Parental mediation in pandemic: Predictors and relationship with children's digital skills and time spent online in Ireland

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing reliance on digital technology to carry out social, entertainment, work and school activities increased, which may have affected the ways in which parents mediated their children's digital technology use. Given the prominent role that digital technology will have in the future, it is important to investigate parent and child characteristics which impacted parental mediation of children's digital technology use. Therefore, the present study aimed at analysing the frequency of parental mediation strategies (i.e. active and restrictive) during lockdown, their determinants, and how the two strategies affected children's digital skills and time spent online. Data were collected from 461 parent and 461 child participants. Results showed that almost half of parents (46%) practiced parental mediation with the same frequency, while the 42.6% applied it more often. Active mediation was predicted by parental worries about online risks, while restrictive mediation was predicted by time spent online by children, parental worries about online risks, parental negative attitudes towards digital technology and parents' digital skills. Children developed more digital skills when their parents applied higher levels of both active and restrictive mediation, and they spent the lowest amount of time online when their parents employed higher levels of restrictive and lower levels of active mediation. Practical implications for families and children's wellbeing are discussed.

Policy responses to false and misleading digital content

“…The method through which the correction has been delivered to the user has been shown to impact whether factual or narrative corrections are more appropriate, although there is some evidence that narrative corrections are generally more effective than factual corrections (Sangalang, Ophir and Cappella, 2019 [51]). A recent assessment of the research indicates that narrative corrections are more effective in changing attitudes and behavioural intentions if the correction is presented digitally via an algorithm (Edwards et al, 2021[6]).…”

Layanan Konsultasi Melalui Parental Mediation untuk Meningkatkan Literasi Digital Siswa

“…Mediasi orangtua (parental mediation) merupakan startegi yang dapat digunakan oleh orangtua untuk membantunya dalam mengontrol, mengawasi, atau menafsirkan konten media untuk anak-anak (Kaloeti et al, 2018;Sciacca et al, 2022). Tujuannya adalah untuk mengajarkan anak-anak cara yang tepat dalam menggunakan media, sehingga dapat menumbuhkan peluang belajar yang memungkinkan dapat mengembangkan lebih banyak keterampilan digital baik pada anak maupun orangtua, mengatur waktu untuk menggunakan media online dan dapat mencegah kemungkinan buruk yang dihadapi saat terlibat dalam media (Livingstone et al, 2017;Sciacca et al, 2022). Berdasarkan hal tersebut, maka fokus dari penggunaan parental mediation ini adalah untuk meningkatkan pemahaman literasi digital siswa dengan jalan memaksimalkan manfaat yang diberikan oleh internet dan meminimalkan potensi dampak negatif yang mungkin dapat ditimbulkannya.…”

“…Misalnya: tata cara menggunakan media sosial dengan aman dan lain-lain. Model ini juga dipandang dapat digunakan untuk mengurangi kehawatiran orangtua tentang resiko dari penggunaan media online (Adigwe & Walt, 2020;Kaloeti et al, 2018;Sciacca et al, 2022).…”

“…Pemilihan model tersebut digunakan sebagai salah satu strategi untuk membantu orangtua dalam mengontrol, mengawasi, atau menafsirkan konten media untuk anak (Kaloeti et al, 2018). Tujuan dari penggunaan parental mediation yaitu untuk mengajarkan anak cara yang tepat dalam menggunakan media, sehingga dapat menumbuhkan peluang belajar dan mencegah kemungkinan buruk yang dihadapi saat terlibat dalam media tersebut (Sciacca et al, 2022). Di samping itu, dari beberapa penelitian didapatkan informasi bahwa mediasi ini dipandang positif dapat menangkal resiko negative dari penggunaan internet pada anak.…”

Adaptation to digital parenting in a pandemic: A case study of parents within higher education

“…However, this increase in smartphone use also triggers high digital risks for children, such as exposure to violent content, sexual content and cyberbullying, to the disruption of several aspects of child development (Browne, Thompson & Madigan 2020;McArthur et al 2022;Rukmana et al 2021). However, the positive impact of digital devices can be maximised if parents apply active media mediation with their children (Cabello-Hutt, Cabello & Claro 2018;Livingstone et al 2017;Sciacca et al 2022). Parents must adjust their digital parenting style to avoid the negative impacts of using smartphones and maximise their positive potential for child development.…”