Demographic Differences in Parental Mediation of Adolescents’ Mobile Device Use

Event: Undergraduate Research Symposium
Date: May 18, 2019
Location: UCI Student Center
 
Presenter: Hua Luo
Mentor: Stephanie Reich

Title: Demographic Differences in Parental Mediation of Adolescents’ Mobile Device Use

Abstract

​Many parents mediate their children’s media use by overseeing, sharing, or setting rules and limitation on their use, time, or access. Studies of parental mediation on media have largely focused on TV and computer use, which are often in shared spaces. Teens now use mobile devices, such as smartphones, which are more private and easily accessible. As a result, the ways parents monitor their teens’ media use may have changed. The goal of this study, therefore, is to expand our understanding of mediation on mobile devices, specifically whether family characteristics are related to parents’ mediation strategies. One hundred and twenty-nine adolescents (ages 10–16) answered questions regarding their family demographics and the rules their parents enforced on mobile media use. In our sample, restrictive mediation (e.g., time limits, no use during meals) was the most common. Using t-tests, ANOVA, and Chi-square test, we found that parental mediation differed by ethnicity/race and parental educational attainment. The findings demonstrate the diversity of parental mediation practices in the 21st century and set a foundation for future work seeking to promote positive youth development and media use.