Families, technology use, and daily life: parents’ role in building resilience and mitigating harm
Parents can become overwhelmed by the rapid changes in information and communication technologies (ICT) and contradictory advice on how best to support their children’s safe and beneficial internet use. Why is that? When many of today’s parents were children themselves, most of today’s technologies did not even exist. So, parents may lack key references and best-practice examples from their own childhood that show what good digital mediation, guidance and support for children could look like. For www.parenting.digital, Olaf Kapella discusses how research evidence can close this information gap and support parents and carers in their decisions. Drawing on two recent reviews conducted as part of the EU Project DigiGen, he offers insights for parents on how to maximise the positive aspects of internet use by focusing on online activities (rather than screen time), co-using technologies with their children, respecting children’s privacy, promoting resilience and acting as role models.
When trying to mediate children’s internet use, parents sometimes limit the amount of screen time, which not only might create conflicts but is also not the best approach. Recent research indicates that time spent online is less important for children’s well-being and health than the online activities they engage in. For example, the passive use of social media can have adverse effects, while active communication on social networks is related to more positive outcomes. In addition, parental mediation related to screen time and online activities should reflect children’s age and digital competence:
