Rapid technological advance affects all parts of human life, from recreational activities to socializing and relationships. In parenting, technology gives parents and children space and freedom to learn from others, surf for helpful information, develop socially, and keep in touch with society and distant relatives. However, the other perspective presents possible downsides and detrimental effects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on families’ well-being and children’s development. Twenty or thirty years ago, the familial trend of digitalization did not exist as mobile phones and computers have not been as sophisticated and available as they are now. Social media were not as popularized in the US, and family members tended to spend more time face-to-face, children were more active and played with peers outside, and parents encouraged them to have intellectual hobbies. Nevertheless, technology and social media have gradually invaded lives since the 2000s, becoming more critical and widespread. Parents cannot exclude ICTs, so they need to look for a compromise that prevents technology’s adverse influence and instead fosters a beneficial one.
Comparative Perspectives
China is an excellent example to provide comparative perspectives on the trend. Chinese parents mainly go online for “information-seeking, online purchasing, communication with others, and documents storage” (He et al., 2020, Literature Review section, para. 1). Children use ICTs to communicate with caretakers, play games, and learn online. Additionally, Chinese families in urban areas have become more digitally dependent, owning numerous devices. A digitally connected family like that presents parents with the arduous task of managing their domestic ICT environment (Lim, 2018). To address the trend, the Chinese government closely monitors ICT use, issuing strict content policies, applying censorship, and prosecuting violators. In 2019, the government banned overnight gaming for kids and limited their weekday screen time to 90 minutes (Soo, 2021). Recently, this policy has become stricter by limiting video game time to three hours a week (Soo, 2021). Overall, Chinese norms regarding ICT are conservative, authoritative, and cautious.
The familial trend exists both in China and the US. Similarities include:
- The prevalence of digitally connected families in urban areas.
- General use of the Web.
- Thriving social media and gaming communities.
Attractiveness, convenience, and accessibility of ICTs contribute to similarities, while cultural and political variance makes up the differences. Plenty of recommendations are published to prevent the adverse influence of ICTs on parenting. Still, the US government does not control how children spend their free time and leaves actual management to the parents. American parents are less authoritative than Chinese and tend to foster independence in children and be less demanding (Dewar, 2019). Furthermore, American parents more often have personal struggles with ICTs, which leads to distracted parenting (Auxier et al., 2020). Consequently, children in the US are more susceptible to the adverse effects of technology and social media.
Following variables affect the scope of the trend in the US:
- Age of a child.
- Age of a parent.
- Education of a parent.
- Place of residency.
- Culture and ethnicity.
Younger children are less affected by the trend, as 73% of surveyed US parents think it is unacceptable for children under 12 to have personal devices (Auxier et al., 2020, p. 1). The age and education of a parent also prove to influence the trend. Younger people with higher education are more distracted by ICTs in parenting and vice versa (Auxier et al., 2020). Additionally, families living in rural areas are not as digitally connected as those living in cities.
Last, culture affects the trend, but the effect is not as significant in cultures within the same country. For example, Hispanic (66%) and Black (58%) parents report less distracted parenting than white families (71%), and some technologies like voice-activated assistants are less used (Auxier et al., 2020, p. 1). Conversely, white parents who have a child aged 11 or younger are not as likely to report watching YouTube several times a day (29% compared to 40-50%) (Auxier et al., 2020, p. 1). Notwithstanding differences, the trend is global and affects everyone proportionally with the world’s technological advances.
The rising demand for ICTs in educational institutions results in new methodologies and training developed for teachers. That effectively narrows teachers’ digital gap and covers students’ need for ICT efficacy (Guillén-Gámez et al., 2020). Moreover, ICTs enable remote education in the current COVID-19 global pandemic. In healthcare, wearable devices with sensors and mobile applications promoting a healthy lifestyle are popular (Vogenberg & Santilli, 2018). Telemedicine and telehealth utilize such telemetric systems to transfer a person’s medical data to healthcare providers, monitoring people’s health and reacting to emergencies. Online consultations and appointments are increasingly widespread, and online well-being programs are developed for general use.
On the other hand, computer games and social media can be addictive, leading to hours upon hours of wasted opportunity for more meaningful or less passive activities. The more time family members spend on the Internet, the less family time they have. Also, social media are filled with inaccurate or inappropriate information, cyberbullies, predators, trolls, and privacy violators (Kapalu, 2019). Spending time online makes people more vulnerable to anxiety and depression and is often connected to diminished self-esteem (How social media affects relationships: According to 7 experts, 2021). Finally, family members often project encountered negativity in their everyday surroundings.
Sociological Analysis
The conflict perspective shows that the trend affects families differently because of structural inequality in social status, achievements, and a sense of competition. For example, the Chinese have a high sense of competition, leading to high expectations for children and, therefore more controlled ICT environment. Lower social status may lead to a constant comparison of one’s or their child’s achievements to others’ accomplishments on social media, while high-achieving families often overshare (Kapalu, 2019). Furthermore, competition for publicity and fame on social media drives family members to seek surface-level attention instead of building meaningful relations (Kapalu, 2019). Higher Internet presence of some families may indicate a more challenging life as they look for respite in digital.
From the functionalist perspective, the trend is beneficial for education and healthcare as it urges both social institutions to improve and change services to meet modern standards. Family dynamics shift from intimate and face-to-face social culture to a digitally connected approach with heightened ICT literacy. Social media expands families’ capacity for socialization, enlarges social circles, and ignites kinship between families of all cultures and ethnicities (How social media affects relationships: According to 7 experts, 2021). Society and social norms become more globally oriented, open, and tolerant, improving social relations between people of incompatible backgrounds.
ICTs affect family members’ role-taking and definition of the families’ meaning by changing their patterns of interaction. The symbolic interactionist perspective identifies that “shared activities help to build emotional bonds” and “family relationships are based on negotiated meanings” (Sociological perspectives on family, n.d., The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective section, para. 5). ICT complements or replaces traditional symbolic mechanism rituals like family gatherings with online activities like chatting. It simplifies family communication and provides families with progressive and more individualistic meanings. Nevertheless, ICTs strengthen family bonds by presenting new points of convergence.
Value of Sociology
There are numerous biases around the influence of ICTs on parenting. Some of the personal preconceived notions are:
- Social media ruins relationships as couples fight over likes or comments.
- Games make children violent, being filled with inappropriate content.
- TV is a complete waste of time as there are no exciting programs to watch.
Societal biases include:
- ICTs make parenting harder (more expensive, harder to discipline kids, higher expectations for parents).
- Social media negatively affects morals, making people less respectful.
- Games propagate violence and drugs.
- More distractions and time spent with ICT than family (Auxier et al., 2020).
Sociological analysis helps identify the actual negative influence of a trend, and it provides not only cons but also pros of changing family dynamics. For example, more time spent with ICT than the family may be easily alleviated by having family time watching movies or playing games. Sociological theories and perspectives limit and challenge biases by contradicting them and provide grounds for developing evidence-based practical responses to solve personal or professional issues.
Evidence-based Response
In addressing the negative impacts of the trend, parents often forbid games and social media for kids whatsoever or use the carrot and stick approach, punishing or rewarding children for their conduct. Although these tactics are effective, they do not include parents in the process. Psychologists allocate such best practices based on success:
- Discuss expectations on ICT use with family members before using it.
- Discuss personal and family members’ ICT experience face-to-face.
- Create a family media plan that includes all family members and shared ICT activities.
- Set time, location, and privacy limits.
- Set an example of desired conduct by following limits and rules (Kapalu, 2019).
Personally, the trend is beneficial for a family as long as family members adhere to the following response: no matter the activity, prior and post dialogue about expectations and experiences and instructing prevents adverse influence. However, an initiative must be taken for this response to be successful. Thus, respective authorities must raise awareness about ICT use among US families.
References
Auxier, B., Anderson, M., Perrin, A., & Turner, E. (2020). Parenting children in the age of screens. Pew Research Center. Web.
Dewar, G. (2019). Traditional Chinese parenting: What research says about children and why they succeed. Parenting Science. Web.
Guillén-Gámez, F. D., Mayorga-Fernández, M. J., & Álvarez-García, F. J. (2020). A study on the actual use of digital competence in the practicum of education degree. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 25, 667–684. Web.
He, H., He, S., & Li, Y. (2020). Contemporary Chinese parents’ needs and questions of parenting for young children: A Web text-mining approach. Information Research, 25(4), Web.
How social media affects relationships: According to 7 experts. (2021). Up Journey. Web.
Kapalu, C. L. (2019). Parenting in the social media age. The Children’s Mercy Hospital. Web.
Lim, S. S. (2018). Transcendent parenting in digitally connected families: When the technological meets the social. In G. Mascheroni, C. Ponte, & A. Jorge (Eds.), Digital parenting: The challenges for families in the digital age (pp. 31-39). Nordicom.
Sociological perspectives on family. (n.d.). Lumen Learning. Web.
Soo, Z. (2021). Parents in China laud rule limiting video game time for kids. The Associated Press. Web.
Vogenberg, F. R., & Santilli, J. Healthcare trends for 2018. American Health & Drug Benefits, 11(1), 48–54. Web.