Review

Children in the Digital World from a Parental Perspective: A Scoping Review

Volume: 9 Number: 1 June 25, 2025
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Children in the Digital World from a Parental Perspective: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Children in the Digital World from a Parental Perspective: A Scoping Review Abstract This scoping review examines how parents perceive, manage their children's interactions with digital media. The review focuses on the relationship between parents' digital literacy levels, control strategies, and children's screen time habits. Based on the analysis of 23 peer-reviewed studies published between 2016-2024, the findings reveal how children use digital media for entertainment and educational purposes, how parents perceive the risks associated with excessive screen time, how parental roles have shifted from rule enforcers to digital guides. Children's screen time is shaped by their access to digital devices, their parents' level of awareness, supervision approaches, and boundary-setting practices. Excessive, unstructured screen use can negatively impact family communication, children's physical, psychological development, and academic performance. Moreover, authoritarian parenting styles are noted to increase children's resistance and the amount of time spent in front of screens. In contrast, supportive and digitally literate parents effectively manage online threats. The review also acknowledges a lack of focus on cultural diversity, differences across digital media types, recommending that future research address these gaps. Keywords: Parental Digital Literacy, Children’s Screen Time, Digital Parenting, Parental Mediation, Family Communication

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Social Work (Other)

Journal Section

Review

Early Pub Date

June 25, 2025

Publication Date

June 25, 2025

Submission Date

April 29, 2025

Acceptance Date

June 24, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 1970 Volume: 9 Number: 1

APA
Akarçay Ulutaş, D., Özcan, R., Aldanma, Y., Çelik, S., & Şeker, Ö. (2025). Children in the Digital World from a Parental Perspective: A Scoping Review. Sosyal Çalışma Dergisi, 9(1), 44-60. https://doi.org/10.70989/scd.1686290

Cited By

Turkish Journal of Social Work is open access and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC).