Professional Documents
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How Parents of Young Children Manage Digital Devices at Home
How Parents of Young Children Manage Digital Devices at Home
How Parents of Young Children Manage Digital Devices at Home
September 2015
1
ISSN 2045-256X
Please cite as: Livingstone, S., Mascheroni, G., Dreier, M., Chaudron, S. and Lagae, K. (2015) How
parents of young children manage digital devices at home: The role of income, education and
parental style. London: EU Kids Online, LSE.
Vincent, J. (2015) Mobile opportunities: Exploring positive mobile opportunities for European
children. London: POLIS, LSE. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/61015/
Livingstone, S. (2014) EU Kids Online: Findings, methods, recommendations.
http://lsedesignunit.com/EUKidsOnline/
Livingstone, S., Mascheroni, G., Ólafsson, K. and Haddon, L. (2014) Children’s online risks and
opportunities: Comparative findings from EU Kids Online and Net Children Go Mobile.
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/60513/
Tsaliki, L., Chronaki, D. and Ólafsson, K. (2014) Experiences with sexual content: What we know
from the research so far. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/60143/
Stald, G., Green, L., Barbovski, M., Haddon, L., Mascheroni, G., Ságvári, B., Scifo, B. and Tsaliki, L.
(2014) Online on the mobile: Internet use on smartphones. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/59960/
Ólafsson, K., Livingstone, S. and Haddon, L. (2014) Children’s use of online technologies in Europe:
A review of the European evidence base. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/60221/
Hasebrink, U. (2014) Children’s changing online experiences in a longitudinal perspective.
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/60083/
O’Neill, B., Staksrud, E. with members of the EU Kids Online Network (2014) Final recommendations
for policy. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/59518/
Vandoninck, S., d’Haenens, L. and Smahel, D. (2014) Preventive measures: How youngsters avoid
online risks. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/55797/
Smahel, D. and Wright, M. (eds) (2014) The meaning of online problematic situations for children:
Cross-cultural qualitative investigation in nine European countries. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/56972/
Barbovschi, M., Green, L. and Vandoninck, S. (2013) Innovative approaches for investigating how
young children understand risk in new media. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/53060/
Holloway, D., Green, L. and Livingstone, S. (2013) Zero to eight. Young children and their internet
use. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/52630/
Helsper, E.J., Kalmus, V., Hasebrink, U., Sagvari, B. and de Haan, J. (2013) Country classification:
Opportunities, risks, harm and parental mediation. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/52023/
Livingstone, S., Kirwil, L., Ponte, C. and Staksrud, E. (2013) In their own words: What bothers
children online? http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/48357/
EU Kids Online (see www.eukidsonline.net) was funded by the EC Better Internet for Kids
Programme from 2006–14 to enhance knowledge of children’s and parents’ experiences and
practices regarding risky and safer use of the internet and new online technologies. Fieldwork for
this report was funded by the EC Joint Research Centre (JRC). For full findings, see Chaudron S.,
Beutel, M.E., Černikova, M., Donoso Navarette, V., Dreier, M., Fletcher-Watson, B., Heikkilä, A.-S.,
Kontríková, V., Korkeamäki, R.-L., Livingstone, S., Marsh, J., Mascheroni, G., Micheli, M., Milesi,
D., Müller, K.W., Myllylä-Nygård, T., Niska, M., Olkina, O., Ottovordemgentschenfelde, S.,
Plowman, L., Ribbens, W., Richardson, J., Schaack, C., Shlyapnikov, V., Šmahel, D., Soldatova,
G. and Wölfling, K. (2015) Young children (0–8) and digital technology: A qualitative exploratory
study across seven countries. http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC93239. We
thank all the authors for their input to the present report.
CONTENTS
CONTENTS............................................................................................................................................................ 3
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................... 7
FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................................................14
CONCLUSIONS .....................................................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................................23
3
established by the literature must be updated
KEY FINDINGS for the new generation of ‘digital parents’ –
parents themselves raised in the digital age,
providing digital media for their very young
From when children are very young, their children – since much research has
parents start to develop strategies to manage concerned parental mediation of older
(or mediate) their present and future digital children in relation to television.
media use. A key challenge they face is that The main focus of this report is on the role of
digital media – by which we refer to the array parental education and household income.
of domestic and personal digital and Together, these factors capture a major
networked devices for information, source of difference and inequality across
communication and entertainment now households: hence we ask, how do they
present in many European homes – are shape parental mediation of digital media?
associated with both opportunities and risks. For policy-makers and practitioners, it is
Qualitative research (based on interviews and important to learn whether a generic approach
observations) with 70 families with children to parental advice and awareness-raising is
younger than the age of eight conducted in sufficient, or whether tailored guidance would
seven European countries has already be more effective for the different target
reported that parents are guided by their groups of parents being addressed.
already-established styles of parenting and In terms of theory, the research draws on
family values, extending these to digital media three bodies of literature:
uses at home as soon as their young children
Clark (2013) researched families in the
first pick up a tablet or smartphone (Chaudron
US, mainly with older children. She
et al., 2015). Some parents already have
distinguishes lower income/less educated
experience with their older children and they
families who endorse an ‘ethic of
adjust their approach to include younger
respectful connectedness’ from higher
children now going online. They are also led
income/more educated families who
to intervene when they see their young
endorse an ‘ethic of expressive
children respond to digital devices in ways
empowerment’.
that worry them (spending too long on one
activity, staring at the screen, behaving badly The EU Kids Online network has found
when the device is taken away, etc.). five main types of parental mediation:
active mediation (sharing and discussing
However, their good intentions are often
online activities), safety mediation
hindered by a host of everyday practicalities
(advising and guiding on managing risks),
including limitations of time, space, energy
restrictions (rules and bans), technical
and finance. It is also likely that parents are
mediation (use of filters, parental controls)
influenced by the values, traditions and
and monitoring (checking the
experiences that are grounded in their culture,
computer/social media/phones after use).
religion or social position. Understanding
Still, this work too was based on older
commonalities among and differences
children (9–16 years old).
between parental approaches is not yet
established in the research literature, although In the literature on parental styles more
Helsper et al. (2013) developed a productive generally (Baumrind, 1991), four styles
classification of European countries in terms have been identified: authoritative (parents
of their parental mediation practices (along are more responsive and demanding than
with cultures of online risk and opportunity). average), authoritarian (characterised by
Moreover, even knowledge considered to be high control but low warmth), permissive
(or laissez-faire) parenting (warm and a mix of media-rich and media-poor
supportive but non-demanding), and homes in terms of device ownership;
neglectful or uninvolved parenting (low in a variety of domestic circumstances with a
demands and responsiveness). This has high proportion of single-parent
been extended to the internet by Valcke et households;
al. (2010) through the notion of ‘parental
fairly confident parents in terms of both
internet styles’.
their digital skills and thus their ability to
In terms of method, this report is based on a prioritise active over restrictive mediation.
re-analysis of the rich data reported in
Still, knowledge of digital media brings
Chaudron et al. (2015). Since that study was
concerns, and these parents do also operate
itself exploratory, and since the relevance of
some restrictive practices.
prior literature on European families of young
children in the digital age is uncertain, the In higher income, more educated families, we
present analysis must also be exploratory. found:
The 70 families (the majority with children an ‘ethic of expressive empowerment’ in
aged between four and seven, hence our parenting values;
label ‘young children’) were originally selected
a wide range of diverse mediation
to span a range of educational and income
practices including different strategies to
backgrounds, thus permitting comparisons by
manage restrictions for digital device use;
socioeconomic status.
efforts to promote offline (non-digital)
For the present analysis we divided the activities for children while limiting digital
families into three groups – lower income/less activities in the home;
educated, lower income/more educated and
higher income/more educated (note that only parents who work with digital media, or
two families could be characterised as higher use digital media at home, who often find
income/less educated) – while acknowledging that their own practices undermine their
inevitable overlaps or inconsistencies in efforts to limit their children’s digital media
classification given the complexity of particular use.
family circumstances. To interpret the findings, family patterns and
practices were analysed in terms of their
In lower income, less educated families, we
different socioeconomic background and
found:
education as well as their parenting style,
relatively high device ownership at home; attitudes towards digital media and parental
a generation gap in digital media expertise mediation (Livingstone et al., 2011; cf. Tandon
between parents and children, especially et al., 2012). All three sources of theory (and
among immigrant families; the prior research that supports this) were
useful in identifying commonalities and
more restrictive parental mediation
differences across families, it being most likely
strategies regarding digital devices, yet
that socioeconomic status (income,
parents who are rather ambivalent and
education) influence (but not determine)
worried about digital media;
parental practices and beliefs, so that it is the
an ‘ethic of respectful connectedness’ in combination of influences that helps explain
parenting values. parental practices in particular families.
In lower income, more educated families, we
Because of the sizeable group of lower
found:
income/more educated parents, however, it is
not straightforward to infer parental mediation
5
simply from knowledge of household income. children, the benefit of parental skills is felt
While both income and education influence among the whole family.
parental mediation, it seems that education Communication strategies to facilitate
makes the greater difference. shared activities using digital devices and
Importantly, and complicating matters parent–child discussions about preferred
somewhat, the relationship between parenting values and practices and how to address
style and parental regulation of digital devices problems. This should include guidance to
is qualified by parents’ own familiarity with parents on how to mediate digital media
digital media. Across all the family types, for children of different ages, and how they
insofar as parents had particular expertise in can also play a guiding role in sibling
digital media, whether because of their work conversations, since older siblings have a
or interests, it appeared that they were more major influence on the play and learning of
confident of managing their children’s digital younger children.
media activities and more engaged in them. Much of this guidance and support parents
When looking at cross-national variations, the said they would prefer to receive from
findings were supportive of the EU Kids schools or nurseries, yet it was striking
Online classification (Helsper et al., 2013), how little parents said they received in
with Finnish parents being more actively terms of guidance from schools, and how
engaged in their children’s online activities, little they even know (or are told) about
Czech parents being generally more passive, their children’s digital activities at school or
while parents in Belgium, Germany, Italy, nursery.
Russia and the UK favoured restrictive Since these institutions are publicly funded
approaches. and can communicate with nearly all
parents, their potential to benefit domestic
For all parents, but especially those who lack
(as well as school) settings is
confidence, experience or expertise in relation
considerable.
to digital media, the study revealed a need for
policy and practitioner support in relation to: The role of industry lies more in the first
two points above – promoting a diverse
Knowledge of the benefits of internet use,
array of beneficial activities and providing
including lists of recommended
tools to minimise the risk of harm.
imaginative, creative and educational sites
and apps, along with public discussion of
the criteria by which parents can evaluate
these, and tips on how to find them.
The use of technical tools to manage
children’s internet use for safety purposes,
for example, digital safety settings, best
practice for passwords, privacy protection
and content filters.
Beyond technical tools, many parents
would welcome support for easy ways to
increase their own digital skills and
knowledge; and since parental digital
competence and confidence results in
more enabling efforts in relation to their
children. Third, as digital devices become
ever more personalised and portable,
INTRODUCTION traditional strategies of media co-use or
supervision become less available or effective
(Haddon and Vincent, 2014; Mascheroni and
Ólafsson, 2014).
Why parental mediation matters
‘Parental mediation’ refers to the diverse Focus on young children
practices through which parents try to manage Increasingly, ever younger children are now
and regulate their children’s experiences with going online at home, in nursery and from the
the media. It is considered important within start of school, and as a result researchers
families, and consequently for policy-makers, are increasingly studying the contexts and
as a key means of ensuring that the domestic consequences of their digital media activities
media environment is tailored to the specific (Holloway et al., 2013). Research reviews are
needs and competences of each child as well clear that parental engagement and the
as to the values and priorities of parents. domestic environment they create are very
Whether media are conceived in terms of important for children’s early development
opportunities or risks or both, parents are (AAP, 1999, 2011), and that long-term social
generally held to be best placed to manage inequalities in wellbeing and learning
their children’s media engagement. For this outcomes are shaped by early life
reason, there is a long tradition of research experiences, with parental influence being a
examining parental strategies for mediating powerful factor (HM Government, 2014). But
their children’s media activities, including there is still a paucity of research on parental
analysis of the factors that lead parents to mediation of young children regarding their
mediate in different ways and evaluations of digital media uses.
the effectiveness of their strategies in terms of Our recent seven-country study in Europe
enhancing opportunities or mitigating risks. focused on families with children younger than
Most past research concentrated on the eight (with most aged between four and
parental mediation of children’s television seven), employing a mix of interview and
experiences. Now, researchers, policy-makers observational methods (Chaudron et al.,
and parents themselves are asking whether 2015). While largely exploratory and
similar strategies can be adapted to the descriptive in nature, this study showed that
internet and other digital media, or whether tablets have quickly become popular and
new strategies are needed – including the use valued in young children’s digital lives, since
of software to filter, limit or monitor children’s the touchscreen interface is far easier for
online activities (Livingstone and Helsper, them to manage than the keyboard or mouse
2008; Clark, 2013). necessary for a laptop or desktop computer.
Most younger children use digital media for
Compared with television, online and digital
playing games and watching streaming, on-
devices may be harder for parents to manage,
demand or catch-up content services – mainly
for several reasons. First, they are more
for mass-produced entertainment content,
technologically complex. Second, market
since few parents had loaded educational
innovations pose parents with the continual
apps, and few children had the skills for
imperative to update and adapt their habits.
content creation.
Insofar as parents are themselves less
familiar with some digital devices or services, In this report, written by some of the authors
they may feel outsmarted by their often-skilled of the above study (Chaudron et al. 2015), we
7
offer a closer analysis of findings on parental Focused on school-aged children, the
mediation, interpreting them in relation to two research identified five main strategies of
main themes discussed – but not yet resolved parental mediation of the internet and mobile
– in the academic literature: media. These have been developed using
factor analysis first in the UK (Livingstone and
The nature of differences among parents
Helsper, 2008), then extended to 25 countries
within a country – here we focus on
(Livingstone et al., 2011), and the validity of
parental education and household income
the factor analyses in each country was tested
(in short, the main sources of social
by Dürager and Sonck (2014).
inequality) as these shape parental
mediation strategies. Active mediation of internet use: practices
The nature of differences among parents such as talking about internet content and
across countries – here we work with EU online activities, sitting nearby while the
Kids Online’s classification of countries in child is online and actively sharing the
terms of their protective versus enabling child’s online experiences.
approaches to children’s digital media use. Active mediation of internet safety:
Our research aims both to understand the activities and recommendations aimed at
present situation better and to inform policy- promoting safer and responsible uses of
makers. The research may have particular the internet.
implications for children’s online safety and Restrictive mediation: setting rules that
digital inclusion – pinpointing gaps or limit time spent online, location of use, as
problems in current practice, and guiding well as content and activities.
targeted interventions as needed. Technical restrictions: the use of software
and technical tools to filter, restrict and
monitor children’s online activities.
Monitoring: checking up on children’s
LITERATURE online practices after use.
Note that this classification represents a
REVIEW contrast with the literature developed in
relation to television (Valkenburg et al., 2013)
in that for personal/digital devices active
mediation and co-use tend to combine – in
Parental mediation strategies: practice, if you sit with a child while they go
commonalities and differences online, you tend to become engaged in
Measuring parental mediation is not discussing what’s on the screen or where to
straightforward, as parents may overestimate click next.
their engagement (whether active or Most parents in the US say they favour talk as
restrictive) in regulating their children’s a mediation strategy (Clark, 2013). Such
experiences of the internet for reasons of active mediation of children’s internet use is
social desirability. Similarly, children may also the most popular strategy adopted by
underestimate (or be unaware of) what their European parents of 9- to 16-year-olds,
parents do. Nonetheless, the EU Kids Online followed by safety guidance and restrictions
survey reported a high degree of agreement (Kirwil, 2009; Livingstone et al., 2011, 2012).
in the accounts of parental mediation provided However, restrictive practices tend to be used
by paired parent–child interviews (Livingstone more for younger than older children,
et al., 2011). suggesting that for the under-eights studied in
Chaudron et al. (2015), restrictive practices countries have more parents who are ‘all-
may be popular. rounders’ (practising all types of parental
mediation more than the European average)
Beyond these laudable efforts to manage
or ‘passive’ (below average on all types of
media use for the benefit of the child, it must
parental mediation).
be acknowledged that mediation practices
have developed to meet the needs of parents
Figure 1: Classifying parental mediation of
– consider the idea of media, especially
the internet by country
television, as a babysitter or ‘surrogate parent’
(Gantz, 1982), enabling parents to do
household chores while children are safely
occupied, or the use of media as a reward or
punishment for children’s behaviour (Evans et
al., 2011). Interestingly, and contrary to
popular prejudice, the use of television as a
babysitter is not predicted by parental
education, although children of less educated
parents do view for longer (Beyens and
Eggermont, 2014).
Some of these practices can be seen to vary
according to the demographics of the child or
parent (Livingstone and Helsper, 2008;
Garmendia et al., 2012; Helsper et al., 2013).
Parents tend to be ‘restrictive mediators’ when
their children are younger or if they
themselves are less educated. The reverse is
true for parents who are ‘active mediators’. In Last, in terms of effectiveness, EU Kids
terms of gender, girls tend to be monitored Online findings suggest that, among the five
and restricted more than boys. Further, parental strategies noted above, only active
mothers tend to play a more supportive and restrictive mediation are associated with a
parenting role and are more communicative reduction in children’s exposure to online risks
than fathers (Collins and Russell, 1991; Eastin (Dürager and Livingstone, 2012; Mascheroni
et al., 2006). Mothers are also more actively et al., 2013). While restrictive measures are
engaged in different forms of mediation, such associated with the lowest levels of risk
as active mediation of internet use, social and exposure, they also appear to limit children’s
technical restrictions (Kirwil et al., 2009). online opportunities to learn, explore, develop
Some have been shown to depend on culture digital skills or gain resilience to risk. Active
or country. As EU Kids Online’s analysis mediation appears most promising in terms of
shows in Figure 1, cross-national variations in minimising risks without minimising
the parental mediation of 9- to 16-year-olds’ opportunities, but the evidence for such dual
internet use are considerable. Most Central effectiveness is not yet strong. Nor have the
and Southern European countries, Ireland and above findings been studied in relation to
the UK have parents who prefer restrictive much younger children.
mediation (Helsper et al., 2013). Conversely,
in Northern European (especially Nordic) Focus on socioeconomic status
countries, parents favour active mediation of
The relation between parental mediation and
children’s internet use. Eastern European
socioeconomic status (itself a composite of
9
income, occupation and education) is persuaded that the benefits of digital
complicated. media outweigh the harms (Livingstone et
al., 2011; FOSI, 2013, 2014).
Digital divides
Parental styles
Socioeconomic background can influence
how families incorporate digital media into How parents manage digital media
their everyday lives, the choice of devices depends also, however, on more general
available at home and the quality of norms and practices of parenting. Four
internet access. Households may be main styles have been identified:
positioned along a continuum between authoritative parenting, typical of parents
‘media-rich’ and ‘media-poor’ homes who are both more responsive and
(Livingstone, 2007). demanding than average; authoritarian
parenting, characterised by high control
Lower income parents are less likely to
but low warmth; permissive (or laissez-
provide their children with the latest or
faire) parenting, which is warm and
most expensive versions of technological
supportive but non-demanding; and
devices. However, children from lower
neglectful or uninvolved parenting, low
socioeconomic backgrounds are more
both on demandingness and
often provided with electronic screens in
responsiveness (Baumrind, 1991; Eastin
their bedroom, and spend more time
et al., 2006; Nakayama, 2011).
watching television and using computers.
Children from lower income families are Evidence from the US shows that social
more likely to have longer screen times class is associated with different
and increased likelihood of sedentary understandings of ‘good parenting’ and
behaviour including its negative health- child-rearing, including in relation to media
related consequences (Tandon et al., and consumerism. A shift away from
2012). By contrast, children of higher regulatory approaches to parenting has
income parents have and use been observed among upper- and middle-
touchscreens more (Nikken and Schols, class parents who favour an ‘ethic of
2015). expressive empowerment’ (Clark, 2013) or
‘concerted cultivation’ (Pugh, 2009; see
Digital inequalities rest on more than the
also Nelson, 2010) aimed at raising self-
conditions of access. Parental attitudes
confident children capable of self-control
towards digital media and parental
and self-expression. By contrast, less
mediation are also shaped by cultural
advantaged US families associate good
norms, which Hollingworth et al. (2011:
parenting with an ‘ethic of respectful
352) frame in terms of the ‘“habitus” of
connectedness’ (Clark 2013), expecting
different users, which informs what they
their children to be caring and respectful of
see as thinkable or unthinkable, desirable
parental authority (Nelson, 2010).
or undesirable in terms of the use of
technology and what it can offer them and Parental mediation strategies
their children’ (see also Bragg and The EU Kids Online survey (Livingstone et
Buckingham, 2013, on different ideas of al., 2011, 2012) found consistent
‘good parenting’). socioeconomic differences in the amount
Further, parents with higher levels of self- of active mediation of internet use and
efficacy (possibly reflecting digital skills) in active mediation of internet safety that
the use of the internet are also more children received, with higher-income
confident in their capacity to manage their parents being more likely to actively
children’s use of technologies, and more engage in these forms of mediation. When
it comes to restrictive mediation, though, advantaged parents, who tend to be less
parents of different socioeconomic status confident of managing online risks, try to
were equally likely to set rules to regulate minimise them through restrictions or
their children’s engagement with the direct control (Hollingworth et al., 2011;
internet. Paus-Hasebrink et al., 2013).
Insofar as parental mediation strategies Referring to Baumrind’s (1991) analysis of
can be positioned between the two poles parenting styles (see Figure 2), Valcke et
of ‘responsiveness (warm and supportive al. (2010) show that authoritative parents
parenting) and demandingness (regulating tend to combine mediation strategies –
behaviours)’ (Clark, 2013: 49), they including active mediation, social
converge with (and appear grounded in) restrictions and technical restrictions – all
parenting styles more broadly. For this more frequently than other parents. They
reason, socioeconomic differences affect also show that parents’ educational
both parental mediation and parental attainment matters, with less educated
styles in related ways. parents providing less warm support while
For instance, Nelson (2010) shows that also exerting less control. Relatedly,
upper- and middle-class parents favour Nikken and Schols (2015) showed how
what she calls ‘technologies of connection’ lower-educated parents, who are less
(such as the mobile phone) that allow for skilled at using digital media, engage in
both warm support and control at a less active mediation of their children’s
distance; by contrast, they disapprove of internet use, set inconsistent rules to
‘constraining technologies’ such as regulate use, and more often use technical
parental controls and filters. Less socially restrictions.
11
Russia (see Figure 3). The 70 families
RESEARCH interviewed included 119 children (aged 0–8,
and indirectly covered older siblings (n=38)
METHODS aged between 9 and 20 (see Figure 4 for the
total age breakdown).
High school or
worth mining further. Our approach to this B2, B5, B9, G8, UK9
further analysis is described below. C1, C5, C6,
less
Thematic analysis offers a flexible means of G2, G3, G9,
summarising key features of a large body of F4, I2, I5, I6,
Mother’s education
especially useful for cross-cultural C9, C10, F2, F1, F5, F6,
comparison. Further, unanticipated insights F3, F9, F10, F7, F8, G4,
can be generated in an in-depth way, drawing G1, G6, I4, G5, G7,
on social, pedagogic and psychological R1, R2, R4, G10, I1, I3,
interpretations of data (Braun and Clarke, R5, R6, R7, I7, I9, I10,
2006). R8, R9, R10, R3, U2, U3,
In order to focus the present analysis on U1, U5, U6, U4, U10
socioeconomic status, the 70 families were U7, U8
classified according to their income and their Note: Families are coded here according to
formal educational qualifications, based on their labelling in Chaudron et al. (2015). The
the following criteria: letter in each code refers to the country
Income (using OECD indicators) of (i) (B=Belgium, C=Czech Republic, F=Finland,
around or below the national average or G=Germany, I=Italy, R=Russia, U=UK).
(ii) above the national average (estimated
for each country separately). 1
As is evident from Table 1, most families fitted
Mother’s education (since most of the into one of three groups, with only two families
research literature focuses on mothers as of above average income yet lower education.
mediators of media; see Eastin et al.,
2
See
1
See www.oecd.org/statistics/OECD-Better-Life- www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/isced-
Index-2014-definitions.pdf fields-of-education-training-2013.pdf
13
The ‘low/low’ families and ‘high/high’ families children soon learning how to handle them to
therefore most neatly meet traditional prevent any damage (e.g. B9, I5).
definitions of lower and higher socioeconomic
status. The sizeable ‘low income/high They often experience time constraints that
education’ group may reflect European prevent them from engaging in shared media
austerity in income and/or the fact that activities with their children, and they tend to
women’s education is a weak predictor of use the television or digital media as a
household income. It is also due to a high babysitter to keep children occupied while
proportion of single parents in these they are busy with domestic chores (B2, CZ1,
households. In what follows, we examine CZ6, F4, I2). This does not mean they are
these three groupings in turn, before drawing unconcerned: one Italian mother of two girls
our conclusions. aged 7 and 4 was critical of the use of
television as a babysitter, leading her to adopt
a more restrictive approach:
15
about the Winx and My Little Pony, also Finland belongs to the category of countries
when I access it at work [laughing]. (I2) where children are ‘supported risky explorers’;
however, the Finnish family in the lower
As a consequence, children are left free to income, lower education category has Italian
experiment with technologies and to learn by origins, so their more restrictive parenting
trial and error. While this permissive approach style is no surprise.
does not prevent children from encountering
risks, it fosters the acquisition of digital skills,
Lower income, more educated
and thus children of more skilled parents tend
themselves to be more skilled than more families
restricted peers. Yet this father knows how his By comparison with the other groups, this
daughters are using YouTube, and engages group is characterised by:
with them and their activities. This permissive
approach is thus different from the laissez- a mix of media-rich and media-poor
faire approach of a Belgian family (B9) where homes in terms of device ownership;
the mother considers herself to be “addicted a variety of domestic circumstances with a
to television”, leaving the children free to high proportion of single-parent
spend their leisure time as they wish. households;
It could be said that overall, these families fairly confident parents in terms of both
favour an ‘ethic of respectful connectedness’ their digital skills and thus their ability to
(Clark, 2013): parental authority appears prioritise active over restrictive mediation.
seldom questioned and rules are not generally Yet, knowledge of digital media brings its own
negotiated with children, adult family concerns, so these parents also operate some
members have the power to both terminate restrictive practices.
children’s media use whenever considered
In this group of families, all the mothers had at
excessive, and to use media as a
least college-level education. Some are still
punishment/reward strategy (Evans et al.,
studying while others are working part- or full-
2011). Yet while parents did relatively little in
time, often not at a level to be expected from
terms of active mediation, this might reflect
their educational achievement. Around a
their lack of digital skills more than their
quarter of this group were either single
interest in the ‘digital future’. Relatedly,
parents or parents studying or re-training, and
favouring a restrictive approach could
thus their household incomes fall below the
represent something of a fall-back position as
estimated national averages.
parents without alternative resources resort to
a familiar pattern of parenting, especially We judged around one-third of these homes
when faced with the challenges of fast- to be media-poor and two-thirds media-rich.
changing digital media. By implication, apart Yet some of the media-rich families
from income placing constraints on the consciously sought to be low users of digital
devices that can be bought and, perhaps, the technology. One UK father (UK8, girl 7 and
disposable time of parents, it seems that it is boy 4) provided an eloquent justification for
lower levels of education that matters most in their low-tech lifestyle:
these families.
I tend to think that the world they’re going
Looking at cross-cultural variations, parents in to be part of is going to be so heavily
Belgium, Germany and Italy (countries where digitalised anyway; they’re going to spend
children are ‘protected by restrictions’; see a huge amount of their lives in front of
Helsper et al., 2013) tend to be more
restrictive than parents in the Czech Republic.
screens. I’m not sure they need to be high levels of self-efficacy in internet use,
steeped in that kind of culture by me yet. giving them confidence in managing their
children’s internet use. Thus, as predicted by
Another example of consciously wanting to Helsper et al. (2013), they prefer active over
live a low-tech life is a Czech family (C3, boys restrictive mediation of children’s digital media
7 and 3) in which the parents want to make uses at home. In one German family (G1) the
the children sensitive to the computer, but do parents explain that they are skilled media
not want to buy a television or tablet: users, and thus both take responsibility for
managing their children’s use of technology,
The computer is primarily a tool for work,
preferring active over restrictive strategies. In
secondarily a tool for entertainment, but
still, we parents spend a lot of time doing a Belgian family (B8) with two girls aged 3 and
some other activities.... I think, that if the 6, the mother actively guides her children
when they engage with media content that
child is brought up like that and sees a
she thinks they may find problematic:
sensible approach towards technology, it
gives them more than if I retell it maybe The youngest [a 3-year-old girl] watches
every second day. DVDs that are actually intended for 6-
year-olds with her sister. There are often
Thus, a media-poor home may be deliberately
chosen rather than it being a matter of Disney movies in which there might be a
economic necessity, and a media-rich home scary moment. But that is guided of
does not necessarily mean a media-intensive course. I am here all the time, so it is not
as if they watch [those DVDs] alone. And
lifestyle.
I always tell them, because there are
On a cross-country level, the parents in indeed scary moments in many Disney
Russia, Finland and the UK seem to lead a movies that [name of 6-year-old girl] also
more media-rich life, having digital technology finds scary. But then I say, you know
incorporated prominently into their daily lives. there is always a happy ending but we
Yet Russian and British families seem more need to go through this part. So, then we
restrictive compared to parents from other discuss that. But, otherwise I think those
countries, even though they have provided [movies] are fine.
media-rich homes for their children. Russian
parents in this group seemed to have the Yet she also limits the time her daughters can
most ambivalent opinions about living a spend with media because, as a
media-rich life, seeing the digital world as the physiotherapist, she believes exercise is
paramount in children’s development.
future and so supporting their children in the
Speaking of the older daughter, she explains:
use of media, and yet fearing the adverse
physical consequences of over-use. Finnish [Name of 6-year-old girl] loves to watch
parents seem the least bothered by the fact television [actually, cartoons/movies on
that they own and use many devices, and DVD as the family does not have a cable
worry less about possible risks to their subscription]. If I would allow her, she
children. would watch television the entire day.
For this group, as for the previous one, the She needs to go and play outside as well.
But, yes, they can choose one or two
strategies parents choose to mediate their
movie clips a day, and that’s it for me.… I
children’s digital media use depends on how
they are confident themselves in internet use. just miss any exercise [while engaging
In this highly educated group, parents with media]. And that is just so necessary
for a child, that it can exercise.
generally have both sufficient digital skills and
17
Parents often offer advice and guidance to practising responsive parenting. An illustration
their children regarding media use, and the of a permissive parenting style is found in
restrictions they do set are largely based on another Czech family (C9, boy 8, girl 6) where
limiting time use, perhaps informed by their parents say they limit time use only if they
analysis of what children need. For instance, think their children are becoming addicted; in
in a German family (G1, twin brothers aged this family, the parents didn’t teach their
5), where the mother is a skilled media user children to handle the devices but the children
and feels confident in managing the children’s learned by themselves. As the mother states:
media use, she says that:
It’s a utility thing [technology] … which if
I am very critical, I have to say… I also get not used extremely, I do not care. But if I
my emails pushed to my iPhone and am saw that my child was addicted to it, I
highly involved due to my job.… But at the would stop it. So far it really seems that
age of 5 it is not a good idea. there is no need to deal with that.… So far,
we haven’t taught him anything. Rather,
However, their digital expertise seems to he’s just found out that it is really possible
make parents more aware of the potential to Google something.
risks, and they seem less persuaded that the
potential benefits outweigh the potential harm. Permissive parenting is also observed in a
For example, a Finnish single father (F10, two Finnish family (F2, two girls 8 and 11) where
girls aged 5 and 10), who works in computing, the parents say that they rely on the
is very aware of the risk of online bullying or judgement of their children, and again, that
strangers contacting his children, and so they do not teach their children how to use a
applies some restrictive measures to his device. The parents do show their children
children – both technical (use of passwords interesting things and tell them what
and firewalls) as well as social (time limits, appropriate online behaviours are, but they
advice on media use). don’t require the children to obey any rules.
19
Some parents react with hybrid strategies in When [7-year-old boy] is watching
response to specific situations, including YouTube, mum is there all the time,
regulating digital media only when a problem because in her opinion YouTube is not safe
arises. enough to watch alone. Meanwhile the
father is not as active. He does not follow
To many of these parents, digital media use the rules so strictly. Occasionally [7-year-
represents an important domain of their work old boy] and dad do not notice how fast the
life, but they try to encourage their children to time passes, and they can play games for
also see it as a tool for working while focusing many hours on end together.
on alternative offline activities for the children
themselves. A German mother (G5) of girls Passwords provide an interesting test of the
aged 6, 1 and a boy aged 4 comments that: parent–child relation. In some cases, parents
are aware that the child has come to know the
Mother: The children have good self- password but do not change it provided that
regulation. no further problems occur. Or parents share
the password directly as a sign of trust that
Interviewer: That is a good keyword.
Where else can you witness your children their child can regulate their own use, as
self-regulating in terms of media? shown in a Finnish family (F7), where the
children (boys 7 and 9) are requested to ask
Mother: [1-year-old girl] is very emotional. If their parents for the password if they want to
she watches Laura’s Star and the main download apps to their smartphones or the
character is in danger, although she knows tablet. However, the father has figured out
that there will be a happy ending, I have to that the children possibly already know the
be at her side. She couldn’t watch it alone. password, which is why he sometimes checks
It is the same with books. One cannot out what games are on the tablet.
simply read every one book to her,
especially in the evening. Bedtime stories An example of a child knowing the password
and not being supported by parental
including, for instance a wolf or bad things
mediation led to a severe psychosocial
is a no-go for her. Accordingly watching TV
is regulated in the same manner. In burden as well as nervousness and hysteria in
addition the time is a relevant factor. Most one Russian family (R3) with only one boy
of the time she loses interest anyway after aged 4. Here, digital media rules were unclear
and set in a chaotic manner, with the child
half an hour of watching TV.
being given a device when parents wanted to
This is especially the case when parents use keep him quiet. They use passwords, but the
digital media to work from home or are child knows them. He actually gets a device
themselves working in the field of digital (even the most expensive device) whenever
technologies. But such efforts at influencing he wants; any restriction leads to an
their children are especially undermined by immediate hysterical reaction, such as crying
technologically enthusiastic fathers’ or shouting. He gets nervous if a device is not
behavioural patterns of digital media use or visible, may start searching for it, and only
fathers being proud of the digital skills of their calms down when he gets it again:
sons (e.g. B10, B3, G7, F1). Thus it is
commonly reported that fathers and sons’ If [4-year-old boy] gets hysterical or tired a
media sessions last longer than intended, and gadget can be given in order to make him
behave well, stay silent and not make
rules are not followed that strictly, as this
scenes, e.g. during the flight. At home I can
Finnish (F1) family’s example shows:
keep a device, he may shout, I won’t feel
sorry. But when he torments us totally, we
will give it anyway. We act not very good,
he plays for a long time and we do not set CONCLUSIONS
limits. But I can’t prohibit that so am waiting
as I think he will get tired of gadgets. So if I
allow gaming now he must cool off, sooner In reviewing the parental mediation strategies
or later. in 70 European families varying by income,
education, culture and circumstances, it has
In terms of country differences, Belgian
emerged that parents begin thinking about,
parents set more rules for their children’s
and finding ways to manage, the digital media
media use but are ready to vary these in order
use of their children when they are very
to find a context-appropriate balance of
young. From the original report of findings
freedom and protection. German parents
(Chaudron et al., 2015), we learned that
more often implemented clear limits on the
guiding parents’ actions and approach are
use of digital devices, possibly because they
their already established styles of parenting
themselves are very competent in digital
and family values, and parents extend these
media use and are thus confident in their
to digital media-related activities at home as
ability to instruct their children. In Finnish
soon as children begin these activities.
homes, we learned that rules are generally
Parents are already partly mediating the
set, but for some devices (e.g. tablet) more
activities of their older children, and they
than for others (e.g. smartphone), or by
adjust their approach to include their younger
mothers more than by fathers, who may
children. To be fair, they are led to intervene
undermine the mothers’ restrictions. Italian
when they see their young children respond to
families varied, although in one family (I7)
digital devices in ways that worry them
there were no rules or restrictions at all, but a
(spending too long on one activity, staring at
strong preference for trust and self-regulation.
the screen, behaving badly when the device is
Among the Russian families, critical
taken away, etc.). They are also highly
approaches to digital media were less
conscious – via mass media and peer
common, with digital media often used as a
discussion – that being a ‘good parent’ means
babysitter, and with more laissez-faire
managing their children’s internet use.
approaches from parents. By contrast, in the
UK, digital media use was often very It was a limitation of our study design that all
consciously managed, even when enjoyment the countries apart from Finland and the
was the main purpose. Czech Republic came from the ‘restrictive
mediation’ countries, as classified by EU Kids
Online (Helsper et al., 2013). Broadly, it
seemed that, as that classification predicted,
Finnish parents were more active or even
permissive in their parenting, Czech parents
were more passive, and those from the other
countries studied favoured restrictive
practices. Still, there was considerable
variation among families from each country.
Yet parents are often unclear or inconsistent
about how and why parental mediation
matters or which strategies are effective. And
a host of practicalities – notably lack of time,
resources, knowledge, competence, etc. –
21
often intervene between their good intentions managing their children’s digital media
and their everyday practices. activities and more engaged in them.
23
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