Parental Technology Governance: Teenagers’ Understandings and Responses to Parental Digital Mediation

Michael Adorjan; Rosemary Ricciardelli; Tina Saleh

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.18.2.06

Authors

Michael Adorjan University of Calgary, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1900-2087
Rosemary Ricciardelli Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0905-8968
Tina Saleh McGill University, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8695-7257

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.18.2.06

Keywords:

Digital Parenting, Parental Online Governance and Mediation, Information Communications Technologies, Youth and Teenagers, Cyber Risk

Abstract

Research on parental mediation of children’s online engagements situate historically longstanding anxieties within the dynamics of present-day information communications technologies (i.e., concerns over new “cyber risks,” as well as opportunities). Yet, there remains a lack of emphasis on children’s reactions to and experiences with parental strategies and responses. In the current article, we highlight research involving semi-structured focus groups (n=35) with Canadian teenagers (n=115). We highlight themes directly related to parental digital mediation, including the role of ICTs in driving addictive behaviors, social connection, differences in parental responses between sons and daughters, and differences concerning age and birth order. Disrupting cultural discourses of young people who lack agency in relation to their use of ICTs, our discussions with teens reveal qualified support, even degrees of sympathy, for parental efforts to restrict access and use of digital technologies, but illuminate multifaceted reasons for resistance: their vital role not only for social connection but access to crucial information and knowledge.

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Author Biographies

Michael Adorjan, University of Calgary, Canada

Dr. Michael Adorjan is an Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Calgary. His research examines youth and cyber risk, including perspectives and experiences of youth, parents, and educators, with a focus on issues of privacy, surveillance, and digital citizenship. Adorjan has also published in the areas of youth “crime” in Canada and Hong Kong and public perceptions of police in Hong Kong.

Rosemary Ricciardelli, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

Dr. Rosemary Ricciardelli is a Professor of Sociology and Criminology, and Research Chair in Safety, Security, and Wellness, at Memorial University’s Fisheries and Marine Institute. Elected to the Royal Society of Canada, her research centers on evolving understandings of gender, vulnerabilities, risk, and experiences and issues within different facets of the criminal justice system.

Tina Saleh, McGill University, Canada

Tina Saleh is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. She conducts philosophical research on the legal and ethical dimensions of K-12 education in the US and Canada, examining jurisprudence on teachers’ free speech rights. Her research contemplates how policy may foster equity and inclusion for teachers and students in increasingly diverse classrooms.

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