Parents spend more time talking about the mechanics of using their mobile phones with their kids than they do about what their kids watch and download on those devices, a recent study has suggested.
The findings came from a small, recent study of 75 children and their families, led by researcher Sarah Domoff. The children wore recording devices at home, which recorded talking, conversations or other sounds nearby, as well as audible screen media use.
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Domoff said the findings, which were published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies, revealed some concerning trends in how families and children communicate about media today. Specifically, the researchers observed minimal conversation about the content of programming that children were watching.
Additionally, they learned that other family members appear to play an important role when content is discussed. Children–not parents–initiated most conversations about content, and older siblings played a much bigger role than parents in content mediation for younger siblings.
Also, the study found that children, as young as toddlers, were exposed to multiple media sources at one time, or media multitasking.