The influence of children's gender and age on children's use of digital media at home

Abstract

This study is the first to systematically investigate the influence of child gender and age, on parents' perceptions of UK children's digital media use at home. It provides an indepth exploration of how children's age and gender influence the balance between children's use of digital and non-digital media at home. The data draw on 709 parents' responses to an open-ended question asked in the context of a national survey investigating the digital reading habits of children, conducted in 2015. Parents' responses were analysed using content and thematic analysis, which yielded eight main categories, collapsed into three major themes: control, child's healthy development and diversity of experiences. Quantitative analyses evidenced that more parents of boys were concerned about the health implications of their children's digital media use and this was a concern especially for parents of the youngest (0-2-year-old) children. More parents of 6-8-year olds cited the appeal of technology as the main reason for the perceived imbalance in their children's engagement with digital media. The study provides a more secure understanding of the factors that influence parental perceptions of their children's digital media use at home, which has implications for policy-makers, digital designers and early years professionals.

Play and creativity in young children's use of apps

“…Examples of these uncomfortable experiences were not asked for in the survey, but in the case study families, parents reported children being exposed to material that was not aimed at their age group, such as games that included characters killing each other. Health and safety issues were paramount in relation to parental concerns, as reported in a UK study, which included a sample of 339 parents of children under 5s (Kucirkova, Littleton, & Kyparissiadis, ).…”

Negotiating screen time: A mother’s struggle over ‘no screen time’ with her infant son

“…However, over the last decade, research has documented the opposite: children continue to be interested in non-digital activities, as well as digital ones (e.g. Kucirkova, Littleton and Kyparissiadis, 2018;Rideout, 2017;Stephen et al, 2008;Teichert and Anderson, 2014). Many of these studies have been situated in sociocultural perspectives of learning and development, which posits that young children are socialized into the social and cultural practices of their communities by engaging with relevant tools from their communities.…”

A qualitative case study about overuse of digital play at home

“…In the past decade playing with digital tools has increased among young children, much of the research in this area approaches age, gender and parental issues as major factors that construct children’s play choices (Magladry & Willson, 2019 ). Whereas previous research mainly focused on adolescents or school-age children’s game habits, recent studies began to examine digital play for children under the age of eight and this research mostly emphasized that young children’s media use is mediated by parents and caregivers (Connell, Lauricella, & Wartella, 2015 ; Kucirkova, Littleton, & Kyparissiadis, 2018 ; Nevski & Siibak, 2016a ). Specifically, McDaniel and Radesky ( 2017 ) revealed that parents introduce digital media to their toddlers or pre-schoolers during family activities such as meals, doctor visits, or car drives.…”

“…In the UK, Ofcom ( 2017 ) has reported that boys aged 3–4 years had a handheld/portable games player more than girls of the same age. A large survey study in the UK revealed parents of boys were more concerned about the health implications of their children’s digital media use (Kucirkova et al, 2018 ).…”