Parental mediation of technology use: a systematic literature review
Abstract
Abstract This paper provides a systematic review of the international literature concerning the issue of parental mediation related to children’s technology usage. The review covers papers published between 2007 and 2017. Our paper pays special attention to the diversity of the conceptual frameworks utilised in the empirical literature to describe the various forms of parental mediation strategies. Therefore, it also intends to create a typology clarifying the complex relationships of these various concepts. As a result, based on earlier empirical findings, four main parental mediation strategies are identified: 1. restriction, 2. active parental mediation and co-use, 3. monitoring, and 4. deference. Furthermore, the paper outlines the most important thematic areas related to parental mediation. Three specific issues seem to emerge from the literature: 1. risky online behaviour, 2. privacy (especially in connection with sharing private information), and 3. problematic technology usage. So far, most of the research projects of parental mediation remained at a general level, and in relation to these, the empirical results are quite ambiguous and inconclusive. Besides, the inconsistent use of terms makes comparison of the data difficult. The role of other factors linked to parental mediation is also not unequivocal in the literature. One exception to this ‘rule’ is related to the age of children, namely, it is a general pattern that parents mediate older children less frequently. Furthermore, gender and the level of digital literacy also seem to be significant factors determining modes of parental mediation. Lastly, it can be argued that the sociological perspective is lacking from most of the papers. This would have allowed focusing on the role of socioeconomic status of technology use more closely, thereby exploring the phenomenon of parental mediation in a more nuanced way. Keywords: parental mediation, children’s technology use, risky online behaviour, privacy
