Parental use of smart phones was earlier considered to have negative impact on children. However, a new study has now revealed that the use of smart phones will not affect the parent – child relationship.
The study is now published in Child Psychology and Psychiatry journal. A group of researchers from Murdoch University and Griffith University, partnering with ABC, came across positive links in the survey of Australians.
They concluded the findings after 3,659, parent-based surveys and tested 12 different measures of smartphone use. They looked into if the phone use by parents in any way affected the time that they spent in their family and if it was related to family conflicts.
The researchers said that smart phones played multiple roles in a family and they were essential link to the outside world for knowledge, support and to connect with others. The study said smartphones are not harmful as long as they do not impact on family time.
The researchers used a transparent approach to map 84 ways smartphones could link to family wellbeing, using common self-report measures.
“There is a moral panic about screen time, but it would be naïve to ignore the online context where parents can be meaningfully assisted to gain information and support and where social relationships can unfold albeit via the smartphone platform,” says Dr Bep Uink.
Dr Vernon suggested, “Our research finds little evidence of problems, and there is still a great deal more to understand about the role of smartphones in modern-day family life, especially as we traverse the COVID-19 landscape.”
The research team is further investigating what modern life in Australia looks like during COVID-19, and their new survey is available if you would like to contribute to their research.
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