Study shows children concerned with parents’ smartphone use
Mar 8, 2016, 10:53 PM | Updated: May 10, 2016, 11:13 am
Seattleite Adam Johnson with his daughters. Five-year-old Anna says her mother and father always put their phones away during dinner. (Sara Lerner/KIRO Radio)
(Sara Lerner/KIRO Radio)
A new study reveals kids are worried about their parents’ smartphone usage.
Researchers at the University of Washington and University of Michigan surveyed families with children ages 10 through 17.
“Parents had a lot of rules for kids about no phones at the dinner table, no phones in church, no phones during family events,” lead researcher Alexis Hiniker said. “But kids were equally likely to say that their parents should do the same thing.”
Parents and children agreed on most guidelines, with “be present” being the most common request. But Hiniker says the children were the ones who said, “please, stop sharing information about me on Facebook.”
“Kids felt that parents really should ask permission and talk with children before posting anything [on social media] about them,” Hiniker said. “And parents felt that it was more acceptable to put up whatever was on their mind at the moment.”
The researchers surveyed 249 families with kid ages 10 to 17. It’s one of the first studies on technology habits that includes children’s point of view.
