Keywords
media literacy education
parental attitudes
parental mediation
screen time
How to Cite
Abstract
In the context of increasing digitalization of society, the ways in which early primary school children spend their time are undergoing significant transformation, necessitating a thorough analysis of its consequences. Parents play a crucial role in this process by mediating their children’s interactions with digital technologies, which has a substantial impact on their cognitive, emotional, and social development. This article presents a detailed examination of how various parenting practices, including screen time monitoring, shape children’s engagement with digital media. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between parental attitudes and children's screen exposure time, as well as the identification of preventive measures most frequently undertaken by parents. The study involved 173 participants aged 29 to 44 years (M = 36.56; SD = 3.16; Me = 37), including 127 mothers and 46 fathers of children aged 7 to 10 years from Podkarpackie Voivodeship in Poland. The research employed the Parental Attitudes Scale (SPR) by Mieczysław Plopa (2008) and a custom-designed questionnaire aimed at collecting data on the number and type of preventive actions taken by parents in the context of screen education and children's screen time. The findings indicate that fathers’ autonomy-supportive attitudes are negatively correlated with children's screen time – less autonomy granted by fathers is associated with longer screen exposure. Furthermore, the number of preventive actions taken by mothers is negatively correlated with protective and inconsistent parenting attitudes, suggesting that more protective and inconsistent mothers engage less frequently in preventive measures. Conversely, among fathers, an attitude of acceptance and support for autonomy is linked to greater involvement in preventive actions. The qualitative analysis of parental responses suggested that their efforts focus primarily on controlling screen time, highlighting the need for further education and support in digital mediation. The study's conclusions emphasize the importance of parental mediation, media literacy education, and the implementation of effective preventive strategies to minimize digital risks.
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