Research Article

The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment

Volume: 13 Number: 5 August 30, 2026

The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment

Abstract

As people of all ages increasingly use social media platforms (SMP) for various purposes, this study investigates how these platforms influence social media addiction (SMA) among parents. Each SMP has different features. The reasons why parents use these platforms, as well as the ways in which they use them, may vary. This study investigates which SMP influence SMA among parents, and the effect of these platforms on parents' awareness of digital data security (DDSA). Path analysis was conducted to examine the direct and indirect relationships among the identified SMP (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, X, WhatsApp, and Snapchat), SMA, and DDSA. The analysis revealed that parents' use of Pinterest, X, and Snapchat significantly affected their DDSA: Snapchat had a negative effect, whereas Pinterest and X had positive effects. Parents' use of Snapchat, Pinterest, WhatsApp, and TikTok was found not to significantly affect SMA, while SMA was significantly and positively affected by the use of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X. Conversely, it was found that parents' DDSA significantly and negatively affected SMA. These findings have important implications for children's digital learning environments and parental involvement in technology-supported learning. The findings have been used to provide recommendations to help parents adopt healthier social media (SM) habits and safer digital practices.

Keywords

Social media, social media platforms, parents, social media addiction, awareness of digital data security

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval permission numbered E-30640013-108.01-221588 was received by the Amasya University Social Sciences Ethics Committee on 09.10.2024.

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APA
Subaşı, S., & Çakır, R. (2026). The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment. Participatory Educational Research, 13(5), 183-203. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.26.71.13.5
AMA
1.Subaşı S, Çakır R. The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment. PER. 2026;13(5):183-203. doi:10.17275/per.26.71.13.5
Chicago
Subaşı, Sibel, and Recep Çakır. 2026. “The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment”. Participatory Educational Research 13 (5): 183-203. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.26.71.13.5.
EndNote
Subaşı S, Çakır R (August 1, 2026) The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment. Participatory Educational Research 13 5 183–203.
IEEE
[1]S. Subaşı and R. Çakır, “The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment”, PER, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 183–203, Aug. 2026, doi: 10.17275/per.26.71.13.5.
ISNAD
Subaşı, Sibel - Çakır, Recep. “The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment”. Participatory Educational Research 13/5 (August 1, 2026): 183-203. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.26.71.13.5.
JAMA
1.Subaşı S, Çakır R. The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment. PER. 2026;13:183–203.
MLA
Subaşı, Sibel, and Recep Çakır. “The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment”. Participatory Educational Research, vol. 13, no. 5, Aug. 2026, pp. 183-0, doi:10.17275/per.26.71.13.5.
Vancouver
1.Sibel Subaşı, Recep Çakır. The Role of Parents’ Social Media Use in Digital Safety Awareness and Its Implications for Children’s Learning Environment. PER. 2026 Aug. 1;13(5):183-20. doi:10.17275/per.26.71.13.5