Parental mediation of internet use and cultural values across Europe: Investigating the predictive power of the Hofstedian paradigm

Abstract

The EU Kids Online project aims to enhance knowledge of the experiences and practices of European children and their parents regarding online risks and safety. A crucial research effort by the EU Kids Online network has been a survey in 25 European countries which targeted approximately 1,000 children per country. This article applies a cross-cultural values filter to the data that were gathered on parental mediation and the Internet in this survey. Our intention is to test whether Geert Hofstede’s cross-national research results about national cultural values also apply to the EU Kids Online data on parental mediation. This implies studying collectivism versus individualism, low versus high power distance, masculinity versus femininity and low versus high uncertainty avoidance. We test whether differences between nations on these four dimensions correlate with differences between countries in parental mediation of the Internet and we test which European countries form clusters.

Parental Mediation of Digital Media Use Among Children Aged 3-8 from the Perspective of Parents’ Media Competence

“…Over the years, in addition to research on television, the study of parental mediation has expanded in response to the growing interest and concern over the role of digital media in children's lives. Scholars have amassed literature on how parents interact with children in the context of digital media use (Clark, 2011;Mertens & d'Haenans, 2014;Holloway, Green, & Love, 2014).…”

Parental mediation of children’s digital media use in high digital penetration countries: perspectives from Singapore and Australia

“…Kirwil's (2009) cross-cultural comparison of parental mediation of children's internet use in Europe shows that restrictive rules are preferred by parents from collectivistic childrearing cultures, whereas social co-use is preferred by parents from individualistic childrearing cultures. Mertens and d'Haenens' (2014) analysis of the EU Kids Online data demonstrates that parents in less collectivistic countries are more likely to report greater involvement in active mediation, co-use, and monitoring, as compared to parents in more collectivistic countries. Unlike Kirwil's (2009) findings, however, Mertens and d'Haenens (2014) did not find a significant association between collectivism and restrictive mediation.…”

“…Mertens and d'Haenens' (2014) analysis of the EU Kids Online data demonstrates that parents in less collectivistic countries are more likely to report greater involvement in active mediation, co-use, and monitoring, as compared to parents in more collectivistic countries. Unlike Kirwil's (2009) findings, however, Mertens and d'Haenens (2014) did not find a significant association between collectivism and restrictive mediation. Regarding parents' media perception, research has demonstrated that parents' views on media do affect their parental mediation practices (e.g., Lee, 2013;Shin, 2017;Warren, Gerke, & Kelly, 2002).…”

Multilevel Evidence for the Parent-Adolescent Dyadic Effect of Familiarity With Climate Change on Pro-Environmental Behaviors in 14 Societies: Moderating Effects of Societal Power Distance and Individualism

“…In contrast, individuals from societies with high power distance tend to ensure that everyone should have a "defined" place within the social order. Societal power distance is also reflected in parent-adolescent relationships (Mertens & d'Haenens, 2014) and family behaviors (Shoham & Dalakas, 2003). In low power distance societies, parents are less likely to value children's obedience and more likely to seek equality with their children (Guan & Li, 2017).…”