parent-child time (McDaniel, 2021;. Thus, our second hypothesis was: ...
... Another notable finding relates to perceptions of parenting stress and its relations with MG playing and greater perceptions that SM and MG cut into family time. This supports previous work showing links between parenting stress and media use (Radesky et al., 2016), as well as parenting stress, technoference, and problematic phone use during parent-child time (McDaniel, 2021;. Whether it is because parents with stress turn more to SM and MG for escape or whether greater usage of these mediums increases stress or perceptions of stress, there appears to be opportunity for future research and interventions addressing stress as a mechanism to bolster healthy parent media use and family interactions. ...
Possible effects of parent phone use on parent–child interactions and child behavior are of concern, warranting research to understand parent phone use. In this survey study of 183 families with a young child (M = 2.89 years), we examined parents’ phone use for texting/calling, social media (SM) use, mobile gaming (MG), and perceptions of cutting into family time; we also examined differences between mothers and fathers and associations with parenting stress. Mothers engaged in greater SM use but less MG compared to fathers; 61% of mothers and 38% of fathers used SM 31+ min per day, while 23% of fathers and 16% of mothers played mobile games 31+ min. Mothers were also more likely to feel their SM use, but not MG, cut into family time. Greater parenting stress was associated with greater MG and perceptions of SM or MG as cutting into family time. As differences were found between mothers and fathers on phone activities, it may be beneficial to adapt interventions based on type of activity and parent gender. Moreover, as perceived interference from phone use in family interactions is more likely when parents are stressed, we call for future research to consider the context/purpose of phone use and coping strategies.
... Moreover, frequent regulatory media use may displace interactive activities that are crucial for the development of self-regulatory skills, especially for young children (e.g., Domoff et al., 2020;Coyne et al., 2021). Notably, opportunities for regulatory media use have been more prevalent with the ubiquity of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets (Radesky et al., 2016a;Kildare and Middlemiss, 2017;Floegel et al., 2021). Despite its prevalence, research on regulatory media use is limited, often constrained by coarse measures, such as a binary question asking whether a parent ever uses media to calm their child. ...
... Yet, not all parental media use has negative effects on parentchild interactions. Parents engage with media for various beneficial reasons, such as staying connected with the world outside their home or keeping in touch with loved ones during the challenging early days of parenting (Radesky et al., 2016a;Wolfers, 2021;Coyne et al., 2022;Linder et al., 2022). Moreover, qualitative research has demonstrated that parents with children younger than 7 years old often utilize media to seek out information and social support when dealing with stress (Wolfers, 2021). ...
... The regulatory media use scales for parents and children scales were designed to assess the motives behind parents' use of media to regulate their own or their child's emotional responses and behaviors. Items were developed based on themes and parent experiences identified through qualitative research with parents of young children (Radesky et al., 2016a;Torres et al., 2021). The parent scale comprised 16 items, including "To take a break and relax when my kids are showing difficult behavior and getting on my nerves, " "To reduce feelings of boredom, " and "To watch a calming YouTube video such as ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response)." ...
Introduction
Parents often use media to manage their own or their child's emotions and behaviors, which is called “regulatory media use.” While the use of media to alleviate negative emotions and behaviors may be helpful in the short-term, there may be negative consequences in the long-term (e.g., for children's development of self-regulatory skills). Research remains limited, often relying on a single, binary question asking whether a parent ever uses media to calm their child. To enable future research on the effects of regulatory media use, this paper described initial scale development efforts for measuring parents' regulatory media use for themselves (parent scale) and their children (child scale).
Methods
These scales were tested in an aggregate sample of parents with children 1–10 years old, and with each of three subsamples representing parents of children in infancy (15-25 months old), early childhood (2–5 years old), and middle childhood (5–10 years old).
Results
Overall, the results provide initial support for the scales as a reliable tool for measuring regulatory media use. Both scales for parents and children had a stable three-factor structure that held within each of the three subsamples. Further, both scales had predictive validity, each predicting parenting stress and child screen time.
Discussion
Building upon earlier studies that often focused on single items to measure regulatory purposes, the initial scales appear to capture a multifaceted range of regulatory uses of media. The comprehensive measurement of regulatory media use enabled by these scales can inform more effective and tailored media guidelines and interventions, and the potential applications and implications for future research are discussed.
... Furthermore, evidence suggests that parents introduce digital media into an infant's daily life within the first six months (Kabali et al., 2015;Kiliç et al., 2019). Early screen exposure is often driven by parental needs (Radesky et al., 2016;Mallmann & Frizzo, 2019), as it serves as an aid to childcare and is perceived by parents as a form of technological babysitting (Plowman & McPake, 2013). In addition to handling smartphones, infant's exposure to television screens has long been a known phenomenon. ...
... While it is advised not to expose infants under two years of age to screens, the reports of the mothers and fathers participating in the study suggest that parental needs seem to be the primary driver behind providing devices to their babies, which was indicated by Mallmann and Frizzo (2019). Since screens engage babies, it allows parents not to have to engage with their child, so giving screens to babies is an alternative parents find to gain free time and escape, for a few moments, from the routine and the overwhelming demands of parenthood (Radesky et al., 2016). On the other hand, it is also necessary to consider the demands of these families and the existence of a support network, as in certain circumstances, some parents may need another resource to turn to. ...
... Currently, digital media, as an extension of adults' bodies, are becoming parental assistants in caregiving the children, entertaining them, and allowing parents to take breaks from their parental duties (Radesky et al., 2016;Mallmann & Frizzo, 2019). Additionally, children with more challenging temperaments, characterized by high impulsivity, difficulty adapting to new situations, and negative affect, may trigger inconsistent parenting. ...
Considering the large number of children under two constantly exposed to digital
screens, concerns about child development have emerged and become the focus of academic and clinical discussions. In order to understand the reasons why parents expose their infants to digital technologies, we conducted in-depth interviews with mothers and fathers of infants aged between 10 and 17 months old living in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Despite the guidelines of local pediatric societies, our data points to divergences between what the board of pediatrics recommends and the patterns of screen exposure documented in our study.
Parents introduce their babies to digital technologies out of unawareness and urgent need. Parents claimed to be concerned with their children's future and perceived early access to digital technology as an essential tool to improve cognitive skills and strengthen family bonds. Conversely, parents were concerned about technology at the expense of other forms of play. Our findings highlight that parents need additional guidance and support, while professionals should weigh the needs and daily challenges experienced by families when formulating guidelines.
... Furthermore, evidence suggests that parents introduce digital media into an infant's daily life within the first six months (Kabali et al., 2015;Kiliç et al., 2019). Early screen exposure is often driven by parental needs (Radesky et al., 2016;Mallmann & Frizzo, 2019), as it serves as an aid to childcare and is perceived by parents as a form of technological babysitting (Plowman & McPake, 2013). In addition to handling smartphones, infant's exposure to television screens has long been a known phenomenon. ...
... While it is advised not to expose infants under two years of age to screens, the reports of the mothers and fathers participating in the study suggest that parental needs seem to be the primary driver behind providing devices to their babies, which was indicated by Mallmann and Frizzo (2019). Since screens engage babies, it allows parents not to have to engage with their child, so giving screens to babies is an alternative parents find to gain free time and escape, for a few moments, from the routine and the overwhelming demands of parenthood (Radesky et al., 2016). On the other hand, it is also necessary to consider the demands of these families and the existence of a support network, as in certain circumstances, some parents may need another resource to turn to. ...
... Currently, digital media, as an extension of adults' bodies, are becoming parental assistants in caregiving the children, entertaining them, and allowing parents to take breaks from their parental duties (Radesky et al., 2016;Mallmann & Frizzo, 2019). Additionally, children with more challenging temperaments, characterized by high impulsivity, difficulty adapting to new situations, and negative affect, may trigger inconsistent parenting. ...
Frente ao número crescente de crianças menores de dois anos expostas às telas, preocupações com o desenvolvimento dos bebês têm emergido e sido foco de discussões acadêmicas e clínicas. Para buscar compreender as razões que levam os pais a disponibilizarem as mídias digitais aos bebês, entrevistas foram conduzidas com mães e pais de crianças com idades entre dez e 17 meses, domiciliados na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre, Brasil. Apesar das orientações das sociedades de pediatria, verifica-se discrepância entre a divulgação deste conteúdo e o acesso a ele. Os pais, por desconhecimento e também por necessidade, disponibilizam diferentes mídias ao bebê, que é percebida em diversas situações como positiva e facilitadora nos cuidados com a criança; os pais alegam que o acesso precoce pelo bebê é importante para aprimorar a destreza cognitiva e capaz de gerar interação familiar. Por outro lado, apresentam preocupações diante do uso de telas em detrimento de outras formas de brincar. Evidencia-se que os pais precisam de orientações e suporte, assim como os profissionais devem considerar as necessidades das famílias ao elaborar diretrizes a fim de orientá-los. Palavras-chave: Bebês; exposição às telas; parentalidade.
ABSTRACT. Considering the large number of children under the age of two that are constantly exposed to digital screens, concerns about child development have been emerging and becoming the focus of academic and clinical discussions. In order to understand the reasons why parents expose their infants to digital technologies, we conducted in-depth interviews with mothers and fathers of infants aged between 10 and 17 months-old living in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Despite the guidelines of local pediatric societies, our data points to divergences between what is recommended by the board of pediatrics and the patterns of screen exposure documented in our study. Parents, out of unawareness and/or urgent need, introduce their babies to digital technologies. Parents claimed to be concerned with the future of children and perceived early access to digital technology as an important tool to improve cognitive skills and to strength family bonds. Conversely, parents had concerns in face of technology at the expense of other forms of play. Our findings highlight that parents need additional guidance and support, while professionals should weight needs and daily challenges experienced by families when formulating guidelines.
... connection with their adolescent children, parents with younger children are more likely to use their device to disconnect from their offspring and connect with other adults through social media platforms (Kildare & Middlesmiss, 2017), particularly in instances where they find parenting to be isolating or frustrating (Radesky et al., 2016). This, however, is likely to create multiple instances of "technoference" within the caregiver-child relationship. ...
... when raising a small child (McDaniel, 2019;Radesky et al., 2016). Consequently, the current study aimed to identify risk and protective factors associated with both problematic smartphone use and mother-infant responsiveness, and to investigate whether subgroups of mother-infant dyads can be identified via these factors using a cluster analysis. ...
... While a number of the mothers in the sample were reporting high levels of technoference, it is only when using the cluster analysis that some of the differential risk and protective factors for this behavior become more apparent. Escape versus support seeking behaviors are coping strategies which many new mothers will employ while raising their infants (Radesky et al., 2016), and in knowing why these strategies are employed at different times, and for what reasons, may be useful in designing effective support interventions for mothers. Infant development and maternal mental health pathways are both risk factors to the dyad and so it is necessary to determine which forms of support are best offered to mothers, early and effectively (Choi et al., 2020;Hazell Raine et al., 2019). ...
Contradictory results in the extant literature suggests that additional risk factors should be considered when exploring the impacts of maternal smartphone use on mother‐infant relationships. This study used cluster analysis to explore whether certain risk factors were implicated in mother‐infant dyads with high smartphone use and low mother‐infant responsiveness. A cross‐sectional survey of 450 participants in the UK measured infant social‐emotional development, maternal depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms, wellbeing, social support, smartphone use, and mother‐infant responsiveness. Participants were predominantly White (95.3%) and living with a partner (95.2%), with infants who were born full‐term (88.9%). Cluster analysis identified three clusters characterized as; cluster (1) “infant at risk” showing high infant development concerns, high maternal smartphone use, and low mother‐infant responsiveness; cluster (2) “mother at risk” showing high maternal depressive, anxiety, and stress scores, low social support, high maternal smartphone use, and low mother‐infant responsiveness, and cluster (3) “low risk” showing low maternal smartphone use and high mother‐infant responsiveness. Significant differences were found between all risk factors, except for maternal smartphone use and mother‐infant responsiveness between clusters 1 and 2 suggesting that both clusters require early intervention, although interventions should be tailored towards the different risk factors they are presenting with.
... Le stress occupe également une place prépondérante dans la compréhension des raisons pour lesquelles les parents exercent leur rôle parental comme ils le font (Crnic & Ross, 2017). Des associations entre le stress parental et les usages numériques des parents ont ainsi été constatés (J. S. Radesky et al., 2016;Steele et al., 2016). L'étude de Oduor et al. (2016) a révélé que les parents utilisent parfois les appareils mobiles comme un moyen de se retirer activement des tâches parentales pour faire face à leur stress et trouver du temps pour soi. ...
... Les mesures auto-rapportées de l'étude de Dolev-Cohen and Ricon (2022) révèlent que plus la fréquence de technoférence est élevée et plus le niveau de bien-être des parents est faible. Au sein des entretiens réalisés par J. S. Radesky et al. (2016), les parents ont déclaré se sentir en conflit quant à leur utilisation du téléphone lorsqu'ils sont avec leurs enfants. Ils perçoivent de nombreux avantages tels qu'un accès accru au soutien, aux écoles, aux médecins, aux informations et aux réseaux sociaux. ...
... Cependant, la qualité de la parentalité peut se détériorer lorsque l'attention est divisée entre les outils numériques et les enfants (McDaniel, 2019). Dans des entretiens, les parents ont décrit cette difficulté à diviser leur attention, ce qui rend difficile la lecture et la réponse aux signaux comportementaux et émotionnels de l'enfant (J. S. Radesky et al., 2016). En outre, lorsque les besoins sont perçus, les réponses semblent souvent de qualité moindre, car le parent porte moins d'attention à son enfant (Abels et al., 2018). ...
Au cours des dernières années, certaines préoccupations ont été soulevées concernant l’impact de l’utilisation par les parents des outils numériques en présence de jeunes enfants. Ce type de situation, nommé « technoférence » a récemment attiré l’attention des chercheurs. Cette revue vise à rassembler la littérature existante sur les liens entre la technoférence parentale, la qualité de la parentalité et le développement socioémotionnel du jeune enfant. La recherche documentaire effectuée dans quatre bases de données a mis en évidence que la technoférence parentale dans la vie quotidienne pourrait affecter la relation parent-enfant. Les résultats suggèrent que les parents sont moins attentifs, sensibles et font davantage preuve de sévérité envers leurs enfants lorsqu’ils utilisent un outil numérique. En outre, des effets négatifs sur les affects, la régulation émotionnelle et le comportement des enfants pendant l’utilisation parentale d’un appareil ont aussi été rapportés. De futures recherches longitudinales sont nécessaires pour mieux comprendre l’effet de la technoférence sur la qualité de la parentalité et sur le développement socioémotionnel de l’enfant.
... As most of the parents own and use touch phones and other digital or electrical gadgets all over the day, the scenario of advanced parenting has transformed (Pew Research Center, 2019; . Researche phone usage and its potential repercussion over their children Radesky et al., 2016;. However, in the field, the valid measurement of parent's distraction using these gadgets is required. ...
... Screen technologies particularly mobile devices, have been labeled as "Technoference" a source of distraction from interpersonal tasks (McDaniel As most of the parents own and use touch phones and other digital or electrical gadgets all over the day, the scenario of advanced parenting has transformed (Pew Research Center, 2019; . Researchers have started to investigate the causes of parental phone usage and its potential repercussion over their children Radesky et al., 2016;. However, in the field, the valid measurement of parent's distraction using dgets is required. ...
... However, in the field, the valid measurement of parent's distraction using dgets is required. It is critical to get a verified and authentic measurement of parent's distraction with mobile phone because this distraction is frequent and can have harmful effects on parenting quality that the child experience (Hiniker et al., 2015; Connecting with others, seeking information, escaping and reducing stress are the reasons behind the parental mobile phone utilization during parenting (Radesky et al., 2016;. Families may get addicted or dependent on mobile phones and other social networking sites leading to a lack of interaction among the members of the family . ...
The present research is an attempt to explore the topic “Distracted Parenting: Excessive parental utilization o social media and its impact on the communication and the relationship between parents and their children. The research was exploratory in nature. Phenomenological approach of qualitative research was used to carry out the current research. The population of the research was all those parents who excessively utilize social media and other technological devices or gadgets. In this study purposive sampling was used. The semi-structured interviews were conducted by the researcher for the purpose of data collection. Data collected by the researcher who conducted semi-structured interviews from 10 participants that were those parents who have technological devices and use social media for specific period of time (as both researcher and the supervisor set the criteria that the data was collected from those parents who utilize social media for minimum 4-5 hours per day or maximum from this as “The 2018 Rescue Time study of 11,000 users showed that average smart-phone usage is 3 hours and 15 minutes.” In a survey conducted by Edison Research “The mean count for the hours respondents spent on browsing social media is 3.6 hours).”Both male and female contributed in data collection. Demographic characteristics like gender, age and occupation were also included. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the current study. After data collection, researcher transcribed the interviews and then created codes, categories and themes from that transcription.
... 5 Many parents report that they frequently watch television (TV) or engage with mobile devices (MDs) in the presence of their children, [6][7][8] especially when they need to relieve stress related to dealing with difficult parent-child interactions. 9,10 Previous research examining parents' use of TV or MDs during mealtime interactions has predominantly focused on parents of young infants or school-age children, and findings illustrate that parents' engagement with technology is associated with poorer parent sensitivity and responsiveness to child cues and lower quality parent-child interactions. [11][12][13][14] However, there is also evidence for bidirectional associations between parent technology use and children's temperament and behavior: parents are more likely to use technology when their children have greater levels of negative affectivity (a dimension of temperament) 15 and greater externalizing behavior (e.g., tantrums), 16 but greater parent technology use may also elicit more negative affectivity and externalizing behavior from children over time. ...
... Maternal TV/MD use was associated with greater levels of child temperamental negative affectivity, which is consistent with previous research illustrating that parents are more likely to engage with technology within family contexts when they perceive their children to be more challenging. 9,15 Parents report using technology to cope with difficult aspects of parenting, such as feelings of boredom or stressful interactions with children. 9 Furthermore, parents who feel stressed by difficult interactions with their child report using their MDs as a means to withdraw and cope with this stress, which may then exacerbate their children's difficult behaviors over time. ...
... 9,15 Parents report using technology to cope with difficult aspects of parenting, such as feelings of boredom or stressful interactions with children. 9 Furthermore, parents who feel stressed by difficult interactions with their child report using their MDs as a means to withdraw and cope with this stress, which may then exacerbate their children's difficult behaviors over time. 16,34 Thus, one possible interpretation of the findings of this study is that mothers who perceived their children to be more challenging (as indicated by greater levels of reported negative affectivity) were more likely to use TV/MD during mealtimes as a means to cope. ...
Objectives:
The primary objective was to examine associations between mothers' television and mobile device (TV/MD) use and responsive feeding during an observed mother-toddler mealtime interaction. The secondary objective was to assess whether dimensions of child temperament were associated with mothers' TV/MD use.
Methods:
Participants from a prenatal lifestyle intervention trial to prevent excess gestational weight gain among women with overweight and obesity (N = 77) were observed during a dinner-time meal when their children were aged 19.4 ± 0.9 months. Trained video coders used the Responsiveness to Child Feeding Cues Scale to rate child strength of early/subtle, positive active, and negative active satiation cues and maternal responsiveness to these cues. Coders also recorded mothers' use of TV/MD. Child temperament was reported by mothers through the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Very Short Form.
Results:
Twelve percent (n = 9) of mothers used TV/MD during the mealtime interaction. Children whose mothers used TV/MD exhibited stronger early/subtle cues (4.1 ± 0.4) compared with children whose mothers did not use TV/MD (3.4 ± 0.2; p = 0.04). Mothers who used TV/MD exhibited significantly lower responsiveness to child satiation cues (2.0 ± 0.4) than those who did not use TV/MD (3.4 ± 0.2; p = 0.001). Greater child temperamental negative affectivity was associated with a greater likelihood of maternal TV/MD use (OR = 4.80, 95% CI = 1.21, 19.03).
Conclusion:
Mothers' TV/MD use was associated with greater child temperamental negative affectivity and lower responsiveness to child cues.
... Several scholars (Uniformed Services University, 2017;Radesky et al., 2016;Mozes, 2016) believe that smartphone use needs to be regulated in some way in the family which may include family members meeting to decide on what form of restriction should be placed on smartphone use in the home which may include what specific reasons should smartphone use in the family be allowed, e.g., to learn something new, do school homework, play a family game, etc. suggesting that family members could agree, for example, to 'place all cell phones on silent, in a basket, or out of view during mealtimes and other family times'. Less smartphone use results in 'significantly higher' quality of their conversations amongst family members and achievement of higher educational goals' (Uniformed Services University, 2017). ...
... In another study at the University of Michigan Medical School in interviews with 35 parents and caregivers between the ages of 23 and 55 years who have or care for young children of about eight years in the Boston area, results show that smartphone use in the family affects majorly family mealtime, bedtime and playtime (Radesky et al., 2016;Mozes, 2016). Although some parents see smartphone use as their escape from the boredom of child-rearing, it drove them far-way from their children and sometimes even changes their mood and gets them angry when their children try to take their attention away from their smartphones (Radesky et al., 2016;Mozes, 2016). ...
... In another study at the University of Michigan Medical School in interviews with 35 parents and caregivers between the ages of 23 and 55 years who have or care for young children of about eight years in the Boston area, results show that smartphone use in the family affects majorly family mealtime, bedtime and playtime (Radesky et al., 2016;Mozes, 2016). Although some parents see smartphone use as their escape from the boredom of child-rearing, it drove them far-way from their children and sometimes even changes their mood and gets them angry when their children try to take their attention away from their smartphones (Radesky et al., 2016;Mozes, 2016). This is similar to another study of 172 two-parent families (total of 337 parents) with a child aged five years or younger about parenting and family relationships conducted between 2014 and 2016 which found that smartphone use interrupted face-to-face conversations between parents and their children and increased their children's emotional problems such as sulking, anger and frustration and add up to the stress of the parents in managing such emotional problems (The Economic Times, 2018). ...
This study interrogates the extent to which smartphone usage impacts 1086 family members with children who are at least 7 years old and own at least one smartphone from twelve randomly selected states in Nigeria, three each from the four main geographical regions of the country. Using quantitative research, the study deployed a questionnaire to elicit responses from respondents who were met at their homes, in churches and mosques and at wedding ceremonies between 15th April and 15th May 2022. Based on the Rational Choice Theory and the Family System Theory, this research finds out that although smartphone eases communication it negatively affects normal conversation as well as sleep, meal and relaxation times for both parents and children. Children, especially sons, spend long hours on their smartphones than their parents but it is children who advocate for regulation of smartphone usage in the home than their parents. Also, the study shows that smartphone is gradually shifting the medium of family communication from relational to digital as more family member communicate using the smartphone than interpersonally. The research concludes that smartphone affects family communication negatively and recommends the moderation of smartphone use in the family and the search for alternative platforms for family communication that minimises smartphone addiction.
... However, others feel that they are less connected or inattentive to their children when they are also using their phones (Hiniker et al., 2015;Kushlev & Dunn, 2019). Several studies have highlighted that there are parents, and this seems to be the largest group, who experience tensions, conflicts, or cognitive dissonance over their use of mobile devices (Hiniker et al., 2015;Johnson, 2017;Radesky, Kistin et al., 2016). Some of them try to devise strategies to use their phone less, for example by leaving it at home when visiting the playground with their child, but struggle with keeping their standards (Hiniker et al., 2015). ...
... Some of them try to devise strategies to use their phone less, for example by leaving it at home when visiting the playground with their child, but struggle with keeping their standards (Hiniker et al., 2015). Some explain that using their phones for work enables them to be with their children for longer periods of time (Radesky, Kistin et al., 2016). ...
Mobile phones have become almost ubiquitous, including the lives of parents of young children. This paper examined the question of how parents with young children living in Norway perceive their phone usage. Twelve parents were interviewed individually about situations and for what purposes they used their phones, whether they had discussed mobile media with others and how they felt about it. Interviews were analyzed thematically. Parents reported using their phones mainly for information seeking and communication and networking in their role as parents. Mobile phones were evaluated as positive or helpful to parents. However, situations that were deemed to require parents’ focused attention, such as playing or book-reading were considered inappropriate for using mobile phones, as were mealtimes. Situations in which children were occupied with playing or watching TV were considered acceptable for using mobile phones. Visits to the playground seemed controversial and situational. Being present emerged as a major theme of good parenting and even though brief and important usages of the phone were considered somewhat acceptable while with children, many parents reported feeling guilty about their usage. Several usage reduction strategies were described such as muting the phone or certain notifications or putting the phone away. Despite national guidelines recommending the topic, the majority had not received information about parental screen use from health care personnel. In contrast, many had discussed the topic with friends and family members, sometimes controversially. The results are briefly discussed in light of the previous research and the societal conditions in Norway.
... Some potential explanations for these detrimental effects include reduced language-based interactions between parents and children and less creative play activities at home (Mendelsohn et al., 2008;Kirkorian et al., 2009;Swider-Cios et al., 2023;Tanimura et al., 2007;Tomopoulos et al., 2007). For example, a study found that the more time parents spend on their smartphones, the more likely children are to take action to gain attention, leading to negative interactions (Radesky et al., 2016). Another study has shown that children who are allowed to use smartphones frequently as a distraction or reward at home are more likely to ask for the smartphones and get annoyed when refused (Roy and Paradis, 2015). ...
... Children's family screen time is associated with parental characteristics such as maternal depression (Hoyos Cillero and Jago, 2010) and family involvement. Radesky et al. (2016) reported that parents are stressed when they switch attention between screens and home life, thus decreasing their quality of interactions with children. Other studies have shown that excessive screen exposure is associated more strongly with low parental involvement than with disadvantaged socioeconomic status (Common Sense Media, 2013;Mistry et al., 2007). ...
Family processes such as maternal parenting and family screen exposure are significantly related to children’s gains in behavioral self-regulation, but the potential mechanism of these relations remains unknown. In this study, we investigated how maternal depression is associated with children’s behavioral self-regulation through the mediating role of maternal supportive parenting and children’s family screen time. A total sample of 657 Chinese children and their mothers was recruited. Results from structural equation models indicated that supportive parenting and screen time partially mediated the effect of maternal depression on children’s behavioral self-regulation by the sequential, after controlling for child demographic variables. Furthermore, supportive parenting played a partially mediating role in associations between maternal depression and children’s self-regulation. The findings provide insights into parenting practices for early childhood development in the Chinese family environment.
... Especially when looking at parental smartphone use in the copresence of children, this notion of intentional ignoring does not always seem to correspond with reality. In fact, research identifies various reasons for which parents use mobile phone in the presence of children (e.g., see McDaniel, 2019 for a review; Radesky et al., 2016). For instance, prompts may feed into the pressure to respond to notifications (Flayelle et al., 2023;Mangan, Leavy, & Jancey, 2018;Radesky et al., 2018) or become a strong habit or addiction. ...
... For instance, prompts may feed into the pressure to respond to notifications (Flayelle et al., 2023;Mangan, Leavy, & Jancey, 2018;Radesky et al., 2018) or become a strong habit or addiction. In their overview or early evidence, McDaniel (2019) summarized that parents may be pressured to respond to work-related notifications or may be simply drawn to the device while expecting a reward coming from an instant engagement with the device (e.g., young mothers reporting the sensations of feeling that there is life beyond their children, Radesky et al., 2016). Thus arguably, the use of a mobile phone in the presence of a child may be nothing more than a reactive compulsivebehavioral component, not necessarily indicative of intentionality. ...
Recent years have seen a widespread integration of technology into the daily lives of families. Psychological science has recently started to focus on the use of smartphones by parents while they are engaged in parenting activities, a behavior known under the terms “phubbing,” “technoference,” “parental screen distraction,” and various other terms. We argue that understanding the real impact of co-present smartphone use by parents is inhibited by problems related to the conceptualization and methodology employed in empirical studies. In the present commentary, we identify the features of current research that may contribute to the theory crisis and hamper the progress of psychological research. Specifically, we discuss the implications of (a) inconsistent conceptualization of the phenomenon and (b) suboptimal operationalizations that may prevent us from understanding what is being studied and call for greater consideration of definitional clarity and valid operationalization in future research.
... These parents tended to react more harshly to child misbehavior when it occurred. The more immersive the media activity, the harder it was for these parents to break away from using their media (Radesky et al., 2016). Research suggests that technoference is quite common, at least with young children, yet little research has examined technoference during family time for parents and adolescents. ...
... This may suggest that because adolescents expect a degree of media use to permeate their relationships with their parents, they can handle higher levels of media before it begins to significantly impact their relationships with their parents. Adolescents do not usually act out through expressive behavior (unlike young children who act out through tantrums; Radesky et al., 2016) to parent technoference, but instead may internalize their feelings (e.g., anxiety, depression) and lack a desire to engage in positive behaviors (e.g., civic engagement, prosocial behavior; Bai et al., 2020;Stockdale et al., 2018). Adolescents may interpret their parents' technoference as a sign that media is more important to their parents than they are as their child (McDaniel & Coyne, 2016). ...
Media can enhance or interfere with interactions during family time, such as family dinners or family outings. Little research has examined the relationship between media use and family interactions, specifically for adolescents and parents where both might be media device users. The current observational study examined media use in families with adolescents (n = 58) in public fast-food restaurant settings. Results revealed that 12% of families did not use any media of any kind during their meal time, and 88% of families used media at least once during their meal time, split fairly evenly between parents and adolescents. Notable triggers for beginning media use included another family member using media, and triggers for ending media use included accepting another family member’s bid for attention. These triggers focused on either relational media use or relational connection. Participants also were engaged in various forms (either active or passive) of media use. Coviewing (e.g., joint media engagement) occurred more frequently (52% of observations) than technoference (15% of observations). When technoference occurred, family conversation was generally halted or was poor in quality. Parents should be aware of what they may be conveying to their adolescent children when they use their media devices during family time. Specifically, parents should be careful not to use their media in a way that conveys disinterest towards their child, instead focusing on using media for family connection, or simply refraining from using media during family mealtime as much as possible.
... Other research suggests that using screens as means to regulate toddler behavior may have a negative impact on their development of self-regulation. For instance, if a child is throwing a tantrum in a public space, parents may hand the child a portable device to help distract them from their experience of negative emotions (Cardoso Azevedo et al., 2022;Radesky et al., 2016aRadesky et al., , 2016b. The use of screen-based emotion regulation strategies by parents has been linked to the development of more problematic media use (ex., loss of interest in activities that don't involve screens) in toddlers (Coyne et al., 2021). ...
... Findings from another study with American mothers showed that media allowed them to connect with family members and that it helped alleviate some of the challenges of motherhood (Coyne et al., 2022a(Coyne et al., , 2022b. Parents also report that mobile device use helps them reduce feelings of stress (Radesky et al., 2016a(Radesky et al., , 2016b. Mobile phone use also helps parents mentally escape during more negative or boring childrearing activities. ...
Most children grow up in homes with easy access to multiple screens. Screen use by children between the ages of 0 to 5 has become a worldwide preoccupation. In the present narrative review, we examine child and parent screen use and its contribution to physical, cognitive, and social developmental outcomes. As research has mostly focused on the adverse consequences of screen media, we aim to depict both the negative and the positive influences of screen usage. To provide a more nuanced portrait of the potential benefits and harms of screen use, we examine how consequences of media use vary according to the content of media (ex., educational, violent), context (ex., using screens during mealtimes), and the nature (ex., passive vs active use) of child screen use. Our review supports existing screen time guidelines and recommendations and suggests that media content, the context of use, and the nature of child use, as well as the parent's own screen use, be considered clinically. Future research should seek to clarify how these dimensions jointly contribute to child screen use profiles and associated consequences. Finally, child sex, behavioral/temperamental difficulties, and family adversity appear to contribute to child screen use and its consequences and should be considered in future research. Suggestions for harm-reduction approaches are discussed.
... Besides, IT-CPU indicates that high parenting stress levels [51] also correspond to a longer duration of children's PMU, rstly because parents use mobile devices to avoid uncomfortable family situations [52] , this casually teaches children that using media as a self-regulation strategy is possible [15] . Children learn to imitate their parents' behaviors at a young age [53] ; it is likely that children learn about technology by observing their caregivers' media use. ...
... Moreover, distressed parents are less engaged in children's activities [90] . Their willingness to provide media for children has grown [89] because they believe that allowing children to use media can manage children's problem behaviors during the epidemic [91] and enable them to temporarily withdraw from stressful family interactions [52] . In conclusion, maternal distress when facing stressful events is a signi cant risk factor for children's PMU. ...
The COVID-19 lockdowns have forced young children to spend more time in front of the media and significantly impacted their mothers' mental health. This study explored how mothers' individual distress influences children's problematic media use during the Shanghai citywide lockdown caused by COVID-19. Data were collected from 1889 Chinese mothers ( M age = 34.69 years, SD = 3.94 years) with preschoolers aged 3–6 years ( M ag e = 4.38 years, SD = 1.06 years; 49.0% boys) via an online survey. The statistical analyses relied on SPSS Statistics version 26.0 and macro-program PROCESS 3.3. to investigate the associations and mediation analysis among all the study variables. The results indicated that: (1) significant associations between individual maternal distress with children's problematic media use; (2) maternal parenting stress and maladaptive parenting serial mediated the relationship between mothers' individual distress and children's problematic media use. The findings imply that parents need to enhance their ability to manage risk and promote mental health during periods of significant stress and routine disruption to reduce children's problematic media use.
... Whenever and wherever needed, advisors, friends, information but also possibilities to escape stressful circumstances are easily accessible (Wolfers, 2021). Research has shown that parents use these resources (Radesky et al., 2016). In fact, because parents' opportunities to cope with stress while being with their children are limited due to their childcare responsibilities, the resources provided by smartphones might be of particular value (Wolfers, 2021). ...
... However, research on the effects of parental smartphone use on parents is still limited. In an emerging line of research, the first studies looked at how parents use their phones to cope with stress (Radesky et al., 2016, Torres et al., 2021, Wolfers, 2021. Stressful situations are characterized by a disbalance between the demands placed upon an individual and the resources available (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). ...
Previous research mainly linked smartphone use while parenting to adverse consequences. However, smartphones also offer helpful resources for parents, especially in stressful situations. We suggested that negative norms against maternal smartphone use and associated feelings of guilt may inhibit effective smartphone use for coping with stress. In a 1-week experience sampling study with mothers of young children (N = 158), we found that more negative injunctive but not more negative descriptive norms around maternal smartphone use were related to increased situational guilt around smartphone use while parenting. Increased situational guilt was, in turn, associated with decreased perceived coping efficacy but not with less stress decrease. Situational guilt—aggregated on the individual level—related to reduced satisfaction with the mother role. Our results show that positive and negative smartphone use effects are intertwined and that feelings around media use can impact media effects.
... They bring new communication and information access opportunities for families related to parenting, health, and lifestyle [1][2][3]. Yet, many parents experience challenges as they find themselves overwhelmed by notifications, disheartened by social comparisons, or distracted by excessive consumption of social media content [4][5][6]. Concerns over social media use (SMU) and its effect on individual well-being and family functioning have received much attention in mainstream media [7][8][9]. However, few SMU studies exist that look beyond individual family members' mental health to the larger family system. ...
... There was no evidence, however, that entertainment or any other parents' gratification of SMU was associated with worse family outcomes. This finding contradicted the negative effects associated with parental social media use identified in several studies [4][5][6]35,46]. One possible explanation for this result is that the term "entertainment" was not clearly defined in the current study and may include too wide a range of behaviors. ...
Some research suggests that parents on social media have access to greater social support and health information. However, evidence also connects parental social media use to negative outcomes including increased parental stress, depression, and distraction. Using the uses and gratification theory, this study goes beyond measures of parents’ individual mental health and explores social media use and its association with family well-being. Family health outcomes were predicted to vary with parents’ use and gratifications of social media, with parents who use social media primarily for information and connection scoring higher on family health and parents who used social media for entertainment scoring worse on family health. The sample included 482 heterosexual married or cohabiting partners recruited through a Qualtrics panel. All participants were parents of children ages of 3–13, with mothers and fathers each completing the survey. Findings indicated that fathers’ use of social media for entertainment and connecting with family and friends was associated with better family well-being and health resources (p < 0.01). However, mothers’ use of social media did not have a statistically meaningful relationship with family health variables. There was no evidence that parental social media use was associated with negative family health outcomes. Longitudinal data is needed to determine the temporal relationship between social media use and family health. Public health professionals interested in improving family health may consider how to better reach fathers on social media to increase health resources.
... Another study with parents of children aged one to seventeen found that parents used media for distraction or information-seeking to cope with the stress of parenting (Wolfers 2021). Another similar study points out that parents prefer using their phones to cope with the monotony or stress of parenting (Radesky et al. 2016b). The parent's media use, in turn, influences parenting behaviors. ...
Media emotion regulation has been defined as parents' use of media to regulate their children's emotions in early childhood. The purpose of this review is to investigate the predictors of media emotion regulation and its consequences on children's socioemotional development. As predictors of media emotion regulation, parental education level, parental media use, and the child's temperament were examined. It was observed that parents with low levels of education and higher personal media use more frequently offer their children media emotion regulation than other parents. The relationships between children's temperamental domains of negative affect and extraversion/surgency and media emotion regulation have been shown as positive, while the relationship between effortful control and media emotion regulation has been displayed as negative. As for the consequences of media emotion regulation on children's socioemotional development, children's problematic media use, emotional knowledge, and empathy were examined. The relationship between media emotion regulation and problematic media use was displayed as positive; children who frequently experienced media emotion regulation had increased problematic media use. Also, it was shown that media emotion regulation has a negative role in children's emotional knowledge. As children's experience with media emotion regulation increased, their emotional knowledge decreased. Lastly, in the relationship between media emotion regulation and empathy, both positive and negative findings were observed and variables that may influence this relationship were discussed. This study contributes significantly to understanding the conditions under which children more frequently experience media emotion regulation and the role of this experience on children's socioemotional development ÖZ Medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenleme, ebeveynlerin erken çocukluk dönemindeki çocuklarının duygularını düzenlemesinde medya kullanması olarak tanımlanmıştır. Bu derlemenin amacı, medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenlemenin yordayıcılarını ve çocukların sosyoduygusal gelişimiyle ilgili olan sonuçlarını incelemektir. Medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenlemenin yordayıcıları olarak ebeveyn eğitim seviyesi, ebeveyn medya kullanımı ve çocuğun mizacı incelenmiştir. Düşük eğitim seviyesine sahip ve kişisel medya kullanımı yüksek olan ebeveynlerin, diğer ebeveynlere kıyasla medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenlemeye daha sık başvurduğu görülmüştür. Çocukların olumsuz duygulanım veya dışadönüklük/coşkunluk mizacı ile medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenleme arasında olumlu; çabalı kontrol ile medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenleme arasında olumsuz bir ilişki görülmüştür. Medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenlemenin çocukların sosyoduygusal gelişimi üzerindeki sonuçları olarak çocuğun problemli medya kullanımı, duygusal bilgi ile empatisi incelenmiştir. Medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenleme ve problemli medya kullanımı arasında olumlu bir ilişki olduğu görülmüştür; medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenlemeyi sıklıkla deneyimleyen çocukların problemli medya kullanımı artmaktadır. Ayrıca medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenlemenin çocukların duygusal bilgisinde olumsuz bir rolü olduğu belirlenmiştir. Çocukların medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenleme deneyimi arttıkça duygusal bilgisi azalmaktadır. Son olarak, medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenleme ile empati arasındaki ilişkide hem olumlu hem olumsuz sonuçlar gözlemlenmiş ve bu ilişkiyi etkileyebilecek değişkenler tartışılmıştır. Bu çalışma, çocukların medya aracılığıyla duygu düzenlemeyi hangi koşullarda daha sık deneyimlediğini ve bu deneyimin çocukların sosyoduygusal gelişimindeki rolünü anlamak açısından önemli bir katkı sunmaktadır.
... It is typically characterized by an extensive desire to use the smartphone, functional impairments in daily behaviors due to an overuse of the device, and feelings of distress when switching it off is required (Busch & McCarthy, 2021;Kardefelt-Winther et al., 2017). Unfortunately, PSU often leads to more general impairments in social and occupational functioning as well as anxious and depressive emotions (Yang, Fu, Liao, & Li, 2020) to the point that it had become one of the most difficult parenting challenges of our era (Isikoglu Erdogan, Johnson, Dong, & Qiu, 2019;Livingstone, Mascheroni, Dreier, Chaudron, & Lagae, 2015;Radesky et al., 2016). ...
Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) among adolescents is growing problem worldwide and multiple studies investigated its associated parental risk and protective factors. The available studies, however, typically do not address the multidimensional nature of PSU. They also rely heavily on cross-sectional designs with a small number of potentially contributing variables. This 6-month prospective study examines the relationships between a large range of parental factors with the three known dimensions of PSU: social environment pressure, emotional gain, and addiction-like behaviors. Specifically the study examines whether, and to what extent, the various dimensions of current and future PSU are related to parental support giving, general quality of communication, specific communication about smartphone use, and the four common mediation strategies. The sample comprised 1187 triads of mothers, fathers, and adolescents. The data-analysis pipeline consisted of three consecutive phases: (1) analyses of parental factors at baseline, (2) analyses of parental factors change over 6-months, and (3) interaction analyses between parental factors and the time-period of the study. The pipeline elicited three factors that moderated the change in PSU over time: Communication about smartphones with mothers, parental support giving, and parental co-use. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the existing literature and the familial, microsystem theoretical framework. Altogether, this prospective study scrutinized key parental factors and strategies that could be utilized by parents for coping with one of the most difficult parenting challenges of the digital era. Further research may build upon these findings to develop designated interventions to reduce PSU.
... Another study with parents of children aged one to seventeen found that parents used media for distraction or information-seeking to cope with the stress of parenting (Wolfers 2021). Another similar study points out that parents prefer using their phones to cope with the monotony or stress of parenting (Radesky et al. 2016b). The parent's media use, in turn, influences parenting behaviors. ...
Media emotion regulation has been defined as parents’ use of media to regulate their children's emotions in early childhood. The purpose of this review is to investigate the predictors of media emotion regulation and its consequences on children's socioemotional development. As predictors of media emotion regulation, parental education level, parental media use, and the child’s temperament were examined. It was observed that parents with low levels of education and higher personal media use more frequently offer their children media emotion regulation than other parents. The relationships between children’s temperamental domains of negative affect and extraversion/surgency and media emotion regulation have been shown as positive, while the relationship between effortful control and media emotion regulation has been displayed as negative. As for the consequences of media emotion regulation on children's socioemotional development, children’s problematic media use, emotional knowledge, and empathy were examined. The relationship between media emotion regulation and problematic media use was displayed as positive; children who frequently experienced media emotion regulation had increased problematic media use. Also, it was shown that media emotion regulation has a negative role in children's emotional knowledge. As children's experience with media emotion regulation increased, their emotional knowledge decreased. Lastly, in the relationship between media emotion regulation and empathy, both positive and negative findings were observed and variables that may influence this relationship were discussed. This study contributes significantly to understanding the conditions under which children more frequently experience media emotion regulation and the role of this experience on children's socioemotional developmentAs the consequences of media emotion regulation on children’s socio-emotional development, children's problematic media use, emotional knowledge, and empathy have been explored. There is a positive relationship between media emotion regulation and problematic media use. As media emotion regulation increases, children's emotional knowledge decreases. Finally, in the relationship between media emotion regulation and empathy, both positive and negative outcomes have been found, suggesting that media content and how children perceive media emotion regulation may influence this relationship. This study offers a significant contribution by exploring the conditions under which children more frequently experience media emotion regulation and its role in children's socio-emotional development.
... Our findings showed, compared to other sub-items of psychological distress, parenting stress had the largest effect size on young children's digital device usage. This is consistent with the argument that parents would seek out helpers to reduce their parenting stress and digital devices are easily accessible helpers (Radesky et al., 2016). Thus, parenting stress seems to be an important risk factor that requires attention. ...
Prolonged digital use is prevalent among young children. Still, it is unclear which parental risk factors contribute to this and whether cultural background (western vs. non-western) and parental role (mother vs. father/parents) could moderate this impact. A systematic literature search identified 52 empirical studies with 54,334 children in a random-effects meta-analysis. The analysis revealed that preschoolers’ prolonged digital use was significantly associated with parental digital use (r = .24, 95%CI [0.17, 0.30]), low socioeconomic status (r = .10, 95%CI [0.08, 0.13]), and passive parenting behavior (r = .17, 95%CI [0.10, 0.25]), and significantly but weakly correlated with psychological distress (r = .15, 95%CI [0.07, 0.23]). There were effect size differences between the sub-items in both passive parenting behavior and psychological distress factors. In addition, cultural background moderated the associations between preschoolers’ digital use and parents' digital use (Q = 8.38, p < .01) and passive parenting behaviors (Q = 3.32, p = .06). In contrast, the moderating effects of the parental role were not significant (Qs < 4.16, ps > .13). These findings suggest that specific items of parental factor, particularly those related to parenting practices, should be considered as the risks of preschoolers’ prolonged digital use. Future studies should pay more attention to cultural differences and the roles of fathers.
... Interestingly, while the correlation is perhaps best characterized as small, older parents were also more likely to report higher levels of technoference. Radesky et al. (2016) report that parents often feel guilty about their use of mobile devices while with their children. These feelings may make it difficult for parents to accurately report on their own technoference behaviors. ...
Given the prevalence of mobile device use, especially among parents of young children, the current study examines the impact of mobile device distraction ( technoference ) on toddlers’ physiological and emotional functioning. We suspected that toddlers’ would demonstrate difficultly maintaining physiological and emotional homeostasis when parents became distracted by a mobile device. In this study, we examined toddlers’ (N = 129, M age = 29.05 months) physiological and behavioral responses across three conditions in an induced technoference task that mimicked elements of a traditional still face paradigm (i.e., social engagement, phone distraction, and social recovery). Similar to previous studies employing still face with younger infants, a majority of toddlers demonstrated a loss of positive affective tone mirrored by heart rate increase and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) decrease (vagal withdrawal) during the phone distraction condition relative to the initial and final social engagement conditions. However, some toddlers demonstrated vagal activation (RSA increase) to parents’ phone distraction. Greater RSA withdrawal was linked to decreased positive affect and increased negative affect for children during parents’ phone distraction. Parents who reported higher levels of technoference were more likely to have children who demonstrated lower vagal reactivity (greater vagal withdrawal) to parents’ phone distraction while parents attitudes about technoference (e.g., “it is okay to use a mobile device in front of my child”) was found to be linked to higher RSA reactivity (greater vagal activation). Findings are discussed in relation to Porges’ polyvagal theory and the possible role that interactive dynamics play in children's emerging regulatory systems.
... Thus, both parents' (technoference) and youth's mealtime media use seem to contribute to displacement of parentchild interaction. Qualitative research has also demonstrated that both children and parents are uneasy with parental digital technology use during family routines: children believe parents need to be present and model good media habits (Hiniker et al., 2016) and parents feel less effective in their parenting when they are "multitasking" on a digital device (Radesky et al., 2016). A recent study found that parents' perceived technoference in mother-child interactions was associated with parentreported externalizing and internalizing child behaviors (McDaniel & Radesky, 2018). ...
Parental monitoring of digital media use evolves throughout childhood and adolescence and become increasingly important when autonomy seeking on social technologies emerges during early adolescence. We investigate a survey cohort of 248 US parents of early adolescents and their parental media monitoring behaviors (i.e., restrictive, active, deference), the family context (i.e., closeness and parent technoference), and perceptions of child’s problematic internet use. Using an explanatory mixed methods approach, the results of this study reveal that restrictive parental monitoring of adolescents’ digital media use is positively associated with child’s problematic internet use. However, active and deference monitoring are not associated with early adolescent problematic internet use and positively associated with family contexts. Familial closeness and technoference are consistent negative and positive correlates, respectively, of perceived problematic use among early adolescents. Qualitative interviews with a subset of 31 parents reveal while most parents report restrictive behaviors, multiple techniques (e.g., active, surveillant, and deference) are also leveraged when navigating their child’s online behaviors. Parents tended to converge on the same types and reasons for restrictive monitoring of media, whereas for other approaches the reasons behind their decision-making were quite divergent. The implication of this study is that parental media monitoring behaviors during early adolescence are rapidly evolving and not confined to a singular strategy, often related to prevention of or intervention on their child’s online behavior patterns. Understanding the family dynamics and parent involvement of adolescent’s digital media use remains critical in prevention of child’s problematic behaviors and promotion of positive online behaviors.
... Consequently, it is argued that parental technoference in public is a safety risk to children due to decreased parental awareness and supervision, which in turn can increase child injuries [22,23]. Further, observations suggest parents can demonstrate less sensitivity towards their children when digitally distracted, using harsher and angry parenting styles [12,24,25]. Parents also describe feeling distracted due to frequent device use, and this resulting in diminished connection and cohesion with their children [13,15,20,24]. ...
Purpose
The term ‘technoference’ refers to habitual interferences and disruptions within interpersonal relationships or time spent together due to use of electronic devices. Emerging evidence suggests associations between parental technoference and young people’s mental health and violent behaviours. This scoping review sought to summarise the existing literature.
Methods
A scoping review was undertaken across six databases (APA PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ASSIA, ERIC, Social Sciences Premium Collection, SciTech Premium). Searches included articles examining the association between parental technoference and adolescent mental health and violent behaviours. All included studies provided empirical findings.
Results
Searches retrieved 382 articles, of which 13 articles met the eligibility criteria. A narrative approach was applied to synthesise the eligible findings. Across all studies, adolescent perceptions of parental technoference were negatively associated to adolescent mental health and positively related to adolescent violent behaviours. Parental cohesion and mental health were identified as significant mediating factors.
Conclusion
Findings suggest that parents should be aware of the environment in which they use electronic devices as their use can potentially, directly and indirectly, influence adolescent mental health and violent behaviours. Further research into the potential caveats of parental technoference could support the development of evidence-informed guidelines for parental management of electronic devices.
... Amidst these discussions, apprehensions have been expressed regarding the consistency and effectiveness of digital learning (Chen et al., 2010;O'Doherty et al., 2018), as well as challenges in establishing a digital learning environment that fosters social presence and commitment. These challenges entail issues such as social isolation, video addiction, loss of interactivity, and delayed or inadequate feedback (Jiang & Monk, 2015;Khurana, 2016;Radesky et al., 2016). In response to these circumstances, researchers have suggested that parents and teachers play a mediating role in regulating digital learning activities, such as setting norms for technology usage and monitoring children's media consumption (Nouwen & Zaman, 2018). ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, primary education shifted to a digital platform in Bangladesh due to the school closures from March 2020 to February 2022, resulting in a lack of technological resources and preparation from the viewpoint of parents and teachers. Therefore, this study explores the perceptions and roles of parents and teachers regarding digital learning engagement for primary-level students during the pandemic. To gain insights into the perceptions and roles of parents and teachers, qualitative data were collected from 32 parents (through four focus group discussions) and 10 teachers (via interviews) immediately after school reopening. The participants were selected based on their involvement with digital learning during the pandemic using a deviant purposive sampling technique with geographical proportions. Didactic thematic analysis was then employed for data analysis. The study found that while some parents and teachers lacked preparation and facilities for digital learning, they still showed motivation and a positive mindset towards it, particularly in urban areas. However, in contrast, those in rural areas faced challenges and had no choice but to embrace the trend of digital learning. Besides, urban teachers found digital learning helpful and suggested continuing it after the pandemic, while parents believed it was only suitable for tertiary-level students and had negative consequences for younger children. Furthermore, urban parents provided reinforcements to engage students, whereas rural parents struggled and depended solely on schools. Additionally, teachers engaged students through storytelling, gamification, redesigning content, using pictures, interactive questions, orienting students on digital platforms, and reaching out to absent students. Finally, the findings of this research will guide the government and policymakers in updating the education system and implementing digital learning at the primary level.
... Gemäß der "Displacement"-Hypothese verdrängt und verringert die mit Technologie oder Medien verbrachte Zeit sinnvolle Eltern-Kind-Beziehungszeiten [4]. Eltern berichten von inneren Konflikten, wenn es um die Verwendung mobiler Technik während der Zeit mit ihren Kindern geht [21]. Das zwischenmenschliche Miteinander von Eltern und ihren Kindern scheint also unter der Smartphone-Nutzung zu leiden. ...
Zusammenfassung
Die Verwendung von Medien in Familien ist ein wichtiges Thema in der heutigen Gesellschaft, da immer mehr Familien auf digitale Medien wie Smartphones, Tablets, Computer und Fernseher zugreifen. Familien sollten Regeln und Richtlinien für die Verwendung von Medien aufstellen. Eltern sollten als Vorbilder agieren und selbst verantwortungsbewusst mit Medien umgehen, um ihre Kinder zu ermutigen, dies ebenfalls zu tun. Die Aufgabe der Fachkräfte, die mit Familien arbeiten, ist es, die Eltern auf diese Herausforderung vorzubereiten und begleitend zu unterstützen. Bildungs- und Ausbildungsprogramme können ebenfalls eine wichtige Rolle bei der Förderung der Medienkompetenz spielen.
... El uso de la tecnología en los hogares impide a los progenitores la ocasión de crear un ambiente positivo. Al contrario, se crea en sus hijos e hijas un clima de frustración al no tener una respuesta y un apoyo emocional por parte de los padres y madres (Radesky et al., 2016). En muchas ocasiones, esto hace que estos últimos entren en un nivel de estrés y acaben refugiándose en la tecnología. ...
Technoference encompasses the intrusions and disruptions that occur in the daily lives of people who make excessive use of technological devices, especially mobile phones. This problem is particularly serious in the interaction between fathers and mothers and their respective sons and daughters, an aspect that affects the educational process that takes place in the family environment. The aim of this study is to find out how parents perceive the use of technology, especially in terms of their children’s habits regarding their own technoference during their childhood. The participants in this research were 74 parents with children in pre-school. The instrument used was an ad hoc questionnaire with 25 Likert-type questions. The results show that parents are aware of the misuse of digital technology at home and, on the other hand, they consider it necessary for the school to educate and work with pupils on the responsible use of these technological devices. Adequate training is necessary, both for families and for children, in order to really use technology in a coherent way and without negatively affecting family relationships.
... Studies have suggested that parents use the resources provided by their smartphones when confronted with stress (McDaniel & Radesky, 2018;Radesky et al., 2016). In qualitative studies, parents reported using their smartphones to find parenting-related information, seek social support, find resources for active coping, and distract themselves from stressful instances (Torres et al., 2021;Wolfers, 2021). ...
Smartphones are omnipresent in the daily lives of parents and provide access to multiple resources in stressful situations. Thus, smartphones might be valuable coping tools. Previous research has mostly focused on the negative effects of parental phone use. In the present study, we investigated how mothers use smartphones for coping with stress and whether their phone use for coping is effective. We also explored factors on different levels (situation, person, device) which could influence phone use and coping effectiveness. Building on a one-week experience sampling study with over 200 mothers and multilevel models, we found that in stressful situations while being with children, mothers used their smartphones mostly for emotion-focused coping such as self-distraction and taking a break. Problem-focused coping was less prevalent. Mothers reporting increased cognitive phone salience used it more for coping with stress. Phone use for coping compared to no use related to lower stress decrease. No person-, situation-, or device-specific factors moderated the effects of phone use on coping effectiveness. Using positive phone content, however, was associated with increased perceived coping efficacy. Our results suggest that phone use is not generally successful for coping, but that momentary device-specific factors such as content characteristics might determine whether phones can be used for coping in an effective way.
... It has been reported that parents who focus on technology may pay less attention to their infants (7). Radesky, Kistin, Eisenberg, and Gross reported that parents who were over-involved in using mobile devices missed their children's need for attention (8). In fact, different types of portable media devices (such as tablets and mobile phones), also known as "virtual pacifiers," have become means to soothe a child who is expressing strong emotions (9). ...
Background
Although there is evidence that human touch facilitates mother–child bonding, mothers’ understanding of how to connect with and develop the emotional regulation of their babies remains unclear.
Objectives
This study used a Storytelling Massage program to investigate mothers’ experience of practicing reciprocal interactions with their children. Specifically, it explored the efficacy of multi-sensory activities for building healthy parent–child bonds.
Method
Participants included 12 mothers with children between 8 and 23 months. These mothers participated in a 6-session program on FirstPlay Infant Storytelling-Massage Intervention (FirstPlay Therapy) and attended an individual semi-structured interview after the program. Data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach.
Results
The FirstPlay program positively affected the participants’ self-efficacy in parent–child bonding and parenting beliefs. Five themes were identified: “bonding with the child—connect and engage,” “attending to the child’s uniqueness and needs,” “developing a structure and a daily routine,” “feeling calm and relaxed as a person,” and “gaining confidence as a mom.”
Conclusion
The results of this study further support the need for low-cost, high-impact programs that enhance parent–child interactions. Limitations of this study are discussed. Future research and practical implications are also suggested.
... Il existe une forte association entre le temps d'écran des parents et celui de leurs enfants, ce qui indique que l'utilisation des médias remplace les interactions directes et de qualité entre les parents et leurs enfants ou nuit à ces interactions (13,25,(99)(100)(101). La « technoférence », c'est-à-dire l'interruption fréque nte des habitudes, des jeux ou des interactions à cause de l'utilisation des médias numériques (souvent sur l'appareil d'un parent), se révèle un facteur de risque (20). ...
Résumé
La COVID-19 a transformé l’environnement médiatique familial et suscité des recherches sur les effets de l’exposition aux médias sur écran et de leur utilisation chez les jeunes enfants. La présente mise à jour d’un document de principes de la SCP publié en 2017 passe de nouveau en revue les bienfaits et les risques potentiels des médias sur écran chez les enfants de moins de cinq ans et s’attarde sur leur santé développementale, psychosociale et physique. Quatre principes reposant sur des données probantes — limiter le temps d’écran, en atténuer les effets négatifs, les utiliser en pleine conscience et donner l’exemple d’habitudes saines — continuent d’orienter l’expérience précoce des enfants dans un paysage médiatique en rapide évolution. Les connaissances sur l’apprentissage et le développement des jeunes enfants éclairent les pratiques exemplaires recommandées aux professionnels de la santé et aux professionnels de la petite enfance (p. ex., éducatrices à la petite enfance, fournisseurs de services de garde). Les conseils préventifs devraient désormais inclure l’utilisation des écrans par les enfants et les familles en contexte de pandémie (et par la suite).
... Parental screen time is strongly associated with child screen time (Bleakley, Jordan, & Hennessy, 2013;Lauricella et al., 2015), supporting a modelling pathway (Goh et al., 2016; Tang, Darlington, Ma, Haines, & on behalf of the Guelph Family Health, 2018). However, while parents may be aware of the impact of their own screen use on their children (Graham & Sahlberg, 2021;Radesky et al., 2016), they often lack motivation and skills to change their own habits (Reddan et al., 2022). Most adults believe that older children's screen time should be limited, however do not adhere to limits themselves (Minges et al., 2015;Schoeppe et al., 2016). ...
The impact of excessive screen use on children’s health and development is a public health concern and many countries have published recommendations to limit and guide the use of screen media in childhood. Despite this, international studies report that the majority of parents and children do not adhere to screen use recommendations. Existing research aiming to understand children’ screen use has largely focused on older children, and on demographic and structural aspects of the child’s environment. Parents play a central role in determining young children’s screen use and identify numerous barriers to developing healthy screen use practices with their children. However, no clear models exist that incorporate key parenting factors in understanding children’s screen use, which presents an impediment to intervention development. Likewise, while some evidence exists for interventions to improve children’s screen use behaviours, most are focused on older children and parental involvement has generally been limited. In this paper, we overview key factors associated with screen use in young children (< 5 years) and summarise the existing evidence base for interventions designed to support healthy screen use. This paper proposes a conceptual model linking aspects of parenting and the socio-ecological environment to young children’s screen use. Our proposed model could be used to design longitudinal studies of screen use predictors and outcomes, and inform intervention development. Finally, the paper provides key recommendations for future research, intervention development and testing.
... [1][2][3] On the one hand, we use TV and handheld devices to entertain ourselves, relieve stress, work, or regulate boredom. 4 On the other hand, many screen apps are designed to keep people engaged as long as possible. 5 Although immediate access to virtual social networks can provide social support, strengthen social relationships, and increase feelings of connectedness with family, friends, and other people, 6 screens can also decrease the time we spend in face-to-face social interactions. ...
Digital media screens have become an essential part of our family life. However, we have insufficient knowledge about parental screen use patterns and how these affect children's socio‐emotional development. 867 Canadian parents of 5‐year old children from the TARGet Kids! Cohort (73.1% mothers, mean age=38.88±4.45 years) participated from 2014 to end of 2019. Parents reported parental and child time on TV and handheld devices and completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Latent profile analysis (LPA) identified six latent profiles of parent screen use: low handheld users (P1, reference; n=323), more TV than handheld (P2; n=261), equal TV and handheld (P3; n=177), more handheld than TV (P4; n=57), high TV and handheld (P5; n=38) and extremely high TV and handheld (P6; n=11). Parents that were more likely to belong to P6 were also more likely to be living in single parent households compared to P1 (estimate=‐1.49(0.70), p=0.03). High membership probability for P2 (estimate=‐0.67(0.32), p=0.04) and P4 (estimate=‐1.42(0.40), p<0.001) was associated with lower household income compared to P1. Children of parents with higher P4 (χ2=12.32, p<0.001) or P5 (χ2=9.54, p=0.002) membership probability had higher total child screen time compared to P1. Finally, higher likelihood to belong to P6 (χ2=6.82, p=0.009) was associated with higher SDQ Total Difficulties Score compared to P1. Thus, patterns of parent screen use were associated with child screen use and child socioemotional problems. The emerging link between parental screen use profiles and child behaviours suggests the need for more research on parental screen time.
... "There was a very big difference in [the child's] concentration and his hyperactivity [after the neurofeedback treatment]" (P1). This disagreement amongst parents, children, and research on the extent to which children should engage with technology has been established in general [13,51] and with respect to neurodivergent children, e.g. with ASD [36]. For example, some parents think their children's technology use is positive since it supports child development [24,54], while others suggest it has negative implications for their physical activity [54]. ...
Designing for children with ADHD has been of increasing interest to the HCI community. However, current approaches do not adequately involve all relevant stakeholders, and primarily focus on addressing symptoms, following a medical model of disability that is extrinsic to neurodivergent interests.
To address this, we employed a multi-step, multi-stakeholder approach (N=31).
First, we conducted 1) interviews with children with ADHD and their care ecosystem followed by 2) a co-design pilot with one child with ADHD and his therapists and an interview with a UX designer and an occupational therapist.
We then employed 3) co-design sessions with neurotypical children and children with ADHD, and 4) a focus group with their therapists.
We identified communication and reflection as key concepts for empowering and promoting the well-being of children with ADHD and their care ecosystem. We contribute design implications for future systems aiming to promote the overall well-being of this population.
New generations of youth are coming of age at a time when digital technology is omnipresent, and ever-evolving. It is not yet fully appreciated what effect this level of digital technology use will have on current and future generations. Although not entirely negative, dramatic shifts in human interaction and well-being have already presented themselves. Among these shifts are rising rates of youth struggling with mental health–especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we explore youth perspectives on the relationship between their digital technology and their mental health, through the use of semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. Our research question was: How do youth understand the relationship between digital technology use and their mental health? We interviewed eight adolescents and asked them to share their experiences of the relationship between their devices and their well-being. Thematic findings highlight a conflictual relationship between digital technology use and youth mental health, affecting their relationships with others, themselves, and the world around them. Because digital technology consumption on this scale is so new, our sample represents one of the first available cohorts of youth to actively participate in the exploration of this topic. Implications include the need for further qualitative research to prioritize youth voices in ways that will benefit broader societal understandings of technology and mental health.
Az okoseszközök jelenléte mindennapjaink szerves része. Használatuk gyakorta megzavarja szemtől szembeni társas érintkezéseinket, mely jelenséget McDaniel és Coyne (2016) találóan a magyarul is intuitíven jól értelmezhető technoferencia kifejezéssel írták le. Téma-összefoglaló tanulmányunk empirikus kutatások áttekintésén keresztül mutatja be a technoferencia fogalmát és relevanciáját. Az okoseszközök által megzavart társas interakciók jellegzetességeit kapcsolati, párkapcsolati, szülő-gyermek kapcsolati, valamint munka-magánélet kontextusában tárgyaljuk. Összességében megállapítható, hogy a technoferencia minden életkorban jelentős rizikófaktor a társas kapcsolatok minősége és a mentális egészség szempontjából. A felsorakoztatott munkákhoz kapcsolódóan kitérünk a téma gyakorlati relevanciáira, és áttekintjük a további lehetséges és szükséges kutatási irányokat.
Background
Infants and toddlers engage with digital media about 1–3 h per day with a growing proportion of time spent on YouTube.
Aim
Examined content of YouTube videos viewed by children 0–35.9 months of age and predictors of YouTube content characteristics.
Methods
We completed a secondary analysis of data from the 2020 Common Sense “YouTube and Kids” study. Parents were surveyed about demographics and YouTube viewing history. We developed a novel coding scheme to characterize educational quality and comprehension-aiding approaches (i.e., labels, pacing) in 426 videos watched by 47 children. Videos were previously coded for violence and consumerism. Bivariate analyses compared video-level predictors of higher quality educational content. Multivariable analyses examined child and family predictors of YouTube video content, adjusted for FDR.
Results
Only 19% of videos were age-appropriate, 27% were slow paced, 27% included physical violence, and 48% included consumerism. The game genre was associated with faster pace, more physical violence, more scariness, and more consumerism vs. all other videos. The informational genre was associated with more learning goals, slower pace, and less physical violence vs. all other videos. Child age 0–11.9 months vs. 24–35.9 months was associated with more age-inappropriate and violent content.
Conclusion
Physical violence and consumerism were prevalent among YouTube videos viewed by this sample, with infants being exposed to more age-inappropriate and violent content compared with toddlers. Caregivers may wish to select videos in the informational genre which tended to include more high-quality indicators and avoid gaming videos and monitor young infant video content.
Automated embodied moderation has the potential to create safer spaces for children in social VR, providing a protective figure that takes action to mitigate harmful interactions. However, little is known about how such moderation should be employed in practice. Through interviews with 16 experts in online child safety and psychology, and workshops with 8 guardians and 13 children, we contribute a comprehensive overview of how Automated Embodied Moderators (AEMs) can safeguard children in social VR. We explore perceived concerns, benefits and preferences across the stakeholder groups and gather first-of-their-kind recommendations and reflections around AEM design. The results stress the need to adapt AEMs to children, whether victims or harassers, based on age and development, emphasising empowerment, psychological impact and humans/guardians-in-the-loop. Our work provokes new participatory design-led directions to consider in the development of AEMs for children in social VR taking child, guardian, and expert insights into account.
Aim
No studies have examined notifications as they relate to parent stress. We aimed to examine associations between objective daily mobile device notifications and pickups with daily parenting stress.
Methods
This was a within‐ and between‐subjects, cross‐sectional study that took place from 2020 to 2021. The study occurred during the coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic. Data were collected in a low‐contact home visit. This study included 62 parents of 62 children aged 48–71 months. Parents downloaded a passive sensing app on their Android mobile devices collecting data on duration, device notifications and device pickups. Parents completed an end‐of‐day stress survey for 4 days. We used random effects models to examine the variation of daily stress with smartphone duration, notification frequency, pickup frequency and device‐initiated pickups, adjusting for covariates.
Results
Parents were on average 37.3 years old (SD ± 5.7) and were predominantly mothers (82.3%). On average, parents received 293 daily notifications and picked up their phones 93 times. Duration of smartphone use and notification frequency were not associated with daily stress. Device‐initiated pickups were associated with daily parent stress.
Conclusion
When notifications prompted parents to pick up their phones more often, parents experienced greater stress.
Social Virtual Reality (VR), where people meet in virtual spaces via 3D avatars, is used by children and adults alike. Children experience new forms of harassment in social VR where it is often inaccessible to parental oversight. To date, there is limited understanding of how parents and non-parent adults within the child social VR ecosystem perceive the appropriateness of social VR for different age groups and the measures in place to safeguard children. We present results of a mixed-methods questionnaire (N=149 adults, including 79 parents) focusing on encounters with children in social VR and perspectives towards children's use of social VR. We draw novel insights on the frequency of social VR use by children under 13 and current use of, and future aspirations for, child protection interventions. Compared to non-parent adults, parents familiar with social VR propose lower minimum ages and are more likely to allow social VR without supervision. Adult users experience immaturity from children in social VR, while children face abuse, encounter age-inappropriate behaviours and self-disclose to adults. We present directions to enhance the safety of social VR through pre-planned controls, real-time oversight, post-event insight and the need for evidence-based guidelines to support parents and platforms around age-appropriate interventions.
Screen time, defined as estimates of child time spent with digital media, is considered harmful to very young children. At the same time, the use of digital media by children under five years of age has increased dramatically, and with the advent of mobile and streaming media can occur anywhere and at any time. Digital media has become an integral part of family life. Imprecise global screen time estimates do not capture multiple factors that shape family media ecology. In this Element, the authors discuss the need to shift the lens from screen time measures to measures of family media ecology, describe the new Dynamic, Relational, Ecological Approach to Media Effects Research (DREAMER) framework, and more comprehensive digital media assessments. The authors conclude this Element with a roadmap for future research using the DREAMER framework to better understand how digital media use is associated with child outcomes.
We examined objective smartphone use (via a mobile sensing application) and self-reported desire to change phone use among a sample of 268 U.S. parents of infants. Using the Transtheoretical Stages of Change model as a conceptual foundation, we contextualized their attitudes and behaviors and explored how phone use and desire to change relate to perceptions of distraction and problematic phone use around their child. Latent profile analysis of parents' precontemplation, contemplation, and action scores revealed two classes—precontemplators (15%) and contemplators (85%). Contemplators—those considering or desiring change—showed more bedtime phone use and general social networking than precontemplors; however, there were no significant differences between groups on other objective use measures (e.g., total daily duration of phone use, phone use around child, etc.). Contemplators also showed greater perceptions of problematic use around their child and parenting distraction. Moreover, parents’ problematic use and distraction were predictive of higher contemplation scores, even after controlling for demographic and objective phone use variables. Taken together, these results suggest that perceptions of phone use as problematic may be more important than actual phone habits, especially total phone use duration, for desire to change. Suggestions for future research and intervention are provided.
Screen use is associated with a variety of potential impacts on child development, which has led to recommendations to regulate screen use. The current pilot study was conducted to explore potential effects of implementing screen free times (Screen Free Week) on parent and child screen use, parent feelings and well-being, and parent-child interactions and relationships. Specifically, we evaluated the outcomes utilizing pre- and post-intervention self-report surveys with 24 parents (of a child age 5 years or younger). Overall, the screen free week program decreased parent depressive symptoms, increased the parenting of child screen time and establishments of screentime limits, and decreased both parent and child screen time. Though the decrease in overall parent and child screen time was not maintained by 4 weeks after, effects on parent depression, child TV watching, and parent phone use specifically during child time were maintained. These findings support previous research emphasizing screen free times as a viable method to increase intentionality around screen use. Interestingly, the program appears to have had the strongest effects on parent phone use around their child, suggesting the program may build awareness in parents and may cause them to change or desire to change their screen habits during family time. Although we saw initial shifts in parent-child play, effects were not maintained by week 4. Yet, the small changes parents made across one week were not sufficient to shift the overall parent-child relationship. While effects cannot be viewed as definitive, it is promising that shifts were seen in parent well-being and screen use for a relatively small amount of effort across one week.
Parental technological immersion during parenting activities has been shown to alter parent-child interactions. This concept, referred to as parental technoference, has the potential to affect parent-child relationships and children's health and development. This scoping review utilized the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology to identify, describe, and summarize: (a) evidence of parental technoference on parent-child relationships, and children's health and development; (b) definitions and measurements of parental technoference; (c) research designs and methodologies used to investigate parental technoference; and (d) literature gaps. We searched MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews, JBI EBP Database, Embase, CINAHL, and Scopus, as well as the reference lists of included studies for literature on parental technology use during parenting and parent-child interactions and its effects on parent-child relationships, and children's health and development. Sixty-four studies, found in 61 publications, met the review criteria. The effect of parental technoference on parent-child relationships was most studied, and findings demonstrated that parents recognized, and researchers observed, changes in parents' and children's behaviors. Adolescent self-reported mental health concerns and maladaptive technological behaviors (e.g., cyberbullying) were associated with more parental technoference, and findings highlighted safety concerns for children. Other aspects of children's development, although less studied, were also negatively impacted by parental technoference. No significant associations were found between parental technoference and children's medical and physiological health, yet these associations were the least studied. Additional research is needed to understand these associations and evaluate interventions designed to mitigate technoference harms.
COVID-19 transformed the family media environment and spurred research on the effects of screen media exposure and use on young children. This update of a 2017 CPS statement re-examines the potential benefits and risks of screen media in children younger than 5 years, with focus on developmental, psychosocial, and physical health. Four evidence-based principles—minimizing, mitigating, mindfully using, and modelling healthy use of screens—continue to guide children’s early experience with a rapidly changing media landscape. Knowing how young children learn and develop informs best practice for health care providers and early years professionals (e.g., early childhood educators, child care providers). Anticipatory guidance should now include child and family screen use in (and beyond) pandemic conditions.
Manapság a gyermekek is már médiahasználónak minősülnek, ezt a folyamatot pedig csak tovább gyorsította a COVID–19 világjárvány megjelenése, például az online oktatásra való átállással. Kutatásunk célja a szülői attitűd megvizsgálása volt a gyermekük médiahasználati szokásaira, illetve annak szabályozási elveire vonatkozóan. Különösen arra voltunk kíváncsiak, mennyiben változott a korábbi használat a világjárvány ideje alatt. Összesen 30 fővel készült interjú, melyből 15 szülő (5 fő óvodás, 5 fő általános iskolás és 5 fő serdülőkorú gyermek szülője). Az adatgyűjtésre 2022 tavaszán került sor. A család digitális eszközökkel való felszereltsége, a használat mértéke és a használatra vonatkozó szabályok álltak elsősorban a kérdések fókuszában. Eredményeink alapján megállapítható, hogy a gyermekek életkorának előrehaladtával változik a preferált eszköz. Az óvodások esetén a televíziónézés a fő tevékenység, míg később az okostelefon és a saját számítógép, laptop veszi át a helyét. A médiahasználat intenzitása az életkorral emelkedik, a COVID–19 világjárvány alatt pedig tovább fokozódott a gyermekek médiahasználata; ezzel egyidőben csökken a szülői kontroll és a médiahasználat szabályozása. Holott a szülőktől látott minta (különösen általános iskolás korban) jelentős hatással van a gyermek saját szokásainak kialakítására. A szabályozásnak nemcsak a digitális tartalom mennyiségére, hanem annak minőségére és a fogyasztás körülményeire is ki kellene térnie.
Objective
This study aimed to investigate the association of parental recreational screen media practices, including time use and level of smartphone addiction, with behavioral difficulties in 7-year-old children.
Methods
The study was based on cross-sectional data from The Odense Child Cohort, a community-based birth-cohort study. A total of 1,152 parent-child dyads with complete data were included based on data from the 7-year examination conducted in 2018-2021. Parental recreational screen use was self-reported as hours/day using the SCREENS-questionnaire, and their smartphone addiction was self-reported using the Smartphone Addiction Scale Short Version. Child behavioral difficulties was assessed by the parent-reported version of The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
Results
Parental recreational screen time was not consistently associated with behavioral difficulty SDQ subscales and total difficulty score when adjusted for other determinants of child mental well-being such as sociodemographic factors, parental well-being, and number of siblings. Children had higher total behavioral difficulty score (adjusted mean difference 2.12 (95% CI 1.19 to 3.05)) when comparing fourth quartile vs first quartile of maternal smartphone addiction score. Also, higher maternal smartphone addiction score was associated with more externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems of their child (adjusted mean difference 1.61 points (95% CI 0.95 to 2.27), and 0.81 points (95% CI 0.19 to 1.43)) for fourth quartile vs first quartile, respectively.
Conclusions
No cross-sectional association was found between total parental recreational screen use and behavioral difficulties in their 7-year-old children, but an association between maternal obsessive smartphone use and behavioral difficulties of their children was found.
Though many people report an interest in self-limiting certain aspects of their phone use, challenges adhering to self-defined limits are common. We conducted a design exercise and online survey to map the design space of interventions for smartphone non-use and distilled these into a small taxonomy of intervention categories. Using these findings, we implemented "MyTime," an intervention to support people in achieving goals related to smartphone non-use. We conducted a deployment study with 23 participants over two weeks and found that participants reduced their time with the apps they feel are a poor use of time by 21% while their use of the apps they feel are a good use of time remained unchanged. We found that a small taxonomy describes users' diverse set of desired behavior changes relating to smartphone non-use, and that these desired changes predict: 1) the hypothetical features they are interested in trying, 2) the extent to which they engage with these features in practice, and 3) their changes in behavior in response to the intervention. We link users' desired behaviors to the categories of our design taxonomy, providing a foundation for a theoretical model of designing for smartphone non-use.
Background
Depression is highly prevalent and causes considerable suffering and disease burden despite the existence of wide-ranging treatment options. Mobile phone apps offer the potential to help close this treatment gap by confronting key barriers to accessing support for depression.
Objectives
Our goal was to identify and characterize the different types of mobile phone depression apps available in the marketplace.
MethodsA search for depression apps was conducted on the app stores of the five major mobile phone platforms: Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Nokia, and Windows. Apps were included if they focused on depression and were available to people who self-identify as having depression. Data were extracted from the app descriptions found in the app stores.
ResultsOf the 1054 apps identified by the search strategy, nearly one-quarter (23.0%, 243/1054) unique depression apps met the inclusion criteria. Over one-quarter (27.7%, 210/758) of the excluded apps failed to mention depression in the title or description. Two-thirds of the apps had as their main purpose providing therapeutic treatment (33.7%, 82/243) or psychoeducation (32.1%, 78/243). The other main purpose categories were medical assessment (16.9%, 41/243), symptom management (8.2%, 20/243), and supportive resources (1.6%, 4/243). A majority of the apps failed to sufficiently describe their organizational affiliation (65.0%, 158/243) and content source (61.7%, 150/243). There was a significant relationship (χ25=50.5, P
Although the many forms of modern social media have become major channels for
the dissemination of information, they are becoming overloaded because of the
rapidly-expanding number of information feeds. We analyze the expanding
user-generated content in Sina Weibo, the largest micro-blog site in China, and
find evidence that popular messages often follow a mechanism that differs from
that found in the spread of disease, in contrast to common believe. In this
mechanism, an individual with more friends needs more repeated exposures to
spread further the information. Moreover, our data suggest that in contrast to
epidemics, for certain messages the chance of an individual to share the
message is proportional to the fraction of its neighbours who shared it with
him/her. Thus the greater the number of friends an individual has the greater
the number of repeated contacts needed to spread the message, which is a result
of competition for attention. We model this process using a fractional
susceptible infected recovered (FSIR) model, where the infection probability of
a node is proportional to its fraction of infected neighbors. Our findings have
dramatic implications for information contagion. For example, using the FSIR
model we find that real-world social networks have a finite epidemic threshold.
This is in contrast to the zero threshold that conventional wisdom derives from
disease epidemic models. This means that when individuals are overloaded with
excess information feeds, the information either reaches out the population if
it is above the critical epidemic threshold, or it would never be well
received, leading to only a handful of information contents that can be widely
spread throughout the population.
Abstract News producers continue to increase their volume of production and delivery platforms in an effort to reach and maintain news consumers. However, consumers may not necessarily find more news desirable. Previous studies have suggested that information surplus can lead to negative outcomes for consumers, but research of outcomes related to news production and consumption has been scant. This study explores novel areas of news surplus and overload, empirically examining factors associated with the degree of perceived overload across a broad spectrum of news delivery platforms. The findings reveal that the majority of today's news consumers feel overloaded with the amount of news they are confronted with. Gender, news interest, and the use of specific news platforms and outlets predict the degree of that overload. News access through platforms and outlets such as computers, e-readers, and Facebook is positively associated with overload, whereas other platforms such as television and the iPhone are negatively associated with overload. Implications for media psychology and news consumption are discussed.
Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory and prior empirical research, the current study examines the way that blogging and social networking may impact feelings of connection and social support, which in turn could impact maternal well-being (e.g., marital functioning, parenting stress, and depression). One hundred and fifty-seven new mothers reported on their media use and various well-being variables. On average, mothers were 27 years old (SD = 5.15) and infants were 7.90 months old (SD = 5.21). All mothers had access to the Internet in their home. New mothers spent approximately 3 hours on the computer each day, with most of this time spent on the Internet. Findings suggested that frequency of blogging predicted feelings of connection to extended family and friends which then predicted perceptions of social support. This in turn predicted maternal well-being, as measured by marital satisfaction, couple conflict, parenting stress, and depression. In sum, blogging may improve new mothers' well-being, as they feel more connected to the world outside their home through the Internet.
Early child health and development (ECD) is important for health in later life. Objectives were to (1) examine the extent of socioeconomic inequality in markers of ECD at ages 3 and 5 years; (2) examine whether the ECD-income gap widens between these ages; (3) assess the contribution of the home learning environment, family routines and psychosocial environment to observed inequalities in ECD.
Data on socioemotional difficulties, and tests of cognitive ability in 3-year-old (n=15 382) and 5-year-old (n=15 042) children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study were used.
Children in the highest income group were less likely to have socioemotional difficulties compared with those in the lowest income group at 3 and 5 years (2.4% vs 16.4% and 2.0% vs 15.9%, respectively) and had higher mean scores: age 3 'school readiness' 114 versus 99; verbal ability 54 versus 48, and age 5: verbal ability 60 versus 51, non-verbal ability 58 versus 54 and spatial ability 54 versus 48 (all p<0.001). The income gap in verbal ability scores widened between ages 3 and 5 (Wald test, p=0.04). Statistical adjustment for markers of home learning, family routines and psychosocial environments did more to explain the income gap in socioemotional difficulties than in cognitive test scores.
Our results suggest that relationships between family income and markers of ECD are amenable to change. The role of home learning, family routines and psychosocial environmental factors are potentially important in closing income gaps in ECD.
This study investigated the hypothesis that background television affects interactions between parents and very young children. Fifty-one 12-, 24-, and 36-month-old children, each accompanied by 1 parent, were observed for 1 hr of free play in a laboratory space resembling a family room. For half of the hour, an adult-directed television program played in the background on a monaural television set. During the other half hour, the television was not on. Both the quantity and quality of parent-child interaction decreased in the presence of background television. These findings suggest one way in which early, chronic exposure to television may have a negative impact on development.
To test the hypothesis that audible television is associated with decreased parent and child interactions.
Prospective, population-based observational study.
Community.
Three hundred twenty-nine 2- to 48-month-old children.
Audible television. Children wore a digital recorder on random days for up to 24 months. A software program incorporating automatic speech-identification technology processed the recorded file to analyze the sounds the children were exposed to and the sounds they made. Conditional linear regression was used to determine the association between audible television and the outcomes of interest.
Adult word counts, child vocalizations, and child conversational turns.
Each hour of audible television was associated with significant reductions in age-adjusted z scores for child vocalizations (linear regression coefficient, -0.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.29 to -0.22), vocalization duration (linear regression coefficient, -0.24; 95% CI, -0.27 to -0.20), and conversational turns (linear regression coefficient, -0.22; 95% CI, -0.25 to -0.19). There were also significant reductions in adult female (linear regression coefficient, -636; 95% CI, -812 to -460) and adult male (linear regression coefficient, -134; 95% CI, -263 to -5) word count.
Audible television is associated with decreased exposure to discernible human adult speech and decreased child vocalizations. These results may explain the association between infant television exposure and delayed language development.
Instant messaging (IM) has become one of the most popular forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and is especially prevalent on college campuses. Previous research suggests that IM users often multitask while conversing online. To date, no one has yet examined the cognitive effect of concurrent IM use. Participants in the present study (N = 69) completed a reading comprehension task uninterrupted or while concurrently holding an IM conversation. Participants who IMed while performing the reading task took significantly longer to complete the task, indicating that concurrent IM use negatively affects efficiency. Concurrent IM use did not affect reading comprehension scores. Additional analyses revealed that the more time participants reported spending on IM, the lower their reading comprehension scores. Finally, we found that the more time participants reported spending on IM, the lower their self-reported GPA. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Responsiveness defines the prompt, contingent, and appropriate reactions parents display to their children in the context of everyday exchanges. Maternal responsiveness occupies a theoretically central position in developmental science and possesses meaningful predictive validity over diverse domains of children's development, yet basic psychometric features of maternal responsiveness are still poorly understood. In this prospective longitudinal study, the authors examined structure, individual variation, and continuity of multiple dimensions of responsiveness in 40 mothers to their infants' activities at 10, 14, and 21 months during natural home-based play interactions. Both age-general and age-specific patterns emerged in maternal responding. The study's developmental results support the multidimensionality, modularity, and specificity of this central parenting construct.
Background and objectives:
Research on children's use of mobile media devices lags behind its adoption. The objective of this study was to examine young children's exposure to and use of mobile media devices.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study of 350 children aged 6 months to 4 years seen October to November 2014 at a pediatric clinic in an urban, low-income, minority community. The survey was adapted from Common Sense Media's 2013 nationwide survey.
Results:
Most households had television (97%), tablets (83%), and smartphones (77%). At age 4, half the children had their own television and three-fourths their own mobile device. Almost all children (96.6%) used mobile devices, and most started using before age 1. Parents gave children devices when doing house chores (70%), to keep them calm (65%), and at bedtime (29%). At age 2, most children used a device daily and spent comparable screen time on television and mobile devices. Most 3- and 4-year-olds used devices without help, and one-third engaged in media multitasking. Content delivery applications such as YouTube and Netflix were popular. Child ownership of device, age at first use, and daily use were not associated with ethnicity or parent education.
Conclusions:
Young children in an urban, low-income, minority community had almost universal exposure to mobile devices, and most had their own device by age 4. The patterns of use suggest early adoption, frequent and independent use, and media multitasking. Studies are urgently needed to update recommendations for families and providers on the use of mobile media by young children.
Recent scholarship on work suggests that information and communication technology (ICT) use may be significantly altering job conditions in ways that are indicative of work intensification, which, in turn, contributes to employee strain and distress. This article uses structural equation modelling and OLS regression techniques to analyse 2002 survey data drawn from a nationally representative sample of US employees in order to assess the pathways through which ICT use may influence levels of employee strain and distress. It is found that use is linked to higher levels of employee strain and distress via a work intensification process that is indicated by faster-paced work and greater levels of interruptions and multitasking. However, there is also evidence that both work and personal ICT use may mitigate these influences. While the findings do suggest that ICT use can have negative implications for contemporary workers, as a whole the results support a more nuanced view that points to both costs and benefits associated with ICT use.
Background:
Parent-focused interventions may help to reduce youth screen-viewing (SV). This review synthesized current information on the links between parenting styles, parenting practices, and youth SV with a focus on measurement.
Methods:
A systematic review of electronic databases was conducted.
Results:
In all, 29 of 1189 studies met the inclusion criteria. Parenting practices were divided into rule and nonrule-based practices. Seven rules: (1) Limits on total time (n studies=23); (2) limits on time of day (n=7); (3) content restriction (n=11); (4) mealtime rules (n=2); (5) parental supervision (n=3); (6) contingent screentime (n=3); and (7) no-TV policy (n=1) were reported. Two nonrule-based practices were reported: Co-viewing (n=6) and encouragement to view (n=2). Three studies (10.3%) provided information on parenting styles. Only 12 studies (41.4%) provided information on the reliability/validity of the outcome measure, 15 (51.7%) studies provided information on the reliability/validity of the parenting measure, and 6 (20.7%) provided information on the reliability/validity of both outcome and exposure measures.
Conclusions:
There is mixed evidence that parenting styles and media-related parenting practices are associated with youth SV. The assessment of parental influence of youth media use is hampered by the diversity of measures that have been used. There is a need for new measures that assess a range of media parenting practices that are relevant to multiple forms of SV.
To examine associations of maternal mobile device use with the frequency of mother–child interactions during a structured laboratory task.Methods
Participants included 225 low-income mother–child pairs. When children were ∼6 years old, dyads were videotaped during a standardized protocol in order to characterize how mothers and children interacted when asked to try familiar and unfamiliar foods. From videotapes, we dichotomized mothers on the basis of whether or not they spontaneously used a mobile device, and we counted maternal verbal and nonverbal prompts toward the child. We used multivariate Poisson regression to study associations of device use with eating prompt frequency for different foods.ResultsMothers were an average of 31.3 (SD 7.1) years old, and 28.0% were of Hispanic/nonwhite race/ethnicity. During the protocol, 23.1% of mothers spontaneously used a mobile device. Device use was not associated with any maternal characteristics, including age, race/ethnicity, education, depressive symptoms, or parenting style. Mothers with device use initiated fewer verbal (relative rate 0.80; 95% confidence interval 0.63, 1.03) and nonverbal (0.61; 0.39, 0.96) interactions with their children than mothers who did not use a device, when averaged across all foods. This association was strongest during introduction of halva, the most unfamiliar food (0.67; 0.48, 0.93 for verbal and 0.42; 0.20, 0.89 for nonverbal interactions).Conclusions
Mobile device use was common and associated with fewer interactions with children during a structured interaction task, particularly nonverbal interactions and during introduction of an unfamiliar food. More research is needed to understand how device use affects parent–child engagement in naturalistic contexts.
Mobile devices are a ubiquitous part of American life, yet how families use this technology has not been studied. We aimed to describe naturalistic patterns of mobile device use by caregivers and children to generate hypotheses about its effects on caregiver-child interaction.
Using nonparticipant observational methods, we observed 55 caregivers eating with 1 or more young children in fast food restaurants in a single metropolitan area. Observers wrote detailed field notes, continuously describing all aspects of mobile device use and child and caregiver behavior during the meal. Field notes were then subjected to qualitative analysis using grounded theory methods to identify common themes of device use.
Forty caregivers used devices during their meal. The dominant theme salient to mobile device use and caregiver-child interaction was the degree of absorption in devices caregivers exhibited. Absorption was conceptualized as the extent to which primary engagement was with the device, rather than the child, and was determined by frequency, duration, and modality of device use; child response to caregiver use, which ranged from entertaining themselves to escalating bids for attention, and how caregivers managed this behavior; and separate versus shared use of devices. Highly absorbed caregivers often responded harshly to child misbehavior.
We documented a range of patterns of mobile device use, characterized by varying degrees of absorption. These themes may be used as a foundation for coding schemes in quantitative studies exploring device use and child outcomes.
To determine whether preschool-age children's participation in family routines is associated with greater likelihood of having high social-emotional health (SEH).
Data come from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort preschool wave, a nationally representative sample of children born in 2001. Based on the literature and distribution of responses, 5 routines were categorized as present if children participated in family dinners ≥5 days per week, reading, storytelling, or singing ≥3 times per week, and play ≥few times per week. A total routines score (0-5) was also computed. Mothers rated children's SEH on 24 items scored 1 through 5. Items were summed into a total score, which was dichotomized at >1 SD above the mean, to reflect low/high SEH. Multivariable analyses assessed associations between SEH, routines score, and individual routines, adjusting for confounders.
Among ∼8550 children, 16.6% had high SEH. For each additional routine in which a child participated, there was a 1.47 greater odds of having high SEH. In adjusted models, participating in dinners: 1.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-1.6), storytelling: 1.9 (95% CI, 1.6-2.4), singing: 1.5 (95% CI, 1.2-1.9), and play: 1.3 (95% CI, 1.1-1.5) was associated with increased odds of high SEH. Reading was not associated with greater odds of high SEH (1.2, 95% CI, 0.9-1.5).
Participation in a higher number of routines and in select routines was associated with increased likelihood of having high SEH. Promoting family routines may contribute to greater SEH before school entry.
Quantitative research is designed to test well-specified hypotheses,
determine whether an intervention did more harm than good, and find out how
much a risk factor predisposes persons to disease. Equally important, qualitative
research offers insight into emotional and experiential phenomena in health
care to determine what, how, and why. There are 4 essential aspects of qualitative
analysis. First, the participant selection must be well reasoned and their
inclusion must be relevant to the research question. Second, the data collection
methods must be appropriate for the research objectives and setting. Third,
the data collection process, which includes field observation, interviews,
and document analysis, must be comprehensive enough to support rich and robust
descriptions of the observed events. Fourth, the data must be appropriately
analyzed and the findings adequately corroborated by using multiple sources
of information, more than 1 investigator to collect and analyze the raw data,
member checking to establish whether the participants' viewpoints were adequately
interpreted, or by comparison with existing social science theories. Qualitative
studies offer an alternative when insight into the research is not well established
or when conventional theories seem inadequate.
Screen-viewing time has been associated with adverse health outcomes. Data on the predictors of youth screen-viewing time is predominately from older children in North America. Parental and home media environment factors that are associated with screen-viewing time could be targeted in interventions.
Examine if parental screen-viewing time and electronic media (access to game equipment, TVs, PCs, and laptops) environment factors were associated with Portuguese children's screen-viewing time and if associations differed by child age (<7 vs ≥7 years); gender; or type of screen viewing.
Data are reported for 2965 families with children aged 3-10 years. Data were collected in 2009-2010 and analyzed in 2011. Outcomes were child spending ≥2 hours watching TV and ≥1 hour per day playing with combined other media. Exposures were mothers and fathers watching ≥2 hours of TV and electronic media variables.
Parental TV-viewing time was strongly associated with child weekday and weekend TV-viewing time across all four gender and age subgroups. Maternal TV-viewing time was a stronger predictor of child TV-viewing time than paternal TV-viewing time. There was very limited evidence that parental TV-viewing time was associated with combined other media time among boys or girls. Access to electronic game equipment increased the likelihood that children spent >1 hour using combined other media on weekdays and weekend days.
Parental TV-viewing time was associated with Portuguese children's TV-viewing time. The numbers of TVs in the household and electronic games equipment access were also associated with TV- and combined other media-viewing/usage time.
The aim of this study was to determine the specific aspects of early parenting in psychosocially at-risk families most strongly related to children's social-emotional adaptation to school.
A cohort study of families (N = 318) identified as at risk for maltreatment of their newborns was conducted. Quality of early parenting was observed in the home when the child was 1 year old. Social-emotional adaptation to school was reported by teachers in first grade. Multivariable models assessed the independent influence of early parenting variables on social-emotional adaptation.
Early parenting and social-emotional adaptation to school varied greatly across families. Parental warmth was associated with lower teacher ratings of shyness, concentration problems, and peer rejection. Parental lack of hostility was associated with decreased teacher ratings of concentration problems and peer rejection. Parental encouragement of developmental advance was associated with lower ratings of aggression and peer rejection. Provision of materials to promote learning and literacy was associated with lower ratings of concentration problems.
In this sample of families with multiple psychosocial risks for child maltreatment, specific aspects of early parenting were associated with better social-emotional adaptation to school in the first grade in theoretically predicted ways. Improving parental knowledge about positive parenting via anticipatory guidance should be a focus of well-child visits. Well-child visit-based interventions to improve the quality of early parenting, especially among at-risk families, should be studied for their impact on parenting behavior and on children's successful social-emotional adaptation to school. Primary care providers should reinforce complementary services, such as home visiting, that seek to promote positive parenting.
Zero to eight: children's media use in America 2013
- Rideout
You don't have to feel very guilty about using your smartphone while parenting
- Manjoo