The perception of parents about the digital empowerment of family in hyperconnected households

Abstract

In this article we disseminate the results of a qualitative research project aimed at studying the household as a multi-device communication setting in which both children and parents are involved in a digital environment where parents act as mediators in the use of digital services by minors. The methodology used was the so-called "discussion group" technique, that involved parents whose children attend school in the Autonomous Region of Madrid. The results show that these households are hyper-connected settings that offer early access and intense use of IT devices in which both parents and children have equal access to technology but use it in different ways. In these households, technology facilitates family cohesion as a result of the emergence of new forms of digital communication, and in which certain mediation occurs as parents take measures to control the use and exposure to technology by minors.