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Article
“They Always Ask What I'm Doing and Who I'm Talking to”: Parental Mediation of Adolescent Interactive Technology Use
Marriage & Family Review
  • J. Mitchell Vaterlaus, Montana State University
  • Troy E. Beckert, Utah State University
  • Sarah Tulane, Utah State University
  • Clare V. Bird, Utah State University
Document Type
Article
Publisher
Routledge
Publication Date
11-7-2014
Abstract

Burgeoning technology provides instant access to information and communication. Responsible adults are concerned about the material accessed by adolescent technology users. From an ecological system's lens, using a mixed-methods design, the current study identified adolescent and parent perceptions of parental mediation of adolescent interactive technology use (i.e., cell phones, Internet). Eighty adolescents (16–18 years of age) and their parents (n = 113) participated in the study that identified generational differences in perceptions of parental mediation, techniques for mediating interactive technology (i.e., monitoring data and usage, active mediation, rules, restriction), and adolescent perceptions of the process of parental mediation. We used the results to propose principles for parental mediation of adolescent interactive technology use and provide directions for future research.

Citation Information
Vaterlaus, J. M., Beckert, T. E., Tulane, S.,& *Bird, C. V. (2014). "They always ask what I'm doing and who I'm talking to": Parental mediation of adolescent interactive technology use. Marriage and Family Review, 50, 691-713. doi: 10.1080/01494929.2014.9387595