Glued To the Screen? Parents’ Perspectives and Experiences on School-Aged Child’s Digital Media Use

Children use digital media (DM) daily for educational and recreational purposes. Elevated DM use among school-aged children ages 6–12 has been found to be associated with negative outcomes such as obesity, vision problems, sleep disturbances, increased depression, problematic behaviors, lower emotional intelligence, and lower academic performance. Since parents of these children are the primary mediators of DM use, this study explored their crucial perspectives and experiences assessing parents’ needs, concerns, and knowledge gaps. Following a grounded theory constructivist approach, eleven parents participated in this qualitative study. As a result, seven categories were identified: (1) concerns about content in DM; (2) negative experiences; (3) monitoring DM use closely; (4) early intervention; (5) limit-setting; (6) redirecting focus; and (7) creative strategies. Though their perspectives and experiences varied, many parents expressed concerns about the unregulated or inappropriate content in DM that children are exposed to, referring to some of the content as violent, frightening, addictive, or exploitative. To mitigate the adverse outcomes resulting from DM use, parents adopted dynamic mediation practices- monitoring DM use closely, early intervention, limit setting, redirecting focus, and creative strategies. Collectively, these categories became concepts that served as building blocks for constructing a beginning theoretical framework model representing parents’ decision-making process in mediating their children’s DM use. Parents worry their school-aged children are exposed to digital media (DM) content that are violent, frightening, addictive, or exploitative. Negative physical, behavioral, and mental health outcomes were observed by parents when children’s DM use is unregulated. Parents expressed need for guidance in mediating their children’s DM use. A beginning theoretical framework model provides direction in assessing parents’ needs.