Browsing by Author "Chaudron, Stephane"
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- Family dynamics in digital homes: the role played by parental mediation in young children’s digital practices around 14 European countriesPublication . Brito, Rita; Francisco, Rita; Dias, Patrícia; Chaudron, StephaneIn contemporary society, digital media are fully integrated in our daily lives, indispensable for our routines, always connected and at-hand. Our research thus explores the parental mediation of portable digital devices in families with young children, addressing the following questions: (a) which are the most common parental mediation styles adopted towards young children; and (b) which individual features of the parents or contextual factors influence the parental mediation style adopted. Our methodology is exploratory and qualitative, considering as empirical corpus 14 national reports from the European-scale study “Young Children (0–8) and Digital Technologies” for a comparative thematic analysis. The authoritative style was the most common parental mediation style related to technology use. In general, there are transversal rules to all parental mediation styles (except laissez-faire style), such as withdraw or give devices to children according to their behavior, control (inappropriate) content and control the time of use. Also, parental perceptions and attitudes about the technologies played a heavier weight on the parental mediation style adopted, and consequently influenced the relationship of the children with digital media. Some implications for future studies, preventive actions, and family therapy are discussed.
- Parental concerns regarding young children and digital technology. An exploratory qualitative investigation in three European countriesPublication . Brito, Rita; Velicu, Anca; Chaudron, Stephane; Dias, Patrícia; Lobe, BojanaOne of the effects of the development and widespread diffusion of digital technologies is that in contemporary homes children are being exposed to those technologies since birth. The present study aims to identify the general 'climate of concern' and to map specific worries that parents have with respect to their young children's digital lives. The study was theoretically framed by the intersection of parental mediation theory with media panics theory, and relied on data collected in three European countries (Portugal, Romania and Slovenia) as part of JRC project Young Children (0-8) and digital technologies. The data were collected in 2015, through family visits, this paper focusing on semi structured interviews that took place with parents. The results show that parents of children under 8 years old are concerned about health-related issues, screen addiction, exposure to age-inappropriate content, social exclusion by absence or under use of digital media, concerns of losing opportunities for essential (non-digital) childhood experiences, bad school performance and learning the "right" skills for the future. If some of these concerns echo public discourse on the risks of technology, parents in our study trimmed these fears and adjusted them to their current situation and their parental mediation practices.